Steer roping

Last updated

Steer roping, also known as steer tripping or steer jerking, is a rodeo event that features a steer and one mounted cowboy. [1] [2]

Contents

Technique

The steer roper starts behind a "barrier" - a taut rope fastened with an easily broken string which is fastened lightly to the steer. When the roper calls for the steer, the chute man trips a lever, opening the doors. The steer breaks out running. When the steer reaches the end of the tether, the string breaks, releasing the barrier for the horse and roper. Should the roper break the barrier, a 10-second penalty is added to his time [3] ). The roper must throw his rope in a loop around the steer's horns. [1]

Once the rope is around the steer's horns, a right-handed roper throws the slack of the rope over the steer's right hip and then turns his horse to the left; when the rope comes tight, it pulls on the steer's hip up and turns the steer's head around, tripping or unbalancing the steer so that it falls. [4] The roper dismounts while his horse continues to gallop, pulling the steer along the ground, which prevents the animal from getting back to its feet. The horse is trained to slow once the rider is completely off the horse and has reached the steer, but to keep the rope taunt while the contestant ties three of the steer's legs together with a piggin string using a half hitch knot [5] [6] colloquially called a hooey. [7]

The roper returns to his horse, mounts, and moves the horse forward, releasing the tension on the rope. An official will then time six seconds. If the steer is still tied at the end of the six seconds, an official time for the event is awarded. [5]

Team roping is an unrelated event using two riders to rope a steer, one which ropes the head, the other the heels, immobilizing the animal between them. Calf roping or tie-down roping is an event, using a weanling calf that the roper manually throws to the ground after roping and then ties. A related event using calves is breakaway roping, where the calf is roped but not tied.

Professional steer roping

Professional steer roping occurs at the highest level in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). At the end of each season, there is a finals event called the National Finals Steer Roping (NFSR) which takes place in early November at the Kansas Star Arena in Mulvane, Kansas. Other PRCA events take place in early December at the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. [8] [9]

Animal welfare

Steer roping is considered controversial due to concerns about animal welfare. [10] [11] Within the United States it has been illegal in Rhode Island since 2001. [4]

Steer roping is recognized by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), but downplayed, mentioned only in passing at the official PRCA website. [12] It is only held at some rodeos, [13] currently about 60 per year, [14] the annual championship competition is held separately from other championship events, [13] [15] and steer roping is not included as part of the widely televised National Finals Rodeo. [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rodeo</span> Competitive sport

Rodeo is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqueros and later, cowboys, in what today is the western United States, western Canada, and northern Mexico. Today, it is a sporting event that involves horses and other livestock, designed to test the skill and speed of the cowboys and cowgirls. American-style professional rodeos generally comprise the following events: tie-down roping, team roping, steer wrestling, Steer roping, saddle bronc riding, bareback bronc riding, bull riding and barrel racing. The events are divided into two basic categories: the rough stock events and the timed events. Depending on sanctioning organization and region, other events such as breakaway roping, goat tying, and pole bending may also be a part of some rodeos. The "world's first public cowboy contest" was held on July 4, 1883, in Pecos, Texas, between cattle driver Trav Windham and roper Morg Livingston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bronc riding</span> Rodeo event that involves riding a bucking horse

Bronc riding, either bareback bronc or saddle bronc competition, is a rodeo event that involves a rodeo participant riding a bucking horse that attempts to throw or buck off the rider. Originally based on the necessary buck breaking skills of a working cowboy, the event is now a highly stylized competition that utilizes horses that often are specially bred for strength, agility, and bucking ability. It is recognized by the main rodeo organizations such as the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) and the International Professional Rodeo Association (IPRA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steer wrestling</span> Rodeo event

Steer wrestling, also known as bulldogging, is a rodeo event in which a horse-mounted rider chases a steer, drops from the horse to the steer, then wrestles the steer to the ground by grabbing its horns and pulling it off-balance so that it falls to the ground. The event carries a high risk of injury to the cowboy. Some concerns from the animal-rights community express that the competition may include practices that constitute cruelty to animals, but the injury rate to animals is less than 0.05%. A later PRCA survey of 60,971 animal performances at 198 rodeo performances and 73 sections of "slack" indicated 27 animals were injured, again around 0.05%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Team roping</span> Competitive rodeo team sport

