Cracking a whip has been a snap for Myakka teenager

When it comes to her hobby, Myakka City's Sydney McCullough knows how to crack the whip.

Literally.

McCullough, 17, was this year's Manatee County Fair whip cracking champion in the senior division.

For those unfamiliar with whip cracking competitions, those entered at the Manatee County Fair compete to see how many "pops" they can create in 45 seconds.

The whip makes a cracking sound when its tip (popper) breaks the speed of sound — 730 miles per hour — creating a small sonic boom by releasing energy. 

AI describes the crack as "a sudden, rapid release of energy (a shock wave) into the air."

There are many complicated, and long, explanations from physics experts on what causes the crack of the whip, but in Myakka City, Sydney and her mom, Rebecca McCullough, aren't concerned so much with the whys.

When they present their shows at Herrmann’s Royal Lipizzan Stallions, they only talk to their crowds about the history of the whip in Florida, and then give them a cracking good demonstration.

For such a small strap to make such a big noise does startle even those in the crowd even though they are expecting the crack.

Photo by Jay Heater

Rebecca McCullough, who has been riding and showing off Lipizzan stallions for years at Herrmann's Royal Lipizzan Stallions, took over the operation when her mom, Gabby Herrmann, the matriarch of Herrmann's Royal Lipizzan Stallions, died in 2021.

Sydney McCullough began her love of whip cracking four years ago. At the time, neither she nor her mom had ever cracked a whip. Sydney won her first whip in a raffle following a 2022 parade that ended at the Myakka City Historic School House.

She said that whip sat in a drawer for a year because she didn't know how to use it.

At the time, Jolene Bryant was volunteering at the Herrmann's Royal Lipizzan ranch, and she actually made whips, including the 10-foot one Sydney McCullough won at the raffle the year before. She figured Sydney might as well know how to use it, so she taught her.

It didn't take Sydney long to get the hang of it.

"It was mostly about not whacking myself," Sydney McCullough said with a laugh.

Soon afterward, Rebecca McCullough decided she would learn to crack the whip along with her daughter, and she began to consider adding whip cracking to the shows. So it began, although Sydney McCullough did most of the cracking.

Rebecca McCullough respects the history of Florida, and usually tells her patrons how the Spanish brought the whips with them when they brought cattle and horses to Florida. 

"They needed the whips to help them get the cattle through ... well ... that," she said, pointing toward some brush just off her property.

Thus, the name Florida crackers.

The McCulloughs' family's history in Myakka City dates back to 1962, when Col. Ottomar Herrmann moved to the U.S. from Austria, bringing the Lipizzans with him. The elegant horses continued to have a circus connection in this country as the Herrmann family traveled the country to show them off, often at circus events.

Those shows continue today in Myakka City.

Rebecca McCullough said showing off her Lipizzans is a dying art, and she embraces whip cracking as another Florida art form that could be lost in the future.

Photo by Jay Heater

She wasn't sure that whip cracking had been part of the Herrmann Royal Lipizzan Stallion shows in the past, but she learned that her aunt, Ella Herrmann, was a whip cracker who performed in the shows.

Now a new generation of Herrmann family whip crackers has emerged.

According to Rebecca, Sydney McCullough is a natural talent in whip cracking and one who has to do little practice to be top notch. She said the sky would be the limit if she decided to focus on the art.

Sydney McCullough might be warming up to the idea of putting more time into it. She had not performed in the whip cracking competition at the Manatee County Fair until this year, but she said he definitely will be back.

Since Sydney McCullough is homeschooled and works the ranch, she doesn't have a lot of connections with those who compete at the fair. She is not a member of 4-H or the Future Farmers of America. She said most of the whip crackers at the fair also were showing animals.

Photo by Jay Heater

When Rebecca and Sydney McCullough arrived at the competition in January, they saw many of the competitors warming up, but they were getting tangled in their whips, which were wrapped around their legs and bodies. One competitor was swinging two whips, but ended up with them being tangled together as if they were one.

"One guy was going along like he had a fly rod," Rebecca McCullough said. "On one attempt, he struck a light (above him). It was hanging there the rest of the competition."

Competition whips at the fair tend to be 8 to 12 feet, but can be up to 15 feet. Sydney McCullough uses an 8-foot whip because it is easier to control..

"One of the (judges) gave a long lecture to (the competitors) about not bringing long whips," said Rebecca McCullough. "A lot of it is about rhythm, and a little about showmanship."

When Sydney McCullough found a spot in the arena to warm up, her mom said many of the competitors were staring at her, asking, "Who is that?"

When it came time for her to post a number for her 45 seconds, she cracked the whip 40 times. She had won.

With her victory came $160, a blue ribbon and a beautiful champion's belt buckle.

Her skill at whip cracking will continue to be a feature, and might actually be expanded, during the shows. 

"I can lay down and crack (the whip)," she said with a smile.

After she earns her GED this spring, she will attend college in the region so she can continue to help her mother run the ranch.

In the meantime, she and her mom, who also works as a medical technologist, have a lot to do on the ranch. They take care of 13 horses, including one that is pregnant.

It's not too much, though, for somebody who knows how to crack a whip.