"TRICK ROPIN' & FANCY RIDIN"

By Marilyn Morris Mayer

Ever dream of being a fancy trick roper? Or riding into an arena at a gallop--vaulting off and on your horse as the crowd cheers? Or maybe standing alone in the spotlight, commanding a flashy steed to do your every biding at liberty--no ropes; no reins; just silent commands?

For a young woman named Demetra, and a venerable cowboy named J.W. Stoker, both of whom now hail from Weatherford, Texas, it's a dream they live every day!

A YOUNG GIRL'S DREAM COMES TRUE...

"All my life--ever since I was a little girl and I would go to rodeos I would tell my parents, 'I want to trick ride!'" says Demetra, who was born and raised in a small town in the Missouri bootheel. But her parents were concerned about her safety and steered her on to pleasure horses instead, telling her that when she was grown she could make her own decisions.

Demetra just laughs as she recalls a conversation she had with her husband when she turned 24. The two were living in Ft. Worth, Texas at the time. "I told him, 'You know, I'm going out and look for a horse. And I'm going to look for a trick riding horse!'"

It just so happened that Demetra's aunt and uncle, who were living in California at the time, were professional trick riders--doing Roman style riding and working shows all across the country. So she contacted them to let them know she bought a horse...and was ready to learn to trick ride. They told her that the 'best in the business' was only 30 miles from her: J.W. Stoker.

Now, Demetra notes that she had heard of J.W. Stoker all her life but didn't know that he lived in Weatherford, Texas. She tracked him down--and admits she was relentless. "I called him solid for four months!" she recalls with a laugh. " I called him weekly; I called him biweekly. If I happened to get him in-between travels, he was always busy or getting ready to go out of town. Or something."

But J.W. finally gave in. Knowing she just wouldn't give up, he told her to come on out the next day and "let's see what you've got." That day changed her life, Demetra says, and formed a partnership that has lasted almost 12 years. (J.W.'s story is a marvel in itself--and we'll get to it in a minute). Since these two showmen paired up, they've been performing together in almost every state in the union, working National Finals rodeos and Wild West Shows along with special horse fairs and events.

Early on, Demetra was commuting each day from Ft. Worth to J.W.'s place in Weatherford (she is married to Gary Risenhoover, a math professor at Tarrant County College) when J.W. came up with a plan. He sold Demetra and her husband 10 acres of his prime 25-acre ranch in Weatherford at what Demetra terms a great low price, so that the couple could build a house right next to his. They share the land and the barns and arena...and an unbelievable friendship.

THE KID WHO COULD REALLY SPIN A ROPE...

Seventy-seven years young, J. W. Stoker is just as handy with a horse and a rope as he was when he was a youngster in Overland Park, Kansas. His professional career started at the age of ten!

As a nine year old boy, J.W. belonged to a riding club and would get together on Sundays with kids who ranged in age from 6 to 18. "We'd do musical chairs and drills and things on our ponies," he recalls, "and we'd spin a rope and try to do tricks." That winter a cowboy named Pinky Barnes came through and decided to spend him time teaching the kids tricks. "He'd done some movies and worked in circuses and Wild West Shows and rodeos," J.W. explains.

J.W. signed on for lessons with Pinky, practicing on his own every chance he got. "I practiced every day. I only lived two blocks from school, so I'd come home at noon to eat lunch--and I'd practice. I even practiced at recess." J.W. adds, with a hearty laugh, "And when I got home, I'd practice some more!'

When Pinky's boss at the Wild West Show and Rodeo (Clyde S. Miller) showed up in Kansas one day, Pinky was bragging about his young student. Clyde had to see for himself! Then immediately wanted to talk with J.W.'s parents to sign up the kid.

"Of course, I was only ten at the time," J.W. recalls, "and because I was so young, my folks weren't going to send me down the road alone." That was no problem for Clyde Miller--he hired them, too. "He ended up hiring my mother to take care of us kids; my dad to haul the bucking chutes for the rodeo part; and my oldest sister (who also trick rode and roped) to work with me." J.W. admits that his younger sister, then 4 years old, just went along for the ride...but a couple of years later she became part of the brother-sister act, too.

They continued with the Wild West Show and Rodeo until J.W. joined the U.S. Army, where he ended up entertaining the front-line troops in Korea (along with a young hollywood singer named Eddie Fisher).

J.W.'s career has been an illustrious one. He has traveled the globe performing for audiences large and small--including Presidents of the United States and the Queen of England--and appearing in several movies. (Most noted was his stunt work in the motion picture "Bronco Billy" starring Clint Eastwood, and a bit part in "Bus Stop" with Marilyn Monroe.) In 1999, J.W. Stoker was inducted into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City.

His favorite rope trick is a routine that he originated: the black-light trick roping (borrowed from the ice shows). "It's where your costumes and ropes and boots and hat--everything--lights up when you use ultra violet lights at the night shows."

