Wrangler National Finals Rodeo – Team Roping Dec 3 – 12, 09 at Thomas & Mack

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I attended the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, on assignment.  The following is the third  of seven short blogs, which will feature an event from the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.

The Team Roping event… ten days of the best headers and heelers in the sport of rodeo.   In Team Roping two cowboys work together for a shared time, this is the only true ‘team event.’  Team Roping requires hard work, cooperation, timing, and lots of practice.

The header’s job is to give the steer a head start advantage and starts from a box, behind the barrier rope.  If the header breaks the barrier rope, ten seconds is added to the final time.  Once the steer has reached the advantage point, header catches the steer either by the horns, neck, or a combination of the one horn and the neck.  After dallying his rope, the header will then turn the steer to the left for the heeler. The heeler will then move in and attempt to rope the steer’s hind feet.  A five second penalty is accessed if only one hind foot is roped.  Time stops when both the header’s horse and the heeler’s horse are facing each other and there is no slack in the ropes.

The Team Roping is always an interesting event to watch.  This year the rules were changed so that the teams could only throw one loop.  That meant if the header missed the team was given a no time, or if the heeler missed a no time was given.  In the past team ropers were allowed three loops.  This has changed the sport of Team Roping at the National Finals Rodeo, and made it a faster and even more challenging event.

Camera Wench
“Have Camera… Will Travel”

Wrangler National Finals Rodeo – Steer Wrestling Dec 3 – 12, 09 at Thomas & Mack

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I attended the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, on assignment.  The following is the second of seven short blogs, which will feature an event from the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.

The Steer Wrestling event… ten days of the best cowboys and the best bull dogging horses in the sport of rodeo.  Steer Wrestling is also known as Bull Dogging, and is the fastest rodeo event.  The world record is 2.4 seconds.  Cowboys use timing, strength, and leverage to wrestle a steer to the ground.  Steer wrestling is a very challenging event, where cowboy and steer are traveling at thirty miles per hour, and the steer weighs twice as much as the cowboy.

A cowboy and ‘hazer’ work together to wrestle the steer to the ground.  The job of the hazer is to keep the steer straight and prevent the steer from veering away from the bulldogger.  The cowboy starts out behind a rope barrier on horseback in a box; the steer is released from the chute and given a head start.  If the cowboy breaks the barrier before the steer reaches the advantage point, a ten second penalty is assessed.

The cowboy and his horse sprint after the steer, once the horse is nose to nose with the steer, the cowboy slides off and reaches for the steer’s horns.  The cowboy will grasp the horns, dig his heels in, and while the steer is slowed down, the cowboy will turn the steer in an attempt to tip the steer over.  This is done by lifting up on the right horn and pushing down on the left horn, after the steer is laid on his side and all four legs pointed in the same direction, the timer stops.

Another exciting event, where hopes were raised one night and dashed the next, dreams were lost and others were realized.  The steers at times were challenging from stopping or ducking at the last moment.  The bull doggers worked hard to throw their steers, and quit was not in their vocabulary. 

Camera Wench
“Have Camera… Will Travel”

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