Trick Pony

 

During the SASS End of Trail WIld West Festival we had the privilege of meeting a smart horse, named Lucky Joe, and a talented cowboy named Dan Mink.

They were the famous duo of The Rhinestone Roper Show.

 

We were a little early for the show and had the pleasure of meeting them. Even when not in show mode, Lucky Joe likes to play with hats. Here he is with his protégé in training, Handsome Jack.

Dan is a trick roper and knows how to spin butterflies and rollovers, ocean waves, wedding ring loops, flat loops, dog trots, body juggles, hand shakes and lift-ons.

  

He enjoys teaching other how to rope, too. Dan invited my twinling son, Jem, up to the stage to learn how to spin a lasso. It looks a lot easier than it is.

 

But it’s his paint horse, Lucky Joe, that steals the show.

 

 

 

 

Dan Mink  is the winner of the 2007 World Champion Gun Spinner  Award and the 2005 Joe Bowman Gun Handling Showmanship Award!
The Guns that won the west are featured in the Rhinestone Roper Show.  Dan uses .45 caliber single action six shooters and .45 caliber lever action Winchester rifles.  He straps on his fancy double rig holster and performs well known gun spinning maneuvers and tosses with one gun, some with two and some alternately.  As the pistols twirl, Dan jokes and explains the tricks, how the guns work, and gives safety tips to the kids.

 

Dan Mink is also a two-time inductee into the International Knife Thrower's Hall of Fame!  The Bowie knife was a favorite tool on the frontier.  Dan takes great pride in the gasps that he hears as he throws fourteen-inch knives and closely outlines his assistant's body.  "The Wheel of Death" is a 6 foot spinning wheel.  The assistant’s body is spun with the wheel and Dan attempts to throw the knives amidst the blur and plant them around her body.

This was Handsome Jack’s first time performing under the big tent in front of a lot of people. But everyone thought he did a pretty good job, and Jack didn’t even get stage fright.

 

But Handsome Jack sure has some pretty high standards to live up to.

 

But with The Rhinestone Roper and Lucky Joe teaching him all the all ropes, Handsome Jack will no doubt become just as talented and a star in his own right.

The End.

(Ps. Call me crazy, but I couldn’t help but wonder if Dan had also ‘stage-trained’ his horses not to use the stage as their potty. I mean, the show was an hour long. The ponies came out and performed for 30 minutes of that time, and neither one of them pooped or peed out there. I don’t know about your horse, but if my mare was out there for 30 minutes, being fed grain treats, she would have had to relieve herself at least once. So, yah, I’m all impressed over the horses and their fancy tricks, but if Dan has figured out a way to potty-stage-train them, that impresses me even more. haha!)

Check out The Rhinestone Roper Show to learn more about Dan and his trick ponies.

From the Tower of,