The Rhinestone Ropers were wild west performers from Season 6 of America's Got Talent. They were eliminated in the Quarterfinals.
Background[]
Growing up in Jerome, Idaho, a small town near the Snake River Canyon, Dan Mink always dreamed of becoming a cowboy just like his dad and grandfathers were. Throughout his school years, including college, Dan studied to be a showman. He sang in choirs, played in bands and acted in dramas and musicals. He enjoyed the drama of the courtroom as a trial lawyer for seven years before he went back to his first love - being a cowboy.
Dan started learning rope tricks for roles he played in the musicals "Oklahoma" and "The Will Roger's Follies." He named himself the "Rhinestone Roper," and for the last 17 years, he has traveled the country performing for children at schools and fairs. He holds four World Championship titles in gun spinning, knife throwing and whip cracking.
Dan met his assistant, Melody Joy, at a gun spinning competition. She is a beautiful addition to the show, complete with skills in guns, knives and whips. Melody is the only woman in history to shoot targets out of the air while spinning on the "Wheel of Death" after Dan has thrown knives around her. Both Dan and Melody are in the International Knife Throwers Hall of Fame as "Western Entertainer of the Year." 1
Audition[]
The Rhinestone Ropers's audition in Episode 603 consisted of throwing knives around one of the ropers even while spinning, and shooting at balloons. Piers Morgan, Sharon Osbourne, and Howie Mandel all voted "Yes," sending the act to the Vegas Round.
Vegas Round[]
The Rhinestone Ropers was one of ten acts to advance straight to Hollywood without auditioning in Las Vegas in Episode 611.
Quarterfinals[]
The Rhinestone Ropers' Quarterfinals performance in Episode 615 consisted of a horse giving a hat to one of the "ropers," that roper jumping onto the horse's back, and trick roping. Piers Morgan buzzed the act. The act did not receive enough votes to finish in at least fifth place in America's Vote, eliminating them from the competition in Episode 616 along with Thomas John, instead of Silhouettes.