Editing Circus clown (section)

====Joe Pentland====
Joe Pentland was another popular early singing clown and one of the first to get top billing.  He worked with Aron Turner's Circus, and then with Sands & Lent.  He is one of those often credited with creating still another variation on the tailor's ride, called "The Drunken Sailor."  Posing as a drunken [[sailor]], Pentland emerged from the stands offering to ride an ornery [[horse]], and was greeted with various hoots and cheers.  After several hilariously unsuccessful attempts, he stripped down to his [[leotard]]s and rode with consummate skill.

:A later version of the act was wonderfully described by [[Mark Twain]] in ''[[Adventures of Huckleberry Finn]]'', and other variations on it survive today in several contemporary equestrian routines, particularly those of the [[Hanneford]] family.