Author Gail Woerner used her life-long association with the rodeo world to research and write a history of this paradoxical profession that requires a laugh-getter dressed in baggy britches and wearing a clown face to put his life in jeopardy to protect cowboys from the dangerous Brahma bulls, and sometimes death. All aspects of the world of the rodeo clown are included -- how the profession began, comedy acts created by the rodeo clowns, the animals they trained so masterfully, the evolution of the profession. Other aspects include bullfighting, development of the barrel, injuries which are...

What started as an exhibition to entertain audiences has turned into the most popular-and dangerous-event in rodeo: bull riding. When a 150-pound man attempts to ride a two-ton bull with a killer instinct, it's not a matter of whether the rider will get injured, but when, and how badly. As cowboy Jim Shoulders says, "You can't stop something like an injury from hurtin', but you can damn well not let it bother you." What motivates riders to devote themselves to this challenging sport? Find out in Austinite Gail Woerner's newest book, which covers bull riding from its beginning into the new...

The story of the cowboy strike in 1936 at the Boston rodeo is a well-known bit of rodeo history. It is also no secret that the Cowboys' Turtle Association was the forerunner of the Rodeo Cowboys Association and today's Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. But Woerner charts new territory by telling the whole story about how professional rodeo got its start. 358 pp.