Team
Roping 101
For those unfamiliar with team-roping, the following is a description
taken from the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association website:
Team Roping, the only true team event in rodeo, requires close cooperation
and timing between two highly skilled ropers a header and a heeler and
their horses. The event originated on ranches when cowboys needed to
treat or brand large steers and the task proved too difficult for one
man.
The key to success? Hard work and endless practice. Team roping partners
must perfect their timing, both as a team and with their respective
horses.
Similar to tie down ropers and steer wrestlers, team ropers start from
the boxes on each side of the chute from which the steer enters the
arena. The steer gets a head start determined by the length of the arena.
One end of the breakaway barrier is attached to the steer and stretched
across the open end of the header's box. When the steer reaches his
advantage point, the barrier is released, and the header takes off in
pursuit, with the heeler trailing slightly further behind. The ropers
are assessed a 10-second penalty if the header breaks the barrier before
the steer completes his head start. Some rodeos use heeler barriers
too.
The header ropes first and must make one of three legal catches on
the steer, around both horns, around one horn and the head or around
the neck. Any other catch by the header is considered illegal and the
team is disqualified. After the header makes his catch, he turns the
steer to the left and exposes the steer's hind legs to the heeler. The
heeler then attempts to rope both hind legs. If he catches only one
foot, the team is assessed a five-second penalty. After the cowboys
catch the steer, the clock is stopped when there is no slack in their
ropes and their horses face one another.
Another important aspect to the event is the type of horses used by
the ropers. The American quarter horse is the most popular among all
timed-event competitors, particularly team ropers. Heading horses generally
are taller and heavier because they need the power to turn the steer
after it is roped. Heeling horses are quick and agile, enabling them
to better follow the steer and react to its moves. |
Fast
& intelligent horses ... time spent on training & seasoning
them to perform well... are the secrets to winning.
Horses
That Work
Website for the National
Barrel Horse Association
Barrel racing has no judges, which means the event has no subjective
points of view. Time is the determining factor.
Barrel racing is graceful and simplistic — one woman, three barrels,
a horse and the ever-present stopwatch. The horse is ridden as quickly
as possible around a cloverleaf course of three barrels. At the end
of the performance, after all of the racers have finished their runs,
the clock is the one and only judge.
Ride quickly and win. Hesitate and lose.
Not only have the best of the sport spent countless hours practicing
and honing their skill, but they also have invested many dollars in
the purchase and maintenance of the talented horses they ride. A proven
barrel racing horse can cost $50,000. For the professional barrel racer,
this is indeed a small price to pay.
In barrel racing, the rider must take her horse around the pattern in
the fastest time possible. But watch out as a tipped barrel results
in a five-second penalty.
Not only must the horse be swift, but it also must be intelligent enough
to avoid tipping the barrels, an infraction that adds five penalty seconds
to the time and kills any chance for victory.
The horse also must be able to withstand the
long roads a cowgirl must travel to reach the next rodeo. If a horse
is fast, competitive and reacts calmly to the demands of travel, chances
are good that horse can stop the clock as quickly or quicker than the
animal in the next trailer.
Because so many barrel racers have finely tuned
their skill, the sport is timed to the hundredth of a second. When the
racer enters the arena, an electronic eye starts the clock. The clock
is stopped the instant the horse completes the pattern.
Barrel racing at its core has changed little
from the days when cowgirls raced for minimal, if any, prize money and
support. And though the prizes and exposure are greater now than ever,
the ultimate goal remains essentially the same as in the past: stop
the clock as quickly as possible.
Visit the Amateur
Barrel Racer website for some interesting information.
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Pedigree - it matters:
look at BEDUINO
[click the image above to enlarge it
in a new window] Beduino did have his good
looks, the blazing speed he had demonstrated..., and a letter from
Daily Racing Form bloodlines expert Leon Rasmussen saying, "This
Beduino certainly has an interesting pedigree and it is not difficult
to discover where he gets his brilliance" going for him. Many
consider the Beduino influence on the speed horses of today is second
to none... Check out the For Sale
Pages to see some that are available
Click
the link below to watch:
http://www.evtv1.com/player.aspx?itemnum=6321
Lorenzo
- The Flying French Man
Watch this awe-inspiring demonstration of fantastic stunt riding and
tricks galore by Lorenzo the Flying French Man. Lorenzo is becoming
an international sensation with exquisite horsemanship skills !
