From Tobacco Road to rodeos in 48 of the 50 states, Keith Isley spends much of his life on the circuit — as a clown.

In town for the Kitsap County Fair & Stampede, the 2006 and 2007 Clown of the Year recently welcomed the CK Reporter to his temporary post outside Thunderbird Arena.

Born in North Carolina, where he grew up on a tobacco farm and rode ponies every weekend, Isley launched his rodeo career in the early 1970s when he was 15.

First a bareback rider, then a bull rider, Isley’s late teen years were all rodeo all the time, joining his brothers on the circuit. The rush of riding a bull — the unpredictable nature, the power, the heat, the crowd — excited him.

“I wish everyone that ever came to a rodeo had the opportunity to sit down on a bull, in a chute, put their hand in the rope, slide up on the rope and nod their head,” he said, gazing toward the arena.

“When you nod your head it could be either the highlight of your career or the end of it. When that gate comes up and you’re there riding and you hear that 8-second whistle go and you get off and hear the crowd, you know you did good. It’s quite a rush.”

That thrill soon pumped Isley, now 50, into bullfighting, protecting bull riders after their dismounts. He enjoyed being on the arena floor, but large crowds intimidated him.

“I did not want to tell jokes or do acts, I did not want to open my mouth in front of a large crowd of people,” he said. “But as time went on, I was able to get more comfortable with that. Next thing you know, I’m traveling just about year round.”

Today, Isley’s truck, trailer and two trick horses, Cutter and Badger, are at the Kitsap County Fair & Stampede. It’s Isley’s fifth stop at the Stampede, a rodeo he looks forward to every year.

“The people here in Bremerton, my God they’d do anything in the world for you,” he said. “They feed you like you’re homeless here. A lady, Julie Johnson, brought me by blackberry cobbler just the other day. They do treat you good here. It’s the only rodeo I come to that I gain weight.”

Isley has been on the floor of Thunderbird Arena since opening night, entertaining the audience with tricks, jokes and anything the crowd reacts positively to.

“It’s very rewarding to see people have a good time,” he said.

Today is the fourth of five competition days and Isley’s routine figures to be as entertaining as ever. While rain waterlogged the arena floor on opening night, eliminating tricks from his repertoire, the forecast calls for sunshine today and tomorrow.

“The weather was so bad, the arena was so bad — I couldn’t get my horses in the arena,” he said of Wednesday’s slop. “I got a lot of different things to offer.”

He has a trick roping act, whip act and often incorporates audience members in his routine. He also has miniature horse, Punkin’, and a dog, Cooter. Both are fan favorites and commonly make appearances.

Cooter is a jack-of-all-trades; crawling on his belly, playing dead, walking backwards and walking lame.

“People know the dog,” Isley said, laughing. “At one barbecue party, Cooter ended up getting a huge piece of steak cut off for him.

“That dog is spoiled. He hates to go home where he’s treated more like a dog.”

Isley’s not sure of Cooter’s breed — he’s got brown, shaggy fur and floppy ears — but that doesn’t matter.

“Whatever was available that day, I guess. He’s got a little Yorkshire Terrier in him, he’s whatever you want him to be.”

Isley still calls North Carolina home, where he lives with his wife of 20 years, Melanie. The long bouts away from home can be tough, Isley said.

“Being gone from home is rough at times, that’s the hard part of the job,” he said, explaining how he left in May and won’t return to North Carolina until October. “This year I’ve gone from Florida to Washington and drove all the way.”

When he is home, Isley spends most of his time relaxing in his large wood workshop.

“I’ve got this monster stove down there I like to pack full of wood and get red hot,” he said. “When I take a vacation, it consists of staying home.”

But Isley said losing an animal is even worse than being away from home for long periods of time.

“The worst part of the whole job, as far as I’m concerned is losing an animal,” he explained. “You’re with them every day, so when you lose one it’s pretty rough.”

Because the rodeo is year-round, the circuit has intensified during the years.

“It used to be seasonal, but it’s year-round now,” he said. “The rodeo has changed so much since the time I started.”

For one, rodeos are growing in popularity. Television and advertising have attracted more fans and the money is better.

“It’s made rodeo way more popular than it used to be. Now, it’s more of a business,” Isley said, adding that it’s not uncommon to see a cowboy jump on a plane the night of a rodeo. “The money has changed, what people drive has changed.”

Those changes, however, have made Isley surprisingly successful. He’s won Clown of the Year twice, Coors Man in a Can once and Specialty Act of the Year seven times.

“I never imagined I’d be so successful in the business,” he said. “It’s really been good for me.”

The success started in 1999 when Isley won Specialty Act of the Year for the first time. He’d performed a trick act the night before the national finals in Belle Fourche, S.D., on the Fourth of July. About halfway thorough the routine, he noticed contestants — the cowboys — watching him.

“Whenever you can get a contestant to watch your act, you have accomplished something because these guys have seen everything, everywhere,” he said.

His name went on the Top 5 ballot for Speciality Act of the Year, Clown of the Year and Coors Man in a Can. Months later at the award ceremony, his name was called for Specialty Act of the Year.

“That was undoubtedly the furthest thing from my mind,” he said, shaking his head. “They called out my name, and I tell you what, that was pretty emotional for me.

“I go up there and I was supposed to talk and I was shaking. Nothing is ever gonna be better than that was. It got me where I’m at.”

With the awards and accolades, Isley’s priority is still giving the audience a good show.

He remembers a rodeo in South Carolina in the mid-1990s when a woman, who had recently lost her husband to cancer, told him she’d never laughed so hard in her life. She wasn’t much of a rodeo fan, and still grieved, but for that day Isley made a difference.

“It’s things like that. That’s rewarding,” he said. “My main concern is the people sitting up in the seats watching all of us.”

Tomorrow’s Xtreme Bulls competition figures to be a dramatic ending to what has been an action-packed weekend.

“There’s a lot of heat here. These bulls are pretty strong, pretty aggressive,” Isley said. “From the looks of the bulls (on opening night), Sunday will be exceptionally exciting.

“The bulls that came out (Wednesday), I don’t know if they’re always like that, but God couldn’t have rode those bulls. Some of them would buck so hard they’d fall down.”

While Isley runs around the arena for other events, he stays in the barrel during bull riding.

“My job is in the barrel,” he said. “There’s only one way in and one way out.”

The barrel weighs 175 pounds, giving the clown protection, but when humans and bulls share an arena floor, anything can happen.

“Anytime you’re dealing with animals, you really need to be quick-witted,” Isley said. “The bulls are unbelievably strong, just massive.

“The feet are the most dangerous part. If you’re on the ground and they step on you it can be life threatening …”

The element of danger will never go away, meaning a rodeo clown must always focus on the task at hand.

“Once you start thinking about the danger, maybe you’re getting to the end of your career, I think,” Isley said.

Isley will be in action again tonight with the rodeo beginning at 7 p.m. He encourages families and rodeo fans alike to check out the action.

“Come out and try it and get to know some of the guys, get behind the scenes and see what goes on,” he said. “It is pretty exciting.”

He also thanked the rodeo committee for giving him an enjoyable Stampede experience.

“I tell you what, and I’m not just saying this cause I’m here, there’s no rodeo committee that treats you any better than this rodeo here,” he said. “This one here, as far as the committee, there’s no better. The committee here will go beyond the call of duty to make things great.”,