WHEN Brett and Christie Jervis's son Jesse was invited to his first whipcracking event, she didn't realise it would turn into a family pastime.
The family had friends competing in whipcracking at the Deniliquin Ute Muster in 2017 and and soon after Jesse, now 15, and his brother Beau, now 10, attended their first West Side Whip Crackers event at Gisborne, Victoria.
Seven years later, the Conargo Whipcrackers, which sometimes includes their older sister Brooke, 17, are competing in state and national competitions and entertaining crowds at large events like Agfair Broken Hill.
"The boys took to whipcracking straight away and started participating every month," Mrs Jervis said.
"They've competed since 2018 in their age brackets, but they also do synchronised whipcracking to show crowds what they can do."
The Jervis family travels far and wide for the sport, going as far as Brisbane to compete in the Australian titles at the Ekka, where the boys will compete again in August.
In March, both boys won their divisions to become back-to-back champions at the NSW Whipcracking Titles held at Gunnedah.
"Beau did a 30-second freestyle and Jesse a minute-long freestyle, and there's also an accuracy component," Mrs Jervis said.
"These days they're not cracking cigarettes or straws out of mouths, but they have a stand with polystyrene cups and they try to cut through the cup."
While they're learning incredible tricks with their whips, Jesse and Beau have also developed life skills in other areas such as public speaking, with the boys holding demonstrations at community events and schools.
"They just had a demonstration with a vintage tractor run going through Conargo, so it was an older group of people, and they were impressed," Mrs Jervis said.
"Jesse talks about the art of whipcracking, and they're quiet kids, but once you get them talking about whipcracking, they won't stop.
"Some tricks take a long time to learn, but that teaches them about practice and consistency, and having the shared hobby has made them closer."
The Conargo Whipcrackers will perform at various times across the two days of AgFair on May 3 and 4.
Ruth Schwager
Ruth Schwager is a journalist with the national agricultural features team.
Ruth Schwager is a journalist with the national agricultural features team.
