Fan-favorite Whiplash the Cowboy Monkey to perform
Whiplash the Cowboy Monkey, a fan favorite, will be making a return trip to Pretty Prairie for Kansas Largest Night Rodeo, set for July 17-20.
Whiplash, or “Whip,” as owner Kenny Petet affectionately calls him, is a Capuchin monkey who has been performing at rodeos and other events across North America and abroad for 25 years. Dressed in cowboy gear, he rides his trust border collie mount Boogie while the duo herds sheep in the arena.
Whip was raised and trained by rodeo specialty act and animal training legend Tommy Lucia, who died in 2016 and will be posthumously inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame later this year.
Petet, a resident of Stephenville, Texas, and a 25-year member of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, has been a longtime friend of the Lucia family, and had been earlier asked by Lucia’s son, Tommy Joe, if he would be interested in taking over the Whiplash the Cowboy Monkey act as his father was not wanting to travel as much.
At first, he wasn’t interested in the responsibility of taking care of a monkey. Also, Tommy Lucia wasn’t quite ready to end his association with Whip.
The subject came up again when Lucia had a stroke. His son asked Petet if he would look after the animals until his health improved. However, his health never improved.
Performing for others is the only life Whip has known, and his popularity with rodeo fans has been demonstrated as he had been named the PRCA Rodeo Entertainer of the Year on three occasions.
But when Lucia passed, there was a lot of adjusting involved for both the Petet family and the animals of the Whiplash the Cowboy Monkey Act.
“When I took this deal over, I didn’t perform for almost a year. I had had dogs, but I never had a border collie and I didn’t have the knowledge that I needed with border collies. I knew absolutely nothing about primates,” Petet explained.
But that didn’t deter him. He chose to get educated so he could keep the act on the road.
“I found people who did know those things and spent time with them. It was important to me that if I took that act over, to continue in the tradition and the excellence that Tommy did,” he said.
Whip also had some adjusting to do when started living with a new family.
“Whip lived with Tommy his whole life. Tommy hadn’t been married for years and years, so when (Whip) got to my house, he had to figure out a whole new life.
The monkey took an almost immediate liking to Petet’s wife, and eventually, he came around to liking both of them. Now, Whip, who is litter box trained, roams the Petet house “like a cat.”
Petit started his career in rodeo as a bareback rider and saddle bronc rider. He also worked as a pickup man and moved into being a clown and bullfighter. He fought bulls at the Mesquite (Texas) rodeo for 13 years. He also had a chuckwagon act that was successful enough it was chosen to be a specialty act at the National Finals Rodeo.
But to make sure Petet devotes enough time to the cowboy monkey act, he stopped clowning, and he sold his chuckwagon.
Whip is now 27 years old. He started performing at the age of 2. With proper veterinary care, he can live to be 45-50.
“The vet seems to think that he has 10-15 years riding and 5 years retirement with me,” said Petet, adding that he thinks he will tire of performing and time on the road before his monkey does.
But for now, he is trilled to have the honor of continuing one of the most successful acts in professional rodeo history.
“That’s the great thing about Whiplash, is if people know he’s here, they’re going to come see him,” Petet said during a telephone interview. “I’m in Vernal, Utah, and they have a parade, and they decorated a parade entry with Whiplash and won the whole thing. That’s the kind of pull he has.
“I’m glad to be able to continue what Tommy had, and just every day I strive to make sure the act is as good as when he had it.”