Pincher Creek Beginners' Roping Clinic week 4

Roping Reporter Janet B.
C. Davis photo

Janet Barkwith, Roping Reporter

Week four of this every-other-week class, and things seem to be slowing down for me at last. To begin with, everything went so fast I found it pretty nearly impossible to notice what exactly
I was doing when whirling my loops and releasing them at the wooden roping dummy. But as I begin to gain a little more experience, I am also beginning to notice what my hand is doing, where my arm is, and where I have to look to perfect the aim for any given loop.

This, of course, is the value of practice (and it became rapidly very obvious that I hadn't done nearly enough in the intervening weeks since last time!)


The rodeo ropers were again having a great time on the other side of the arena, but on the ranch roping side of things, I became so deeply absorbed in what I was trying to do that everything and everyone else faded into the background, and life became briefly centred around a few bits of wood knocked together to vaguely resemble a calf, and me and my rope. At some point it would be interesting to keep a tally of how many times I threw a loop and missed, or even -  gratifyingly increasingly – managed to hit the target in a semblance of a good catch or trap. But perhaps on second thought, maybe not: the percentage of misses to hits is still depressingly high!

I am actually beginning to believe I might be just a tiny bit useful in the branding pen this summer – but no, more realistically, that ambition would be better kept on hold till next summer, and after a great deal more practice! I can still be useful brandishing an inoculation needle (though it's not as much fun as throwing the ropes always seems to be!)

After an hour and half building loops, throwing loops, building loops, throwing – well, you get the idea  - I have even more respect for the cowboys who spend the whole day catching calves in the branding pen. It isn't as easy as it looks, of course, and my shoulder and arm is getting pretty tired by the end of my session in the Horseshoe Pavilion. And that's not all day, just a mere 1½ hours: and on my feet, without having to think about riding and working a horse! Not to mention the fact that I'm still working on a stationary dummy, not a living, breathing, skittish and downright uncooperative calf! Still, if I practice like I'm supposed to – twice a day, every day – maybe I'll develop the muscular stamina to do at least half a day's roping work at branding time – eventually!

Thanks again to the organisers and the instructors who so generously give their time to help us rookies. We really do appreciate you guys!