LOVELOCK - Rodeo reflects the real life skills used by today's cowboys and the cowboys of yesteryear. The rodeos, or cowboy competitions, as they were called in the 1800s and early 1900, mostly appealed to local cowboys and ranchers as a way to show of their ranch-bred skills in town.
The word rodeo is a Spanish word meaning "to roundup." According to worldsoldestrodeo.com and thewildwest.org, the word rodeo began being used for the cowboy competitions around 1916.
According to those websites and others, when there was a need to keep the audience in their seats while a fence was mended or a hurt cowboy was taken out of the arena, the producer of the rodeo would grab a cowboy and tell him to go out and entertain the crowd until the show could continue. Thus, the rodeo clown was born.
A few years later, in the 1920s, Brahma bulls were introduced to the rodeo circuits. These same cowboys-turned-clown entertainers were told to distract the bulls after the rider was thrown or his eight seconds were up.
As the years went on these brave entertainers became known as bullfighters, a cowboy's protector or a barrelman, but still the rodeo clown.
At this year's Hell on Hooves rodeo-goers will be treated to plenty of clowning around with veteran rodeo clown Charlie "Too Tall" West.
"We are really happy to have Charlie at the Hell on Hooves. He's a great showman and a very funny entertainer," Hell on Hooves promoter with the MKC Rodeo Productions team Dewayne Kulbeth said.
West will tell you he is 3 feet, 18 inches tall, but he is actually 4 feet, 6 inches. One of very few Little People who earn their living as a professional rodeo clown, West has been involved in rodeo since high school. His mother was a rodeo secretary and he was part of his school's junior rodeo team.
"Just out of high school, some friends dared me to get in a barrel. After getting knocked around all evening, I figured out I kinda liked it and, kaboom, here I am," West said.
West has been performing in the professional rodeo circuit for 32 years now. He has worked many large rodeos including the Reno Rodeo and the National Finals in Las Vegas with his sidekicks - a miniature horse named Molly and his dog Mickey. Both will be with him at the Lovelock rodeo.
West is also a member of the Screen Actors Guild and has worked in numerous commercials, "City Slickers" and the "Deadwood" series. He will be featured in a documentary titled "Little People with unusual jobs" later this year on the NatGeo channel.
"I am really looking forward to coming to Lovelock. I'll have a really good time clowning around with my friend Ted Dwyer," West said.
Dwyer is the Hell on Hooves rodeo announcer. He has worked rodeos in California, Nevada, Oregon, and Alaska for about 30 years. He works around 20 rodeos a year with West.
"Charlie and I are great friends. We'll have a lot of fun catching up," Dwyer said.
Dwyer started off his rodeo career as a cowboy riding bareback broncs. At one of the rodeos, he said, the announcer lost his voice and they handed him the microphone and he's been announcing ever since.
He said he is happy to be returning to Lovelock for this year's rodeo.
"I've been to Lovelock before and enjoyed its hospitality. I'm happy to go back," Dwyer said.
In addition to the great entertainment during the Hell on Hooves rodeo, the after-party will prove to be just as entertaining. The MKC folks have signed a local favorite to put on a concert, which is included in the price of the ticket. Steven Christie and his band will perform at the rodeo grounds following the rodeo.
"We are really excited to be able to bring all this entertainment for everyone. We want to provide some good family entertainment that doesn't cost an arm and a leg, so bring the whole family," Kulbeth said.
The Hell on Hooves rodeo takes place at the Lovelock Rodeo Grounds on Sept. 7 at 6 p.m. Ticket prices are $5 for everyone 12 years old and older; under 12 are free.[[In-content Ad]]
