When John Harrison steps into the rodeo arena, his aim is to leave the crowd awestruck. 

Harrison’s signature yellow shirt with red fringe and red cowboy hat will take over Romick Arena this weekend as the specialty act for the Steamboat Springs Pro Rodeo Series this Friday and Saturday night. The main event begins at 7:30 p.m.

Harrison works with his 9-year-old horse, Snoopy, performing zany bits that leave fans questioning how a man and a horse can be so well-rehearsed. 

“He is one of the smartest horses I have ever been around,” Harrison said. “He does a lot of things a dog will do and in order to believe it, you’ll have to come see it.” 

One of the most jaw-dropping moments of Harrison’s act is when Snoopy uses his strength to walk around solely on his back legs — a trick that took the pair three years of training to perfect. 

“I don’t know of any other acts doing that in the nation,” Harrison said. 

Born and raised in Soper, Oklahoma, Harrison grew up in the rodeo world. His grandfather was rodeo legend Freckles Brown, who was the World Champion Bull Rider in 1962 and was famous for riding the “unrideable” bull, Tornado. 

“As a kid I wanted to be like grandpa and ride bulls,” Harrison explained. “I started getting on some calves and steers, but they just knock you down and knock your breath out. Why would anyone in the world want to do that?” 

So, instead of riding bulls, Harrison found interest in trick riding. He was always riding horses as a kid and loved to stand up on them. In high school, he began Roman riding, a type of trick riding where the cowboy stands atop two horses. 

Harrison became a member of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association in 1999 as a trick and Roman rider, as well as a trick roper. He remembers Roman riding in Steamboat Springs in 2001. 

Later that year, Harrison was trick riding in Dubuque, Iowa, and was asked to fill in as the rodeo clown because the scheduled act did not show. 

The reluctant Harrison accepted the request and fell in love with performing. He’s been doing it ever since. 

“John is the most recognized, respected and awarded clown, barrelman, specialty act in the last 10 years,” said John Shipley, Steamboat Springs Pro Rodeo announcer. “He’s a three-time Clown of the Year, eight-time Coors Man in the Can and nine-time Comedy Act of the Year. All of those are determined by a vote of his fellow PRCA contract members and the PRCA’s top contestants.” 

Harrison has worked in the barrel at the National Finals Rodeo for 10 of the last 12 years. He has performed on rodeo’s biggest stages including the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo — with 80,000 sets of eyes staring down at him. 

“I love coming to towns like Steamboat, too,” he said. “Small-town rodeos make my heart just as happy.” 

Barrelmen serve a purpose that is so much more than meets the eye to a new rodeo spectator. 

The barrel, set in the center of the arena, acts as an island of safety for the competing cowboy. 

“The general rule is that any four-legged animal can outrun a two-legged animal, so the bull is going to outrun the cowboy,” Harrison said. “If you run in a straight line, you are going to get run over.” 

After getting thrown from a bull, cowboys may find themselves being chased by the animal. Harrison’s job is to draw the bull’s attention away from the cowboy and toward him. 

The bull will charge at the barrel with Harrison hiding inside, giving the cowboy enough time to reach the fence or exit the arena.

The cowboy’s safety is the barrelman’s highest priority. Keeping the crowd engaged comes closely after. 

“There’s something that is pleasing in the heart to make people laugh, have fun and get away from life for a little while,” Harrison said. “You find joy in it. I always say that everybody has struggles, regardless if it’s health, home, whatever it is. People can come to rodeo for two hours and get away from life. If I’m the one that makes them laugh and leave thinking it was a fun event, that means a lot to me.”