.How
Horses Work - an article by Dr. DeRock,
equine chiroprator & acupuncturist, on how a horse's body works
best ... the value of going collected under saddle for the health
of your horse & optimum performance. "The Upside Down Horse"
Brains
Plus Endurance - Interviews with Frank T. Hopkins - famed Endurance
Rider - immortalized in the movie Hidalgo, the story of his 3000 mile
race in Arabia. Includes an article written by Frank T. Hopkins on
"Training Endurance Horses".
.
Click
on the logo above to visit this informative website - which includes
the Blue
Valentine Story
Lariat
Types & Care by Bernard Mason
Cavalia is an equestrian program from Canada,
involving trick riding, vaulting, haute école and pas de deux,
unbridled displays, and Cirque du Soleil-like performances.
Cavalia was created and directed by Normand
Latourelle, one of the original founders of Cirque du Soleil. The
musical score was composed by Michel Cusson.
The tour uses 64 horses, all of them either
stallions or geldings. Thirteen horses are Lusitanos (and brothers
or half-brothers), and the remainder are Canadian Horses, American
Quarter Horses, Paint horses, Belgians, Percherons, Arabians, and
a young Appaloosa colt. About half of the horses were brought from
southern France and the rest are from the United States.
The show is performed in the largest tent in
North America, a 2440 m² (26,300 ft²) big top, and takes
40 people 12 days to erect and 7 days to dismantle. The stable adds
on another 1070 m² (11,500 ft²), and it takes 45 trucks
to move the whole show. The 46m (150 ft) wide stage takes 1500 tons
of sand to complete.
The horses are only asked to practise one hour
each day, and get two hours each day for play. They only perform for
5-10 minutes per show, 7-8 times each week, and the horses are trained
to understudy for each other so different horses can be given the
day off.
See the website at http://www.cavalia.net/index.aspx?lang=EN-CA
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How
Rope Horses are Judged by Bob Avila: scroll down to read these good
tips.
How Rope Horses are Judged
Leading trainer Bob Avila discusses seven skills judges look for in
roping events.
By Bob Avila
Roping events call for absolute teamwork between horse and rider. The
horse's job is to position the rider to make a catch, and then work
the end of the rope to keep it taut. Here are some of the skills judges
will look for in roping events:
1) Your horse should be quiet but alert in the box. "Alert"
can mean very alert. If your horse quivers, that's okay. It's also OK
for him to move a leg, but he shouldn't be jumping around or otherwise
indicate he's difficult for you to control. (For more tips on keeping
your horse calm in the box, see H&R, April 2004, "Quiet Anticipation"
by Ted Chancy with Sue Copeland.)
2) If you're heading, your horse should break quickly and show speed,
running to the steer, then rating it (running alongside at the steer's
pace) to position you for a good shot. If you're heeling, your horse
should rate the steer without getting so close that he risks bumping
into its hips or stepping on its hind legs.
3) If you're heading, your horse must set the steer and turn it 90 degrees
after you've caught it and made your dally, positioning it so the heeler
can catch the hind legs. He'll get good marks if he can do this without
struggling. Judges like to see a horse that can "log" a steer
(maneuver it off to the side after the header has caught it) with strength.
4) Some headers run out and put their horses into a slide, a bit of
showmanship that can actually work against you. Once you've caught the
steer's horns, you want the horse to get his rear end in the ground
to take the jerk, but you don't want him to stop and just let the steer's
action die there. He needs to be able to get the steer turned and moving
forward for the heeler to make his catch.
5) When the heeler catches, your head horse should run to the end of
the rope, make a bright and quick turn, then face the steer while staying
light and keeping the rope taut. The judges will fault your horse if
he's reluctant to go to the end of the rope, rears, or gets "rubber
bandy" (bounces around) when he faces up.
6) If you're heeling, the judges will be looking to see that your horse
makes the corner without cutting in after the header has set and turned
the steer. If he cuts in, he'll put you at the steer's shoulder, and
you won't be positioned for a good shot at the hind legs.
