WHIP POPPING FUN ~ Celebrating 20 Years!

The Polk County Youth Fair celebrated 20 years of showcasing the Florida Cracker or Cowman with their 20^th anniversary of the Whip Popping Contest.  This year Robert was asked to return as a special guest demonstrator to show what it took to win 20 years ago.   It was wonderful to see him back in the same arena doing what he did 20 years ago and watching him wow the crowd in his own way.

The contest has certainly changed some.  The kids popping the whips are more “showy”; one boy even did a flip.  I was impressed by all the contestants and proud to see that the kids that won had whips made by my husband through his Moccasin Whips and Artwork page.  As exciting as the showmanship and “flashy” whip popping was, in a way it saddened me some too.  Something is lost when it’s all about flash and not about technique and the REAL reason cowboys in Florida were called Florida Crackers. 

What was amazing to some of the kids was that Robert stood with his hand in his pocket, and made the whip sound just as loud as a gunshot, maybe even louder than their pops all the while standing still.  He popped the whip just as he would if he was sitting on our mare.  Robert popped the whip the way he did 20 years ago, and once again won the crowd.  He wasn’t flashy, overly showy, or entertaining.  He was simply a Florida Cowman doing what he does best, showing his craft as a Florida Cracker.   

Working his magic with the whip.

LOVE his hand in his pocket!

Getting a big thanks from Cari Lightsey.

As always, I sat and watched my husband in awe. To me he is simply amazing in his simplicity and the masterful way he has hones his craft, a true Florida Cowman. 

Congratulations to all the winners at the fair.  Congratulations on 20 years of showing off a dying Florida art, the art of the Florida Cracker.  More than that, congratulations to my amazing husband for showing the world that it’s really the simple way of the cowboy that  makes someone a winner!