Youngster off to take on whip cracking titles
WHILE your average little kid might be keen for a Barbie doll or Matchbox car for a present, farm kids often come up a bit different.
Jenny Wooler’s kids just wanted whips to crack.
She said it all began with her son Wade, who decided before he started primary school that he wanted to be a good whip cracker.
“Wade started it all when he was about four or five and he went up to my husband Andrew and said ‘Dad, I want a whip’,” Mrs Wooler said.
“So Andrew got a tennis racquet handle and tied on some leather and a cracker and told him when he could crack that, he would buy him his own whip.”
Little Wade went out and practised for all he was worth, eventually coming up with some credible cracks and earning himself his own new whip.
But it was little sister Gabby that decided to take it to the next level.
After showing little interest initially, she practised more and more and eventually decided to enter in competitions, along the way discovering she had what it took to keep up with others in her class.
Next weekend she’s off to have a crack at the Queensland State Title, which will be awarded to winners in the whip cracking competition at the Scenic Rim Clydesdale Spectacular.
For the first time, the now 17-year-old will be in the adult section as well.
“In the ladies she’ll be up against two Australian title holders,” Mrs Wooler said.
“At the moment she’s second in Tasmania and third in Victoria, so it only takes someone having a bad day and getting a knot-up and she
could well win.
“But it’s all really about promoting the art of it and the tradition.
“It’s a dying art so it’s all about promoting the sport.”
But it seems a healthy sense of competition is part of life in the Wooler family.
After going off the whip cracking, Wade took on competitive motorbike riding, while his dad will compete in the over 45s whip cracking
section at Boonah and his mum will be defending her title as the state’s best billy boiler.
She said participants are given a box of matches, a bloke with a nice piece of pine to chop up for kindling and a piece of cardboard to fan the flames, but the catch is the cardboard can’t be used in the fire.
The first one to get a billy filled with 600ml of water to a
rapid or “white” boil is crowned champion.
The Scenic Rim Clydesdale Spectacular will feature plenty of other activities along with the whip cracking and billy boiling championships.
It will be held at the Boonah Showgrounds from 9am next Saturday and Sunday.
For further information visit boonahshowsociety.org.au/ events/clydesdalespectacular/.