Harrison Savors Unexpected Journey in Becoming One of ProRodeo’s Top Entertainers

As he prepares to take over for legendary barrel man Leon Coffee at RodeoHouston in March, John Harrison is grateful for his winding path through the PRCA.

John Harrison has become one of the most sought after barrel men in the PRCA, working more than 40 weekends each year. | Clayton Guardipee/For PRCA

Calls with Leon Coffee are nothing new for John Harrison, so when the phone rang he didn’t give it a second thought. 

The two men met more than 20 years ago in Clovis, N.M., co-working a rodeo shortly after Harrison had gotten his card to serve as a barrel man in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. To this day, it’s a moment etched in Harrison’s mind. Coffee, one of ProRodeo’s most legendary rodeo clowns and entertainers, made sure the partnership was equal and the banter between the two felt natural. 

“He’d always tell me, ‘If you’re having fun, they’re having fun.’ I use that all the time in the arena,” Harrison said. 

Since then, the duo has maintained a long-standing friendship, keeping in touch regularly. So the call felt ordinary – until it wasn’t. 

After more than three decades as the rodeo clown and barrel man for RodeoHouston, Coffee had decided it was time to hang up his legendary suspenders. And, after conversations with the Houston committee, Coffee was literally going to make the call on his replacement. 

“That’s who actually called me first – it wasn’t Houston; it was Leon. He was like, ‘I want you to replace me here.’ I was like, ‘Holy cow. That means the world,’” Harrison said. 

John Harrison worked his first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in 2013 and has earned the PRCA's entertainment "triple crown" for the last three years. | Click Thompson/For PRCA

It’s yet another career-defining moment in a running list Harrison considers himself fortunate to have experienced. 

Growing up in Soper, Okla., Harrison was no stranger to rodeo. His grandfather, Warren “Freckles” Brown won the PRCA Bull Riding World Title in 1962 and is an inductee to the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.

Harrison tried his hand at team roping with his father, but his focus changed at 6 years old when he witnessed in-ring performers at a local rodeo. They had numerous animals able to perform tricks, including Roman riding where a person stands with one foot on the back of two horses side-by-side and goes around the arena. 

“They were showmen. They had brahma bulls that could do tricks, doing stunts on horses,” Harrison said. “I was like, ‘I want to do that.’”

He spent years honing his craft, eventually booking a few rodeos as an entertainment act in between events. Everything changed in Dubuque, Iowa one evening when the clown for the rodeo no-showed. The stock contractor told Harrison to throw on some makeup and get in the barrel. 

“I had an announcer there, Roger Mooney, he would tell the entire joke and let me say the punchline,” Harrison said. “He would set them up on a tee for me and I would hit them out of the park. I thought, ‘This is easy.’ Two weeks later, I booked another show as a clown and I did not have that same kind of announcer. I didn’t realize this was an art and if I’m going to do this I better get good at it because I don’t like getting booed.”

Over the years, Harrison has traveled the country fine tuning his skills. He still mixes in some of the theatrical showmanship with trick riding and other skills, along with comedy and crowd engagement. He learned quickly that material in a small west Texas town might not get the same reaction in California. 

That commitment to his craft has made Harrison one of the most sought after barrel men in the sport. He estimates he’ll work more between 42-46 weekends, including the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in recent years. 

In fact, Las Vegas in December has become a regular stop for Harrsion. He’s earned the entertainment side of rodeo’s “triple crown” each of the last three years, capturing Coors Man in the Can, Clown of the Year and Comedy Speciality Act of the Year. 

“Those awards are voted on by your peers, the bull riders that you help. Entertainment is one thing, but it makes you feel really good on the security side when you can make a move that truly helps one of the cowboys out,” Harrison said. “Anytime you can help a guy out, take the hit for him in that barrel and distract him, pull the bull away, you’re proud because you never know what kind of injury they might sustain. It makes you feel good to know they’re the ones that vote you in, they want you there in the middle of the fight.”

Along with NFR, barrel man John Harrison will add RodeoHouston to his list of events worked this March, taking over for the legendary Leon Coffee. | Click Thompson/For PRCA

And starting March 4, Harrison will add something new to his résumé, officially taking over for Coffee at RodeoHouston. It’s a 20-day run at one of the PRCA’s biggest winter events. It’s also a moment Harrison could never have imagined when he was thrust into clowning more than 20 years ago. 

He knows he’s taking on a sizable responsibility from a man who set a high standard. He’s not looking to fill Coffee’s shoes per se. Instead, he just wants to do what Coffee told him to do all those years ago –  have fun. Do that, and the rest will take care of itself. 

“I’m so pumped and nervous too. People have grown up with him. People my age, all they’ve known at RodeoHouston is Leon,” Harrison said. “Hopefully, the new kids coming up, they remember me and enjoy me too.”