With so many events, rodeo clowns are sure to make an appearance. Troy Lerwill, a rodeo clown called “The Wild Child” from Payson, Utah, entertained the audience by making fun jokes with the announcer, Mike Mathis. Lerwill turned out to be the stunt man for the afternoon. He jumped his trailer with his CRF450 motorcycle right after going “out of control”.
“The funnest part is to catch the audience off guard,” Lerwill said. “That’s the best part, the element of surprise.”
The only time Lerwill practices his stunts is when he is performing. He started off as a bull fighter but learned to love the entertainment side of the rodeo and has been doing his stunts for 15 years.
“I like traveling around and have been here [in Amarillo] three times and really enjoy coming here,” said Lerwill. “Anytime you have a fair, carnival, and livestock; it makes it fun. It’s a huge celebration that I get to be a part of.”
After the rodeo, Hotel California took the spotlight at the Budweiser Stage. Hotel California is an Eagles cover band. George Dickinson plays guitar, petal steel, mandolin, and keyboard for the band.
“I had such a good time last time in Amarillo,” Dickinson said. “There’s good people here, that and the food. The local cowboy club did all the cooking and it was real good. We have been to Amarillo at least half a dozen times.”
Dickinson said the band has been together for 25 years and was a weekend band for the first ten years.
“The demand for our show grew so fast, how do you say ‘no’ to that,” he said. “You gotta keep working at it [dedication to the band], it’s a process like everything else.”