Team roping also known as heading and heeling is a rodeo event that features a steer and two mounted riders. The first roper is referred to as the "header", the person who ropes the front of the steer, usually around the horns, but it is also legal for the rope to go around the neck, or go around one horn and the nose resulting in what they call a "half head". Once the steer is caught by one of the three legal head catches, the header must dally and use his horse to turn the steer to the left.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calf roping</span> Rodeo event

Calf roping, also known as tie-down roping, is a rodeo event that features a calf and a rider mounted on a horse. The goal of this timed event is for the rider to catch the calf by throwing a loop of rope from a lariat around its neck, dismount from the horse, run to the calf, and restrain it by tying three legs together, in as short a time as possible. A variant on the sport, with fewer animal welfare controversies, is breakaway roping, where the calf is roped, but not tied.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Breakaway roping</span>

Breakaway roping is a variation of calf roping where a calf is roped, but not thrown and tied. It is a rodeo event that features a calf and one mounted rider. The calves are moved one at a time through narrow runs leading to a chute with spring-loaded doors. The horse and rider wait in a box next to the chute that has a spring-loaded rope, known as the barrier, stretched in front. A light rope is fastened from the chute to the calf's neck, releasing once the calf is well away from the chute and releasing the barrier, which is used to ensure that the calf gets a head start. Once the barrier has released, the horse runs out of the box while the roper attempts to throw a lasso around the neck of the calf.

Tom R. Ferguson is an American former professional rodeo cowboy. He was the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) World Champion all-around cowboy for six consecutive years from 1974 to 1979; breaking the previous mark of five consecutive titles held by Larry Mahan. He was also the 1974 World Champion calf roper and the World Champion steer wrestler in 1977 and 1978. In 1999, he was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.

The National Finals Rodeo (NFR) is the premier rodeo event by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). The NFR showcases the talents of the PRCA's top 15 money winners in the season for each event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association</span> American rodeo organization

The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) is the largest rodeo organization in the world. It sanctions events in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with members from said countries, as well as others. Its championship event is the National Finals Rodeo (NFR). The PRCA is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States.

History of rodeo tracks the lineage of modern Western rodeo.

The All-Around is an award given to a rodeo competitor who is most successful in two or more events. Most individual rodeos and championships determine the winner of this award at the conclusion of the other events or championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Taylor (rodeo)</span> American rodeo cowboy

Dan Collins Taylor was an American cowboy, rodeo performer, and promoter. In 2006, Taylor was inducted into the Rodeo Hall of Fame of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Taylor died on November 3, 2010, in Doole, Texas.

Roy Dale Cooper is an American former professional rodeo cowboy who competed in Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) events for more than two decades. He won the All-Around Cowboy world championship in 1983 and claimed seven individual discipline championships, including six tie-down roping titles. Cooper won the PRCA's Rookie of the Year award in 1976, and was nicknamed "Super Looper" for his roping ability. The ProRodeo Hall of Fame inducted Cooper in its Tie-Down Roping category in 1979.

Trevor Brazile is a semi-retired American rodeo champion who competed in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) and partners with a cowboy named Miles Baker. He was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 2022. He holds the record for the most PRCA world championship titles with 26. He won his 26th title in 2020. He also holds the record for the most all-around cowboy world champion titles at 14, breaking the record of 7 titles held by Ty Murray; Murray's last earned was in 1998.

The Heart of the North Rodeo is located in Spooner, Wisconsin, United States. The rodeo takes place the first full weekend in July every year since 1954, except 2020. It is sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). Fans from all over come to watch the professional cowboys and cowgirls compete in the seven main events of rodeo, and even some up-and-coming little cowboys and cowgirls.

