Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Headers and Heelers

Team roping is a sport the whole family can enjoy, right here in Valencia Counuty

Duane Barbati News-Bulletin Staff Writer; dbarbati@news-bulletin.com

Dust kicks up from the pounding hooves of a steer racing from the chute; two ropers on horseback chase after the animal with ropes whirling overhead. First, the header ropes the Corriente steer around the horns, then dallies it and pulls the animal to the left, causing its hind legs to hop. The heeler then ropes the hind legs and stretches his rope taut to immobilize the animal.

The team-roping event is over in a matter of five to 10 seconds.

Team roping was introduced to National Finals Rodeo as its sixth rodeo event in 1962 and slowly gained popularity over the decades. The popular sport has been a pastime of working ranch hands branding cattle on the open ranges of America.

The United States Team Roping Championships is a nationally known organization that holds team-roping events across the U.S. year round. When the USTRC formed in 1989, it devised a number system for team ropers. The system ranks ropers based on the number of steers roped, number of roping events entered and averaged times. USTRC ropers are rated from a No.1 to a No.10. A No. 8 rating or higher is considered professional. A No.1-rated roper on the scale is a true beginner.

Los Chavez resident Lorenzo Sauceda was a 2001 USTRC saddle trophy winner at the Albuquerque State Fair and a 2005 Bar Diamond-S Arena champion in Yrisarri, N.M.

Sauceda and his roping partner, Rick Thomas, practice their team roping skills on Sauceda's three-acre farm.

"This is fun for me," Thomas said. "My daughter and I have been going to rodeos since she was 5 years old. Anything that keeps me and her active is a good thing."

Teams can be two riders of the same gender, or a combination.

Zoe Billings, who frequents Coffey and English's team ropings on Tuesdays with her family, said she enjoys the chance to ride her horse.

"I like everything about the sport," said Billings, who is 11 years old. "I like it when I get a quick, quick time. I just love riding horses too."

Dawn Dyson jokingly said she ropes for world peace.

"Really, I do it for fun, money and bragging rights," Dyson said. "It's cheap fun."

The steers used in team roping events are the Corriente breed of cattle that can be traced back to early Spanish explorers. The breed is a small, hardy type of steer that requires little upkeep. Corriente are small, narrow, lean and agile with well-attached medium-length curved horns, which makes them a favorite of ropers.

Valencia County resident Herman Coffey, who is 80 years old, grew up roping cattle on his family's farm in Melrose, N.M. Coffey started team roping in 1990 at the age of 60.

"It's a lazy man's sport," Coffey said. "Anybody, at any age, can team rope."

Coffey, as a young man, roped in calf tie-down events but left the sport until getting into team roping and holding weekly events behind his trailer business just north of Belen on N.M. 314.

"Team roping is a good sport," Coffey said. "It's like any sport, it's fun if it's competitive. In calf tie down, you have to get down off your horse and tie down a calf."

Nearly every Tuesday night, big dualie pickup trucks start to pull up to Coffey Trailer Sales around 6 p.m., pulling long, covered horse trailers. Some of the trailers contain two to four horses, depending on the number of ropers carpooling, or in this case, "truckpooling."

The trucks and trailers can number from 40 to 60, parking and unloading horses for Coffey's team-roping event. Coffey, and his son-in-law, John English, have been holding team-roping events together for 16 years.

"Team roping is a good family-oriented sport," English said. "Mom, dad and the kids can go to a Sunday afternoon event and have a good time as a family. Everybody gets to rope, from the 5-year-old to the 85-year-old, and enjoy themselves."

The rules for team roping a steer are simple. A steer is loaded into a chute with ropers on horseback on either side. A run begins with a steer being released from the spring-loaded chute and given a head start down the arena. The head start is better know as the barrier distance, about 15 to 20 feet, after which the ropers give chase. Each team of ropers consists of a header or roper on the left side and a heeler or roper on the right side.

The header comes up on the left side of the steer and loops his rope around the horns or neck. Next, the header secures his rope around the saddle horn (called dallying). He will pull the animal to the left, causing the hind legs to hop off the ground. The second roper riding up on the right side from behind the steer then loops his rope around both hind legs of the steer to immobilize the animal.

All of the action can be done in under 15 seconds, with some teams completing it in less than five seconds. The team with the fastest time wins the event. Ropers have a barrier line, which can't be crossed before the steer gets 15 to 20 feet down the area. An arena judge or flagman calls time after waiting until both ropes are taut and each roper's horse is facing the steer. The flagman will drop his flag to signal the timekeeper to stop the clock and record the team's time.

Penalties can be added to a team's elapsed time for leaving before the steer reaches the allotted arena distance or breaking the barrier. Ten seconds can be added to the team's time for breaking the barrier. Five seconds can be added if the heeler ropes only one leg of the steer. Of course no time is recorded if both ropers fail to hit their targets.

"It's a lot harder to rope a steer than it looks," English said. "It takes a lot of patience and dedication."

Roping competitions are usually made up of a four-steer average — that means a winning team must catch four steers consecutively and progressively faster than any of the teams competing. One missed catch can take a team out of the money. A winning team roping four steers consecutively with the fastest average time can walk away with some money and maybe a trophy saddle or buckle.

Neal Dyson, who has been a professional rodeo calf tie down roper for 10 years and an amateur team roper for 15 years, said he likes team roping because it's a competitive leisurely sport, comparable to golf and bowling.

"A guy can win two to three classifications at a roping," Dyson said. "They can walk away with $200 to $400 in their pocket. A roper can have a pretty good day. They can get paid to have fun or spend money."

Jimmy Thompson holds team-roping events at the Valencia County Fairgrounds every other Saturday.

"I think people like the sport because it gives them a chance to be on horseback," Thompson said. "It's great entertainment. Team roping is a real great atmosphere for families and a chance for them to win some money."

Coffey and English hold their team roping events at 7 p.m. every Tuesday. For more information, call 864-7634.

Thompson holds his ropings at 7 p.m. every other Saturday. For more information, call him at 459-6851.

"It's a rush," Sauceda said about team roping. "It's a stress reliever. When I have a bad day at work, I get on my horse and rope. It beats staying home and watching television."

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