From barebacks to barrels
ARCADIAN PHOTO BY KELLEY BAKER, skfshowcattle@aol.com
Barrelman Robbie Hodges waves to the crowd as he starts up his comical act during the Arcadia rodeo. Formerly a bareback rider, he gave that up a dozen years ago and picked up the barrel.
ARCADIAN PHOTO BY SUSAN E. HOFFMAN, shoffman@sun-herald.com
"I can't believe he just put his trash in my barrel!" Robbie Hodges said as he had some lunch at the Arcadia rodeo grounds. The padded barrel weighs almost 200 pounds and is an essential piece of his equipment.
ARCADIAN PHOTO BY KELLEY BAKER, skfshowcattle@aol.com
This is when Robbie Hodges' job gets dicey -- when an angry bull tries to get him inside his barrel. In his career he's been knocked out several times when a bull rolls the barrel around or banged into it.
ARCADIAN PHOTO BY SUSAN E. HOFFMAN, shoffman@sun-herald.com
Robbie Hodges, voted Barrelman of the Year at the Wrangler National Finals in 2011, entertains spectators with his fast-moving jokes but he says his most important role is keeping the cowboys safe.
ARCADIAN PHOTO BY KELLEY BAKER, skfshowcattle@aol.com
Robbie Hodges perches on his barrel during the Arcadia rodeo Sunday. It's just part of his job to entertain the crowd of spectators while trying to distract the bulls and keep the riders safe.
It’s two hours before showtime, and barrelman Robbie Hodges is sitting at a picnic table, casually eating a bowl of pudding while he simultaneously conducts an interview and jokes with fellow cowboys. While responding to a question, he stops mid-sentence, turns around and shouts, “That’s not a garbage can, that’s my barrel!”
A cowboy had just thrown the remains of his lunch into Robbie’s “office.” “Did ya’ll see that?” Hodges exclaimed. “That guy just put his lunch in my barrel! That’s OK, how much stuff is in there, anyway?”
