The J-TAC

Issue date: 11/20/08 Section: Features

Bryan Schronk had his first taste of trick roping in junior high while working with C. K. Reid and learning to "spin" rope.

Riding up in his starched long-sleeve shirt, Wranglers and worn-out boots, he is the epitome of all that is cowboy. A large circle of people have gathered around as he starts twirling his rope. The circle gets wider and all eyes are glued on the cowboy. His rope spins out farther and farther around him as he tells the crowd a story. Suddenly, he makes one last twirl and jumps off the saddle of his trusty paint horse, Hank, to land in the dirt. The crowd cheers as Bryan Schronk takes a bow and thanks everyone for coming out to the show.

Growing up in the small town of Itasca with his mom, dad and brother, Schronk, now 32, loved to twirl a rope. Known as "the Osceola Kid" since he was young,
Schronk has been trick roping since eighth grade.

He learned in junior high while working for a man named C.K. Reid. Instead of roping calves, every day after school, "we would sit on the porch, drinkin' Dr Pepper and spinnin' ropes," Schronk says.

When his dad bought him his horse, Butterfly, Schronk started learning tricks using the horse, including spinning the rope out 60 feet around himself and the horse. He learned a lot just by watching his boss and practiced as often as he could.

During his school years, "I always had a rope with me, it seems," he says. He quickly figured out trick roping was more fun, better for entertaining and cheaper than paying entry fees at rodeos.

One of his favorite tricks is called the "Texas Skip," which was made famous by Will Rogers, one of Schronk's heroes. It consists of spinning the rope vertically to the side and jumping back and forth through the loop, just like skipping.

He gained publicity when he starred as a trick roper in Pawnee Bill's Wild West Show in the Fort Worth Stockyards during the summers of his high school years. Around the same time, he literally roped comedian Roseanne Barr during the grand opening of "Planet Hollywood" in Dallas, and he participated in the opening show for the World Cup Soccer Games in Dallas. He performed the show with another trick roper, J.W. Stoker, who was around 60 years old at the time. They were to run out across the field and then start their roping.

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