Day 4 - Roping Clinic

Today was the last day of the clinic. It was a great watching the horsemanship of most of the people there. They not only could ride but they could rope very well. They used each situation as another opportunity to train their horse.

We spent a lot of time using the over-hand loop to catch steers by the head. It was not a good exercise for Wrangler Dave as the final score was Steers 4 - Wrangler Dave 0. Yes folks that is not a mistake! It was a learning experience though (maybe I shouldn't be a header - just kidding) as I just need more practice.

Next we moved on to heeling. I did much better at that actually going 3 for 4 . As this was the final session it was a good way to end to the clinic. Everyone is now scattered to the wind as they head home or to their next clinic or branding or ?? I can tell you that I have not met a finer bunch of people who were always willing to help the other person regardless of their skill level. Thanks to all who helped me in the last few days.

Temperature = 77

Day 3 - Roping Clinic

Another day in the arena roping, roping and roping all the while riding a horse by the name of Ring. So what else does one do when they are participating in a Ranch-roping Clinic.



Ring is a 19 year-old gelding that Bob King was kind enough to let me ride in the clinic. Ring stands over 16 hands (1 hand = 4") and is very broad which means that after 7 hours or so of sitting on him my legs feel like they will never straighten up... but they do!



One person I'd like to thank is my new friend Tom Hone. He is very knowledgeable about horses and is willing to share this knowledge. He has also been great running to Subway to get our lunches (we only have 30 - 45 minutes each day), getting water for us, and taking a lot of pictures for us plus the many other little things he does for people... he is a special person.











Today's roping was hindered by 30 mph wind gusts which added a little challenge to our day. On the excitement side I was heeling a steer and the rope went over the steer's head and butt. Needless to say this was not a good thing as Buck Brannaman already had a rope on his head. To add a little more excitement the steer decided to run around and I did not get Ring going fast enough to keep us all out of danger. This passed as Buck was able to help me get out of the mess without anyone getting hurt... thanks Buck..

One more day to go before I start chasing Arda...



Temperature = 78 and very windy.

Day 2 - Roping Clinic

This is going to sound like my time at Bob King's place as we roped and then roped some more. It is amazing all the things one learns about throwing a rope from horseback. There are so many things going on such as positioning your horse to make sure you are in the best position to deliver the loop that you need to catch the steer.

Here we are "heeling" a steer... it was one of my better shots. The bottom picture is not blurred, it is the dust from the horses and cattle. Thank goodness it does not stay around long.

Temperature = 82

Day 1 - Roping Clinic

Since the Internet is NOT being my friend, I will have to upload pictures whenever I can. I may add some additional commentary too.

Today (Friday) was the first day of 4 for the Buck Brannaman Clinic. Buck is one of the top 2 or 3 cowboys who understands horses, cattle, roping and riding based on the Vaquero style of handling animals and the skills needed to do this. Together all of this combines to define Horsemanship which is what Buck teaches.

It was one busy day as we started out throwing 2 loops from horseback on the skinny cows. This is harder than on foot as you have to position the horse and throw the loop while all the angles have changed. The rest of the day was spent roping live cattle using these 2 loops which meant that we now have a moving target... one more dimension to b e concerned about. This steer decided the best place to stay was on the ground having a snooze... didn't take long to get him up. Because of Buck's knowledge and teaching skills everyone got to throw a lot of loops... my arm is really tired tonight and we have 3 more days of this. It is great!

As you can see from the picture, there is hope for Arda yet! She sent me this picture telling me it was her new saddle... well maybe she needs a little help in picking out a saddle but a saddle is a saddle - yahoo!

Temperature = 82

Ray Harmon Memorial Roping

Thursday I spent the day participating in a memorial ranch roping competition. I felt really out of place watching cowboys from Montana, Colorado, Wyoming, California, New Mexico and Arizona (about 30 in all) throwing loops during the practice session... some are very, very good!

Then there is Wrangler Dave... I had a good time as everyone was extremely nice and made me feel like one of the crowd. Needless to say, Wrangler Dave did not do very well in the competition but it was fun and I learned a lot.

Temperature = 82