ELECTION 2018:
75 CENTS
June 21, 2018
For coverage of the June 26 primaries, go to ElbertCountyNews.net ELBERT COUNTY, COLORADO
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Here comes the clown when a cowboy is down Not all fun and games Rodeo clown moves barrel to protect downed riders from belligerent bulls BY TOM MUNDS TMUNDS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
and horses, he would assist in the arena and competed professionally. His father rode and competed as a rodeo cowboy, and Winklepleck hopped onto a bareback “bronc” just like his dad. One day, during a lull in the action, Winklepleck’s dad told him to go out there and entertain the crown since he acted like a clown all of his life anyway.
Bull riding is considered the most dangerous event in rodeo competition, and a man dressed as a clown provides a safe haven from the bulls for riders who have gotten bucked off or completed their ride When it’s time for bull riding, J.W. Winklepleck dons his clown gear and moves into the arena like he did at the Elizabeth Stampede’s June 1 Xtreme Bulls event and at each of the June 2 and 3 Elizabeth Stampede rodeos. “I grew up around rodeo, competed in bareback riding competition for quite a few years and started out bullfighting,” he said. “We needed some time to load the chutes for rough stock and bull riding; my dad said I have been a clown all my life so I decided to give it a try as the clown and his barrel.” Bull rider Lucas Wilson, who rode in the Xtreme Bulls event,
SEE CLOWN, P6
SEE BARREL, P8
Barrel man and rodeo clown J.W. Winklepleck plays the funny man with his jokes but he is ready with his barrel to provide a safe haven for bull riders during the June 1, 2 and 3 Elizabeth Stampede. TOM MUNDS
Winklepleck is handy with a barrel during tense times in rodeo arena BY JULIE A. TAYLOR SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
W
hen a cowboy needs to be saved, when children need encouragement to read or when a crowd needs a laugh, only one man can deliver in the unique way that J.W. Winklepleck does. Winklepleck earned his last name at birth, not from rodeo clowning as some have
assumed. J.W. doesn’t stand for John Wayne, like he wished it did, but for James Wayne — his parents wanted to put J.W. on the birth certificate to balance out the long last name, but the state of Colorado wouldn’t allow it. Rodeo clown Winklepleck, a father of three and husband to Elizabeth Stampede’s A/V tech, got his start at his family’s ranch. When he wasn’t tending to the bucking bulls
THE BOTTOM LINE PERIODICAL
“Cool gets rearranged about every 10 years. I was there in the 1960s and the 1970s, and they were not cool. You can have them.” Craig Marshall Smith, columnist | PAGE 12 INSIDE
CALENDAR: PAGE 9 | VOICES: PAGE 12 |
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LIFE: PAGE 14 VOLUME 123 | ISSUE 21