Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2016 i The Team Roping Journal

After seven months of rebuilding their rope factory in Granbury, Texas, Classic and Rattler Ropes took their first orders from retail partners on June 20, 2016. Equibrand promised its 74 employees no lost wages after the fire—one of the largest in Hood County, Texas’ history—and by January 2016, string and fiber production commenced in the only structure on the property that did not burn. Shortly after, the fabrication team began working on the production of an innovative new rope machine. At the end of March, two machines were fully operational and prototypes were developed and tested by a select group of professional ropers. Classic took orders for limited quantities of Heats and Rattler took orders for limited quantities of GT4s. The machines are running day and night to get production…

THE SCENARIO We were up in the second slack at the Greeley (Colo.) Stampede, and I hadn’t seen the first slack go the day before. I had heard the steers were going to run, and the start was going to be really crucial there. HORSE That’s a horse I call Buckskin YY, and I think he’s 8. I just kind of cracked him out at the BFI and Reno. I’ve had him a couple years. He’s still pretty green, and I’m trying to ride him some and then leave him home to relax. He came from Bill and Sue Ann Craddock in New Mexico—that’s where Trey’s YY horse came from, too. I’ve bought horses from them and rode horses from them, and they do a good job with their young…

The name DeVere Helfrich might stir some vague memory in the minds of rodeo fans, but his contributions to the sport are anything but minor. From 1939 until 1967, the Oregonian was among the leading photographers of the sport. His name has appeared in small print under thousands of his re-printed black and white photos, with his simple “DeVere” signature written in a bottom corner of many. The roughstock action shots he took set the standard for the genre—his photograph of Bill Ward riding Sea Lion at San Angelo in 1956 became and remains the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association’s logo (pictured at right). Of course, he snapped thousands of photos of timed event action as well. His portraits—often taken by his wife, Helen—serve as invaluable records of the men and…

Georgia barrel racer and roper Jacee Thomas, 17, was hit by a train on May 24, 2016, while driving across the railroad tracks near her home. Thomas was life-flighted to Jacksonville, Fla., where she received treatment in the ICU until she was moved to Atlanta, Georgia’s Shepherd Center. Thomas is battling various injuries and at press time had still not regained consciousness, though she is breathing on her own. Friends and family have organized a medical fund for contributions to her continued care, with checks payable to the John F. Thomas Medical Fund for Jacee Beth Thomas, sent to Prime South Bank, 530 Memorial Drive, Waycross, Ga., 31501.…

SHORT-STRIDED VS. LONGSTRIDED HEAD HORSES I’ve always ridden short-strided head horses, and the traditional wisdom is that a short-strided horse is really the most ideal. But I’ve been able to get along with both, and right now I’ve got a long-strided horse in my rig that I’m having some success riding. It takes some adjustments—in both my swing and my strategy—but ultimately riding a long-strided horse can make my job easier in certain set ups and take away the need to reach. 1 I grew up riding dozens and dozens of different horses at my parents’ place, so I had to learn to make adjustments without thinking about it too much. If you’ve ridden enough and you’re versatile enough, switching between a short-strided horse and a long-strided horse isn’t that…

If you’ve been around very long, you’ve seen some exceptionally talented individuals come along, like I have. Whether they’re gifted physically or mentally, things come easy to them. They catch on quick, stand out and seem to excel early. On the other end of the spectrum you see guys who maybe aren’t that flashy to begin with and aren’t really the ones who stand out that much at the start, but just have an ability to keep grinding it out and working at it. They have a desire to excel, and through that work-ethic process they eventually figure it out. Those are the people who really develop such a solid foundation of the fundamental process of what they’re trying to do. They’re talented, but they really try and work at…

Long-time friend of team roping Jerome English, 85, passed away on Saturday, July 16, 2016, in Belen, NM. He is preceded in death by his parents, his brother Pete and his son Gary. He is survived by his wife Dorothy English, daughter Jana Muncy and her husband Tim, son John and his wife Connie, grandchildren Chris Walterscheid and wife Britney, Amber Gillreath, Sterlin English, Stran English, Garrett Muncy and his wife Morgan and Bobby Muncy, as well as great grandchild Lucy Layne Walterscheid. English grew up working on cattle ranches but didn’t really like to “cowboy” so he went to work on the chuck wagon, where he learned most of his cooking skills. He loved Dorothy and was married for 65 years. When he was a senior in high school…

KENDRA SANTOS: Egusquiza is an unusual last name, so first things first: How are you related to Manny, who’ll be 40 next month? DUSTIN EGUSQUIZA: I’m his half brother. We had the same dad, Manny Sr. KS: With the big age difference, how much did you get to rope together when you were growing up? DE: Not very much, because he was always out there rodeoing. I only got to rope with him when he was at our place in Florida. KS: So who taught you to rope? DE: Our dad taught both Manny and me to rope. He calf roped mostly, then started heeling when he was older. He made the Southeastern Circuit Finals many times, but never really rodeoed hard out here…

I’ve been fighting this deal with my right knee for four or five years. Then I had my head injury last November, when a horse fell with me in the practice pen. It seems like it’s been constant—one thing after another—since I lost my thumb at the (Wrangler National) Finals (Rodeo) in 2005. I finally stopped and had a partial knee replacement on June 16. I’d been on the treadmill thinking I couldn’t take the time off. Now I feel like the old horse you kick out to pasture to let him freshen up. It’s easy to think “why me” when these things happen. I had no say about missing last year’s NFR. I was forced into that one with a concussion and a broken foot. Getting my knee fixed…