This story originally appeared in Mile High Sports Magazine. Read the full digital edition.

It’s better the bull hits the barrel than the butt.

Unless, perhaps, you’re inside the barrel. Well, that’s not entirely true for Justin Rumford – he’s the guy inside the barrel. And that’s actually what he hopes to happen. That, as he’d probably tell you, is by design.

If you’re at the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo this year, pay attention to that barrel and the man inside it. Rumford is a funny, funny man, armed with skits and costumes and one-liners, all part of a shtick that’s been entertaining rodeo crowds across the country since 2010. He’s so good, in fact, that he was only on the job two years before the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association named him “Rodeo Clown of the Year.”

But far more important than being entertaining, he’s the last man between bull and rider – above all else, his concern is with the safety of the cowboy.

In Colorado, there’s The Barrel Man, but Rumford is the barrel man. The Barrel Man dutifully roamed Mile High Stadium. Rumford dutifully roams the arena inside the Denver Coliseum, protecting fallen cowboys should the bull elude the bullfighters, who serve as the first line of defense.

Watch closely though, because “Rump” as they like to call him, has many looks – in any given performance he can be a clown, an overgrown Evel Knievel, an odd-looking Spider Man, or himself.

But make sure to watch. He’s the man in the barrel, and he alone is worth a trip to the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo.

Featured Image Credit: Pete Anderson