So, how did this globe-hopping Kansas fella wind up calling Texas home? "I was going with a girl that lived in Abbott, Texas--a trick rider," J.W. recalls. "I was trying to practice to be in shape for the Ft. Worth Stock Show, but it was about 10 degrees below zero in Kansas. She said, 'Why don't you come down here and practice'--and I did. It was 65 or 70 degrees, and I thought, 'Boy, I'm going to move down here!'"

This transplanted Texan (still a bachelor) hasn't let time slow him down. He still does all the fancy riding and roping, still standing on the horse and jumping through the loop and then onto the ground. And he still breaks out his own horses.

FLASHY HORSES STEAL THE SHOW...

J.W. says the first thing he looks for in a trick horse prospect is color. "You don't want to look like one of the contestants in the arena," he notes with that wonderful laugh. "Paints are my favorites--palomino paints or black and white. Or black horses with white stockings. You want something that just stands out for color."

"The first thing I always look for is color," Demetra agrees. "But probably the main thing a trick riding horse has to bring to the table is a good mind. A good mind! He's got to be calm, not easily rattled, because you can really get into some hairy situations."

"I also look for something that is level headed (not spooky) and wants to do something. I don't want a real lazy horse; I don't want a horse that's wanting to run off all the time. You've got to hit a happy medium," J.W. notes. Confirmation and size enter into the picture for J.W. too, he adds, and a 14.3 hand horse seems to fit him perfectly.

THEY KNOW HOW TO 'COWBOY UP'...

Never let it be said that Demetra or J.W. don't know the meaning of "cowboy up." They've been forced to prove their metal more than once.

A year or so back, Demetra was performing a trick riding routine in St. Louis, Missouri, when the unthinkable happened. "I got hung up on a horse and I broke my neck in two places. My right arm was paralyzed for about a week, and I had 2 rods, 5 screws and a cable put in my neck." Her neurosurgeon told her the bad news--she could never ride again. But that didn't stop this determined young woman from finding a way to continue as a showman.

Demetra had been working her "liberty" act with her Paint horse Sundance, along with her trick riding stunts on other horses, so she put all her efforts into working her beautiful Sundance from the ground--a spectacular 7-minute choreographed routine that was a real crowd pleaser. "He would go into the arena free...no bridle or saddle...and then I would go in dressed as a Native American and call him to me. He would run to me and give me a kiss...and bow, march, rear, rumba, get on a pedestal, lay down, kneel and pray."

As Demetra describes her extraordinary horse, there is a break in her voice remembering that, once again, tragedy reached out it's hand--this time on a stretch of highway 287 near Campo, Colorado in the early morning hours. The date was January 12th, 2005.

J.W. and Demetra were heading to the Denver Stock Show for a performance when they hit a patch of invisible 'black ice' and their trailer skidded off the road and overturned, plunging them into a nightmare of breaking glass and twisted metal as the truck cab and the horse trailer were totaled. Somehow, Demetra and J.W. emerged without a scratch, but the horses didn't fair as well. One of the horses suffered a puncture wound; another required stitches. Sadly, Sundance didn't make it. He was killed in the wreck.

Entertainers have a saying: "the show must go on" ... and J.W. and Demetra knew that better than anyone. With help from friends they continued on to the Denver show, but not before Demetra saw to it that Sundance was laid to rest in a pet cemetery in Lamar, Colorado. J.W. did his act the next day, and the show gave a special tribute to Sundance and covered his stall front with roses.

BACK IN THE SPOTLIGHT...

"As soon as I got back I pulled on my boot straps and went to work on one of my other horses," Demetra shares. With new show dates only months away, J.W. put his energy in doctoring the injured horses, repairing his truck and trying to replace and outfit another hauling rig, while Demetra set out training a replacement for Sundance.

Well, it would appear that humans are not the only ones that know how to cowboy up--one of the horses that was scuffed up in the trailer accident, a white horse aptly named "Kasper" has answered the call. "Without any 'formal' liberty training at all, Kasper has just stepped right up," says Demetra. "He is doing wonderful!"

Demetra is also back in the saddle. Although no longer trick riding, she is doing flag presentations and reining on a gorgeous young palomino stallion named "Romeo"--kicking of their maiden performance in July in Bonham, Texas to a sellout crowd at the 50th annual Kueckelhan Ranch Rodeo.

Today, Demetra and J.W. are back on the road, doing what they love best--and thrilling audiences all across the country. And neither plans to quit anytime soon. When asked if his saddle is on display at the Cowboy Hall of Fame (like those of Roy Rogers, and other western greats), J.W. Stoker just chuckles and shakes his head. "They don't have any of my saddles yet because it's up to the inductee to donate them...and I'm still using mine!"

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Along with appearances at various rodeos and conventions throughout the year, J. W. and Demetra will once again be starring in the Great American Wild West show in Denver, Colorado in January 2006--a spectacular 2-day run of wild west reenactments that include everything from stage coach robberies to Roman riding and Native American dancers.

To see more photos of Demetra and J.W. and check their schedule, or send them an e-mail, just log on to their website: www.demetrak.com