EVENTS
Rodeo Trick Rider
Rodeo Trick Roper
Tommy Kirnan was one of early-day rodeo’s most colorful characters. Born at Bayonne, New Jersey, in 1893, he joined a wild west show in 1908 and worked for the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch Wild West Show from 1911 to 1916.
Kirnan made his competitive debut in 1916 in Guy Weadick’s New York Stampede, where he placed second in trick riding and fourth in trick roping. He collected championships in Tex Austin’s World Championship Rodeos at Chicago in 1921 and at London in 1924. From 1921 to 1925 Kirnan and Leonard Stroud vied for the title of “the best trick rider in the world,” and from 1915 to 1923 Tommy Kirnan was also a top bronc rider and a contender in Roman racing and calf roping.
A big, friendly Irishman, Tommy Kirnan was known for wit and humor. His rodeo showmanship and all-around ability brought him more fame than any other American cowboy of the era, with the exception of Will Rogers. He died in 1937.
