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Missouri State Fair officials have banned for life the rodeo clown who wore a President Obama mask while facing bulls at the event over the weekend.The clown in question engaged in an “unconscionable stunt” and will never perform at the Show Me state venue again, the Missouri State Fair Commission said Monday, in a statement. Fair officials are also reviewing their contract with the Missouri Rodeo Cowboy Association, the contractor responsible for hiring and overseeing bull ring clowns. The performance was “inappropriate and not in keeping with the Fair’s standards," said the statement. The fair did not reveal the clown’s...

On Tuesday, the Missouri State National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) issued a statement asking for federal involvement in the case of a rodeo clown who wore an Obama mask and then asked the crowd if they’d like to see Obama run down by a bull. “The activities at the Missouri State Fair targeting and inciting violence against our President are serious and warrant a full review by both the Secret Service and the Justice Department,” said State President Mary Ratliff. “Incidents involving individuals acting out with extreme violent behavior in movie theaters, schools, churches, political appearances,...

In the wake of a rodeo clown’s anti-Obama skit this weekend, the Missouri State Fair is forcing all clowns to undergo sensitivity training. The state fair commission voted Monday to ratify the decision to ban the clown in question who wore an Obama mask as the rodeo announcer asked if the crowd wanted to see him get run down by a bull. The crowd enthusiastically approved, according to local media reports. But the state commission went further, saying it will require that before the Rodeo Cowboy Association can take part in any future state fair, “they must provide evidence to...

rodeo-clownWhile there is no written law, we may have finally reached a place in America where it’s forbidden to publicly mock the president of the United States — assuming the president is an African-American and a member of the Democratic Party. The outcry over a rodeo clown donning a mask resembling President Obama reached a new level of absurdity when it was reported Monday that the man behind the mask has been permanently banned from performing at the fair ever again, as reported by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Missouri State Fair officials barred the rodeo clown from ever performing at...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri State Fair on Monday imposed a lifetime ban on a rodeo clown whose depiction of President Barack Obama getting charged by a bull was widely criticized by Democratic and Republican officials alike. The rodeo clown won't be allowed to participate or perform at the fair again. Fair officials say they're also reviewing whether to take any action against the Missouri Rodeo Cowboy Association, the contractor responsible for Saturday's event. The entertainment during the bull riding contest featured a clown wearing a mask of Obama with an upside down broomstick attached to his backside....

SEDALIA, Mo - An incident at the Missouri State Fair on Saturday night is getting national attention via social media. A clown wearing a mask of President Obama came out in the arena during the bull riding event. The announcer then asked the crowd if it wanted to see Obama “run down by a bull.” An onlooker posted their account of the event on social media, which was then picked up by the Daily Kos and the Kansas City Star. “The crowd went wild. He asked it again and again, louder each time,” the onlooker’s account of the event said.

Rodeo clown was behind racist joke about Michelle Obama It was rodeo clown Mike Hayhurst of Barstow, not announcer Ed Kutz of Arroyo Grande, who made an offensive, racist joke about first lady Michelle Obama over the public-address system of the Creston Classic Rodeo, a rodeo board member confirmed Sunday. Spectators initially believed and reported that Kutz made the comment Saturday. Both he and Hayhurst were on microphones at the same time. Speaking Sunday on behalf of the rodeo’s nine-member board, Mike Barrett said the rodeo is not responsible for the joke and will ask Hayhurst for a letter addressing...

In the historic Watt Arena on the grounds of Will Rogers Memorial complex, the 25th Anniversary World Gay Rodeo Finals are hosted by the International Gay Rodeo Association. Join as the top Cowboys & Cowgirls from across the U.S. & Canada come together to compete. You'll see hard driving rodeo action along with a few twist on some old favorites. Ever wonder what "Goat Dressing" or "Wild Drag Race" could be about, come check out all the fun and excitement. Check out the full schedule including dances at our host hotel Friday & Saturday nights! IGRA.com

LAGHMAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan, Jan. 13, 2011 – Army Sgt. Toby Hall, a team leader with Company A, 413th Civil Affairs Battalion, didn’t join the Army because he was used to the rough-and-tumble life of a rodeo cowboy. Army Sgt. Toby Hall rides the bucking bronco Wildflowers at the Texas Cowboy Rodeo Association membership drive rodeo in Shamrock, Texas, in March 2006. Now, Hall, from Amarillo, Texas, is conducting missions in villages throughout eastern Afghanistan as an Army Reserve civil affairs soldier. Photo courtesy of Dale Hirschman (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. His inspiration came from the patriotic opening...

Officials say animal welfare activists forced them to scuttle the Sheriff's Department event, which was aimed at raising money for children's activities and organizations.