7) Once you've caught the heels and dallied, your horse should get his
rear end into the ground as hard as he can, stopping deep and square
without being jerked off-balance by the rope. And, he should hold the
rope taut without moving. He'll lose points in heeling if he bounces
forward when feeling the rope's jerk, or if he fights with his head.
Bob Avila has ridden home with AQHA world championships in cutting,
reining, working cow horse, western riding and halter. In 1996 he was
named the AQHA Professional Horseman of the Year--the first-ever recipient
of the award. His Avila Training Stables, Inc., is located in Temecula,
Cal.
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Top Barrel Racing Horse Cloned
Published in Business, News, Barrel
Racing, Western Performance, Breeders & Breeding
A Texan woman has paid more than $150,000 USD
to clone her retired barrel racing horse who won the world title 10
times. Charmayne James now has a foal clone from her champion gelding
Scamper.
The first four attempts to produce a clone failed,
but success came with the successful birth of a foal on August 8. It
was named Clayton, after her childhood hometown in New Mexico. The company
that carried out the cloning was ViaGen, based in Austin, Texas. It
specializes in animal genetics.
Charmayne met Scamper when she was 11 years old.
Though Scamper was considered unrideable, James and her father admired
the horse’s conformation, so her father bought him from a cowboy
who worked on his feedlot.
Scamper was trained, and in 1984, at age 14,
she rode him to win the world championship in barrel racing. The pair
went on to win the next nine world championships, making James the all-time
leading money earner in barrel racing, the first million-dollar cowgirl,
and the holder of more world championships than any other woman in professional
sports.
This year, James decided to clone the 29-year-old
horse in order to continue to use his exceptional genetics in her breeding
program.
“If there was ever a horse to be cloned,
Scamper’s the one,” said James. “The baby looks so
much like Scamper, conformation-wise. He’s so balanced; he’s
got the same shoulder, the same bright eye. I’m happy I had Scamper
cloned and I’m so happy with the results.
“We were honoured but not surprised that
Charmayne would seek to clone Scamper,” said ViaGen president
Mark Walton. “Horse breeders increasingly recognize that cloning
is an excellent tool for maximizing the value of their best genetics.”
Cloning produces a later-born identical twin,
thereby preserving and multiplying the genetics of superior animals.
Many horse breeders, who already use assisted reproductive techniques
such as in-vitro fertilization and embryo transfer, view cloning as
the next step in breeding.
The technology can be used to produce stallions
from the genes of top-performing geldings, or to produce duplicates
of popular stallions so that their owners can keep up with demand for
semen, embryos, and offspring.
ViaGen also offers a gene banking service, which
enables people to preserve the genes of exceptional animals for possible
later use in cloning, or as insurance against unexpected injury or loss.
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This takes a brave, athletic and intelligent horse....
like those sired by Don't Skipa Challenge [aka "Stiker']
[click on the images to enlarge
them in a new window]
Cross-country requires both horse and rider to be
in excellent shape and to be brave and trusting of each other. This
phase consists of approximately 12-20 fences (lower levels), 30-40
at the higher levels, placed on a long outdoor circuit. These fences
consist of very solidly built natural objects (telephone poles, stone
walls, etc.) as well as various obstacles such as ponds and streams,
ditches, drops and banks, and combinations involving several jumping
efforts - based on objects that would commonly occur in the countryside.
This phase is timed, with the rider required to cross the finish line
within a certain time frame (optimum time). Crossing the finish line
after the allowed time results in penalties for each second late.
At lower levels, there is a speed fault time, incurring penalties
for horse and rider pairs completing the course too quickly. Penalties
are also incurred if the horse refuses to jump a fence or if the rider
falls off. The penalties for disobediences on cross country are weighted
severely relative to the other phases of competition to emphasize
the importance of courage, endurance and athleticism. Fitness is required
as the time allowed will require a strong canter at the lower levels,
all the way to a strong gallop at the higher events.
Above: Gray Ladys Challenge, sister to our
Junior Stallion, Red Frost HBOs. Click the picture to enlarge it
in another window... and visit our Stallions
Page to see Red Frost HBO and Don't Skipa Challenge.
Come Back Often to
Horse That Work
for more interesting news, tips and
ideas !
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