At a small rodeo on the outskirts of Wichita Falls, Gary “Roach” Hedeman stares at an empty red-dirt arena, recalling the time Panhandle Slim, a legendary bucking bull, stepped on his head. Oh hell, this is going to hurt, he recalls thinking.
“That sonofabitch used to run over me all the time,” Hedeman says. “He didn’t break anything. I got lucky. He usually turned back and spun closer to the pens, but he went farther. My timing was off.”
Nowadays, Roach, 61, spends his time judging small bull-riding competitions around Texas instead of fighting bulls as a rodeo clown. He’s also been hosting auctions and benefit shows for rodeo friends who are all older and facing health issues. The rodeo life isn’t known for its good retirement and health insurance packages. Roach has had to work several odd jobs to make ends meet, and when he was married, rely on his wife, who worked for a school district, to provide health insurance.
It’s a warm September evening in 2021, and the retired rodeo clown seems larger than life walking among the bull pens, bull riders, and stock contractors behind the rodeo arena. He moves slower than he did when he was younger in cleats, elbow, knee and hip pads (for when he was sore),