Thanks to movies like Urban Cowboy, Stir Crazy, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, and others, many are very familiar with what a mechanical bull is. What many may not realize is that the mechanical bull was being used as an entertainment attraction long before the "1980"s. Fact is there was an amusement park in New Jersey called Bertrand Island Amusement Park that used a mechanical bull in the 1930s they called the ""Ride 'Em Cowboy!" The day man found out he could make machines do the work of beasts, we have been inventing machines to replace all kinds of animals,...

By Sgt. Tracy J. Smith 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs ANA and ISAF forces greeted potential contractors for a proposed forward operating base in the Shinwar district of Nangarhar recently. The proposed FOB is a former British fort converted for use during the Soviet occupation more than 30 years ago and will now be used as a modernized hub for the ANA's 2nd Kandak, 201st Corps. "This meeting is to give potential contractors a walkthrough of the area so they'll have a solid overview of the scope of work," said 1st Lt. Fernando Roach, a contracting officer...

There’s a boom in rodeos in America, but I doubt that many riders would want to find themselves in this ring. These photographs by Mark Saltz (click to expand them) are of the Angola Prison Rodeo, staged by the fearsome Louisiana State Penitentiary, which sells tickets to it on its website. Why do the prisoners take such insane risks? Because it’s the nearest many of them will get to a taste of freedom. Also, the last man left in the poker game (see below) wins $150, which makes you a rich man in jail. Hat tip: Richard O’Connor.

Rodeo, the Western pastime where cowboys try to tame wild steers and steeds, is experiencing a boom in the US despite the recession. Attendance is up 12 per cent for the two largest touring Rodeo circuits, the Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association and Professional Bull Riders. Basketball and baseball teams, who charge as much as $1,250 (£750) for front row seats, have been struggling to fill their stadiums. In contrast, the rodeo arenas, where tickets start at $10, offer a cheap, exciting, air-conditioned, All-American afternoon, and have been filling up. If anything, the deepest and longest American economic downturn since the...

Twelve-year-old Richard Wayde Hamar of Yuma was killed in a bull-riding competition Sunday morning at the Little Britches Rodeo at the Boulder County Fairground in Longmont. Hamar was wearing a helmet and padded vest, but after he was thrown, the bull stepped on his stomach, officials said. His parents were in attendance at the two-day rodeo for youths 8 to 18 years old. "He held on for a few seconds," Katy Sinclair, who witnessed the accident, told the Daily Camera. "When he hit the ground, the bull just ran him over. I could see the bull's legs hit his chest....

Obama's teleprompter hits the trail Posted: 06:50 PM ET Obama delivered his remarks at the Colorado State Fair of a teleprompter. (CNN) — It appears Barack Obama's teleprompter is hitting the campaign trail. The Democratic presidential nominee has never tried to hide the fact he delivers speeches off the device, though normally he doesn't use one at standard campaign rallies and town hall events. But the Illinois senator used a teleprompter at both his Colorado events Monday — making for a particularly peculiar scene in Pueblo, where the prompter was set up in the middle of what is normally a...

A glam-metal rocker is bucking the Greeley Stampede, vowing to use the band's gig there Saturday to educate fans about "rodeo cruelty." "I had no idea that this gig included a rodeo," Poison drummer Rikki Rockett, an animal-rights crusader for 16 years, said in a statement. The 86-year-old Greeley tradition bills itself as the "World's Largest 4th of July Rodeo." "I am blown away that I missed the description of this show on our touring schedule," said the 46-year-old Rockett, whose real name is Richard Ream. "I have a huge problem with animal cruelty at rodeos," said the drummer, who...

By BILL MURPHY Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle Comments (304) Yahoo! Buzz The Houston rodeo has rejected a U.S. Justice Department offer to mediate disputes with minority groups who say it needs more minorities in high-ranking positions, doesn't give scholarships to noncitizens in the country legally and has stopped featuring Tejano performers on its main stages. The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo does not believe mediation is needed because it promotes diversity and does not engage in discrimination, said chief operating officer Leroy Shafer. "At this point, we see no need to have a Justice Department mediator involved in this," he...

An Illinois-based animal-rights organization is claiming that horses at this year’s Fiesta de Los Vaqueros were treated with unnecessary cruelty. An agency called SHARK, or Showing Animals Respect and Kindness, has filed a complaint Monday morning with the animal services division in Arizona’s Department of Agriculture because horses were shocked during the rodeo, said Janet Enoch, a SHARK investigator. Steve Hindi, SHARK’s president and founder, said he took video footage of horses being shocked with a prod that can deliver what he described as much 6,000 volts of painful electricity. In a video posted on the video sharing Web site...

HARRAH, Okla. -- An Oklahoma rodeo cowboy was killed this weekend when the bull he was riding fell on him, authorities said.Will Jernigan, 29, was killed at the Prague Rodeo at about 10 p.m. on Saturday. The Harrah native had been riding bulls for several years, officials said.Witnesses said the bull was jumping up in the chute before the gate was released. When it was released, the bull stepped on Jernigan and then fell on top of him. "You look up in there, and the bull's hanging up over the pen, kind of like he was trying to climb out,...