Fred Whitfield is an American former professional rodeo cowboy who specialized in tie-down roping. He won eight Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) world championships and three National Finals Rodeo (NFR) aggregate titles. Seven of those titles were World Tie-Down Roping Championships and one was the World All-Around Cowboy Championship. He is one of a very few black professional cowboys and by far the most successful. Whitfield was elected to the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 2004.

Phil Lyne is an American former professional rodeo cowboy who competed in the Rodeo Cowboys Association (RCA)/Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). Lyne was the RCA Rookie of the Year in 1969. Two seasons later at the National Finals Rodeo (NFR), in 1971, he won the all-around cowboy world championship and the tie-down roping world championship. At the NFR in 1972, he repeated as the all-around world champion cowboy and added a second tie-down roping world championship. Lyne won his first and only steer roping world championship at the National Finals Steer Roping (NFSR) in 1990. He was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1979.

Guy Allen is an American ProRodeo Hall of Fame cowboy and an 18-time steer roping world champion. He competes in rodeos sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). He won the world title for the steer roping event 18 times when competing at the National Finals Steer Roping (NFSR) and also won the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) Average title five times. He had won the title 11 times in a row when Buster Record broke his streak. Allen is also inducted into eight rodeo halls of fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Professional Rodeo Association</span>

The Canadian Professional Rodeo Association (CPRA) is the governing body of professional rodeo in Canada. Its championship event is the Canadian Finals Rodeo (CFR) held every November.

The National Finals Steer Roping (NFSR), organized by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), is the premier championship steer roping event in the United States. It showcases the talents of the PRCA's top 15 money winners in the steer roping world standings at the end of the regular season as they compete for the world title.

References

  1. 1 2 Lawrence, Elizabeth Atwood (1984-05-15). Rodeo: An Anthropologist Looks at the Wild and the Tame. University of Chicago Press. pp. 36–. ISBN   9780226469553 . Retrieved 26 November 2012.
  2. ↑ Rogers, Will; Wertheim, Arthur Frank; Bair, Barbara (1996-02-01). The Papers of Will Rogers: The Early Years : November 1879-April 1904. University of Oklahoma Press. pp. 159–. ISBN   9780806127453 . Retrieved 26 November 2012.
  3. ↑ Santos, Kendra (March–April 1995). "When Rodeo Goes on the Run". American Cowboy. p. 74. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
  4. 1 2 Curnutt, Jordan (2001-11-01). Animals and the Law: A Sourcebook. ABC-CLIO. pp. 271–. ISBN   9781576071472 . Retrieved 26 November 2012.
  5. 1 2 Wishart, David J. (2004). Encyclopedia of the Great Plains: A Project of the Center for Great Plains Studies. U of Nebraska Press. pp. 785–. ISBN   9780803247871 . Retrieved 26 November 2012.
  6. ↑ Sherman, Josepha (2000-04-01). Steer Wrestling. Heinemann-Raintree. p. 23. ISBN   9781575725079 . Retrieved 26 November 2012.
  7. ↑ Strickland, Charlene (2012-10-19). The Basics of Western Riding. Storey Publishing. pp. 256–. ISBN   9781612122243 . Retrieved 26 November 2012.
  8. ↑ "National Finals Steer Roping". Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  9. ↑ "National Finals Rodeo". Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  10. ↑ LeCompte, Mary Lou (2000-02-01). Cowgirls of the Rodeo: Pioneer Professional Athletes. University of Illinois Press. pp. 116–. ISBN   9780252068744 . Retrieved 26 November 2012.
  11. ↑ Baxter, John O.; Slatta, Richard W. (2008). Cowboy Park: steer-roping contests on the border. Texas Tech University Press. p. 4. ISBN   9780896726420 . Retrieved 26 November 2012.
  12. ↑ PRCA Event categories
  13. 1 2 Britannica.com "Steer roping'
  14. ↑ Pendleton Round Up: Steer Roping Archived 2012-09-18 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ↑ Steer roping finals
  16. ↑ WNFR Standings by event
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.