No, Jerome Schneeberger hasn't been cloned.
And no, Schneeberger isn't part of a set of triplets.
It only seems that way.
Schneeberger, 28, is usually spotted first as one of ProRodeo's elite tie-down ropers. He's a perennial top 15 cowboy, having missed the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo just once since 1997. And with a Wrangler ProRodeo Tour-round victory last weekend at the Reno (Nev.) Rodeo boosting him to No. 4 in the Jack Daniel's World Standings, he's well on his way to a fifth consecutive trip to Las Vegas in December.
Then, roughstock cowboys throughout the plains see a familiar face. It's Schneeberger, and he's on horseback, and he's picking up. Is that really Jerome?
That's him.
There he is again, behind the scenes, as a rodeo producer, assisting such stock contractors as Bennie Beutler and Hall of Famer Harry Vold. Same guy?
Yep.
"One thing kind of led to another," said Schneeberger, who is married to the former Haley Rumford, daughter of stock contractor Bronc Rumford. "I volunteered one day, and I started off roping bulls. I enjoyed it."
As if one event wasn't enough, Schneeberger now does three. It's his version of the all-around, though picking up and producing have no bearing on winning a gold buckle at the end of the year.
There he was, getting completely soaked with rain and mud while picking up at the recent Flint Hills Rodeo in Strong City, Kan. He still grins when he sees thinks about bareback and saddle bronc riders eyeing him on the other end.
"I get guys all the time saying 'What in the world are you doing?'" Schneeberger said. "Then they put two and two together and see I'm serious about this. Still, some people can't believe I do it. My dad is scared to death. I guess in the back of his mind, something will happen and I'll get hurt. He figures if I get hurt, I should be roping, not picking up."
Schneeberger also gets some time producing rodeos, something his wife plans on taking over when her father becomes too old to run the company.
Already, Schneeberger has helped in such places as Jasper, Texas; and Strong City.
"I'm not in it to do that all the time," Schneeberger said. "But I enjoy it when I don't have things going on. I wouldn't do it if I didn't enjoy it."
It sure is a stretch from his lifestyle before Schneeberger met Rumford. Back then, it was just roping calves. Not anymore.
"I was giving her a hard time at a rodeo where she was the secretary," Schneeberger said. "She later sent me a special letter with a prize money check in the mail. Later, we met up in Colorado Springs. She was the only one I new around there. That's where it started.
"I guess I was suckered in," Schneeberger said, jokingly. "Before we met, all I had done is rodeo. As far as helping out, it didn't start until when I got around her family."
Schneeberger isn't looking too far ahead. He's so focused on the upcoming Fourth of July run that he was unaware of his fourth-place ranking in the current world standings.
"It doesn't matter where I'm sitting now," Schneeberger said. "I can figure all that out later. I'm getting ready for the next couple of weeks, but I won't wear myself out. Fuel is so high right now. We'll take it easy and hit five or six rodeos."
And with that focus as a roper, he's not making too many decisions about his future, either.
"I'd like to rope as long as I can," Schneeberger said. "Haley is going to take over the company, but I'm not ready for that, yet. I have too many irons in the fire. I'm sure that's what we'll end up doing. Whatever she wants to do, I'll be behind her. And our kids, they'll be doing it all."