Robi and David Donnert arrived at The Great Flip-Off with their father, Laszlo, who was visiting from Hungary. Laszlo was a well-known circus performer in his own right. The gentlemen from Europe embodied class in the heat of battle, never losing their cool and always maintaining an air of dignity and respect.

Enrique Suarez’ family first joined the circus back in 1853. From Mexico to the United States, Enrique was recruited for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey in1955 as part of the Loyal Repensky Troupe, after which he and his family performed with every major circus in North America.  The Suarez family and Timi Loyal teamed up in the late 1980s to form the Loyal-Suarez Troupe. Enrique was bareback riding well in to his 60s!

Joining us in the ring are horse whisperers and stunt professionals, the charismatic Tommie Turvey Jr. and his sister Karen Turvey, a real-life Xena Warrior Princess!

Karen started her bareback riding when she followed her older brother Tommie to Arabian Nights.  She traveled the world with her talent, eventually landing the role of Xena in the famous show, Cavalia.

Delivering the most heat, passion, and controversy is the Zamperla-Zoppe family, a multi generational clan that has been performing bareback since the turn of the century. Their personal conflicts and dramatic outburst can sometimes overshadow their performances.  But the Zamperla-Zoppe sons are truly are the youngest, last and best of the great bareback riders. 

In the middle of the Zamperla-Zoppe clan is Gino, a self-proclaimed nomad at the top of his bareback riding game, continuing the family legacy by means of continued practice and performance with circus based out of the Sarasota, FL area.

As one of the most renowned circus and popular entertainment historians from Paris, France, Dominique Jando has held many esteemed artistic and managerial positions in both the circus and the theater. He is associated with the likes of Paris’ Cirque Medrano, Cirque Jean Richard and Cirque Alexis Gruss, and has held the positions from Associate Artistic Director of New York-based Big Apple Circus to Vice-President and Artistic Director of Dallas-based Lone Star Circus. Dominique has published several books and written many articles on the subject of the circus, and teaches classical clowning and circus history at San Francisco’s Circus Center. He and his wife, trapeze artist and aerial arts teacher Elena Panova, presently reside in San Francisco.

Born in Cape Town, South Africa, Pedro Reis began his circus training at the age of 12 at a local YMCA. He developed his skills on the flying trapeze and later helped develop the first circus school in South Africa. Pedro has toured Europe and the USA extensively and is the winner of several circus competitions. He made his American debut with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1984. One of his proudest moments is becoming an American citizen. For the past 20 years, Pedro Reis has been the founder and CEO of the Circus Arts Conservatory, fulfilling his mission to provide a circus that represents the circus arts at the highest level and that is linked to the community through performance, education and integrated arts programming. He and his wife, Dolly Jacobs, have helped bring the magic of circus to more than 200,000 people.

Six generations of German circus performers led to the man the circus world knows today as the “Riding Fool.” Mark Karoly began his career on the trampoline, and once circus legend Tommy Hanneford got a hold of him, Karoly bounced his way up to becoming one of the most popular comedy acts in bareback history.  Mark had just announced his retirement but he showed up to perform for The Great Flip-Off.

Ricky Suarez has been riding since he was 5 years old.  As his father, Enrique, grew older, he paired this child bareback prodigy with the graceful Timi Loyal.  As a 7th generation bareback rider, Ricky has performed with his family in Circus Suarez, Hanneford Circus, Big Apple Circus, Circus Flora, Ed Migley Circus.  Ricky went on to perform at Arabian Nights where he met Karen Turvey. The two of them then went on to help launch the famous Cavalia show.

As an “extreme horseman” with trick riding and horse training skills deep under his belt, Tommie’s introduction to bareback riding began at Arabian Nights in 1989.  From there, he went on to perform with Mark Karoly, and then to fulfill a successful career as an animal trainer for films, TV shows, and even the most popular Super Bowl commercial to date. Also featured are Tommie’s famous Trick Horses – PokerJoe, Joker, Ace and Blade the Mustang – along with Tommie’s stunt dogs and best friends – Bandit and Maverick, the Australian Heelers!

Olissio is the oldest and perhaps proudest of the current Zamperla-Zoppe generation of riders. Currently, he is the director and owner of Masseo, the theatrical equestrian show.

Ermes Zamperla is the youngest of the famous bareback riding family, and currently resides in Las Vegas, where he holds the position of horse trainer for “Tournament of Kings” at the Excalibur Hotel & Casino.

For the past 25 years, Deborah has been overseeing the circus, the archives the library and the education departments at the John and Mable Ringling Museum as the Assistant Director of Legacy & Circus. As an archivist and curator, Deborah provides The Great Flip-Off a distinct knowledge as she puts American circus history in context with the Greatest Show on Earth, the 146 year-old Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

Timi Loyal, from one of the most famous bareback families worldwide, shows everyone how the best in the business can make the hardest stunts look easy. Timi’s dad, a pillar in the famous Loyal Repensky Troupe, was a circus ringmaster and famous bareback rider that was not so sure about his son following in his footsteps. 

A member of the famous Mexican bareback family, the Suarezes, Martha was born into a talented family of renowned circus performers, actors, and comedians that were brought to America by the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus. With performance roots in acts led by bareback dynasties like the Hannefords and the Cristianis, Martha Suarez carried on the family tradition as a talented bareback rider in her own right as a part of the family’s famous Gaucho act Circus Suarez, Big Apple Circus, Circus Flora, and many more.

As the 8th generation of a well-known European circus and Equestrian family, German-born Caroline Williams came to America in 1968 and began her circus riding career as a child, growing up in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and performing with the Romanov Troupe from Bulgaria. Upon linking up with Timi Loyal at Arabian Nights in 1989, Caroline began her bareback riding journey and continues to do a horse act today with her Extraordinary Equestrian Show.

The second oldest of the Zamperla-Zoppes and one of the most graceful bareback riders to flip off a horse, Matt’s early dedication to the art brings a beauty and joy to The Great Flip-Off that his family and viewers alike will not soon forget.

Adding the historical perspective to this engaging documentary is Dr. Dan Draper. A chemistry professor by day, Dr. Draper’s personal hobby and love for the circus has made him the leading authority in the world on Rosin Back Riders.

Currently, Peggy Williams holds the position of the Education Outreach Manager for Feld Entertainment, and specifically manages the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey brand. Her first foray into the circus industry, however, was at the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Clown College, where she began her studies of nonverbal communication for her speech pathology career, and left the college as the first female clown to perform with The Greatest Show on Earth. From performance to show management, archival to marketing, Peggy Williams knows the circus industry from all possible angles.

Csaba Szilagyi is a professionally trained acrobat who has been performing in live entertainment for over 20 years. He studied gymnastics in Hungary when he was young and moved on to attend the Hungarian State Circus School, perform with Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey Circus, and at Arabian Nights Dinner Attraction where he trained performers for their acrobatic bareback riding act. Today, Csaba teaches aerial silks, straps, tumbling, lyra (aerial hoop), hand balancing and static trapeze as the Director/Head Instructor of Circus-Arts.