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Bareback
Riding
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Tie-Down Roping
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Tie-Down
Roping
As
with saddle bronc riding and team roping, the
roots of tie-down roping can be traced back
to the working ranches of the Old West. When
calves were sick or injured, cowboys had to
rope and immobilize them quickly for veterinary
treatment. Ranch hands prided themselves on
the speed with which they could rope and tie
calves, and they soon turned their work into
informal contests.
|
 |
| A
cowboy's success in tie-down roping
depends in large part on the precise
teamwork between him and his horse. |
As
the event matured, being a good horseman and a fast
sprinter became as important to the competitive
tie-down roper as being quick and accurate with
a rope.
Today,
the mounted cowboy starts from a box, a three-sided
fenced area adjacent to the chute holding the calf.
The fourth side of the box opens into the arena.
The
calf receives a head start that is determined by
the length of the arena. One end of a breakaway
rope barrier is looped around the calf's neck and
stretched across the open end of the box. When the
calf reaches its advantage point, the barrier is
released. If the roper breaks the barrier before
the calf reaches its head start, the cowboy is assessed
a 10-second penalty.
The
horse is trained to come to a stop as soon as the
cowboy throws his loop and catches the calf. The
cowboy then dismounts, sprints to the calf and throws
it by hand, a maneuver called flanking. If the calf
is not standing when the cowboy reaches it, he must
allow the calf to get back on its feet before flanking
it. After the calf is flanked, the roper ties any
three legs together with a pigging string —
a short, looped rope he clenches in his teeth during
the run.
While
the contestant is accomplishing all of that, his
horse must pull back hard enough to eliminate any
slack in the rope, but not so hard as to drag the
calf.
When
the
roper
finishes
tying
the
calf,
he
throws
his
hands
in
the
air
as
a
signal
that
the
run
is
completed.
The
roper
then
remounts
his
horse,
rides
forward
to
create
slack
in
the
rope
and
waits
six
seconds
to
see
if
the
calf
remains
tied.
If
the
calf
kicks
free,
the
roper
receives
no
time.
The Tie-Down competition was intense last year at Industry Hills. Six contestants finished this event within a second of each other and all six beat the previous fastest time of 8.7 seconds set here by Joe Beaver in 1997. Stran Smith won first place with a new Industry Hills record time of 7.6 seconds. He earned $1,682 in prize money. Wes Lockard placed second with 7.8 seconds, earning $1,463. Cash Myers placed third with 8.0 seconds. Jesse Egan and Hunter Herrin tied for fourth with 8.3 seconds and Cade Swor placed sixth with 8.4 seconds. Matt Shiozawa placed seventh. Matt won this event here in 2004. Cade and Matt also had great rodeo seasons. Matt competed at the National Finals and placed 2nd among all tie-down ropers, winning $159,071. Cade also went to the Finals and finished 12th in the tie-down event, winning $93,190 in prize money.
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