Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2021 i The Team Roping Journal

Dear Roper, This issue is one of the most challenging to produce, simply because we work with so many different people to make it possible. Our second annual Breeder’s Guide starts on page 71, and it’s filled with more horses than ever before. To write each story about each horse, I spend lots of time on the phone with people who are deeply passionate about their great horses. I too am deeply passionate about great horses, so I tend to spend more time on this section than almost anything else I do all year. John and Kay Coltharp never fail to bring a smile to my face as they tell me about Answer—Bet Hesa Freckled Cat—on whom John heels at the Ariat World Series of Team Roping and USTRC qualifiers,…

South Point Arena & Equestrian Center—home to the Ariat World Series of Team Roping Finale—debuted the property’s Feed Store alongside its partner, Tractor Supply Company, the largest rural lifestyle retail chain in America, on Jan. 12, 2021. In addition to the store, this partnership also gives Tractor Supply Company naming rights to Barn A and B, both located inside the South Point Arena & Equestrian Center.…

If you watched the Wrangler NFR 2014 and 2017 team roping, then you remember seeing the last name of Richards. That Richards would be Tom Richards and the belt he was likely to be sporting was built by his now wife of two years, RaShel. RaShel Richards, 30, who is an active team roper herself, never worked on leather before her husband and ProRodeo contestant Tom picked up some leatherwork tools from their friend, Denton Payne, who owns Denton Payne Custom Leather. “Tom got some tools from Denton and figured some of the basics out and was making us bracelets and things like that,” said RaShel, who lives in Humboldt, Arizona, with Tom and 18-month-old baby girl, Jayd. “He was going to leave for the summer to go rodeo and…

Since the NFR, I’ve been getting myself and my horses in a better position to be more consistent through the corner, and, in turn, giving my heelers a better look at the feet. Shay (Carroll) and I talk about it quite a bit, and since he really likes to head, too, we have a lot to talk about. CONTROL I’ve been working on developing control by working on the dummy, steer stopping and breakawaying on my head horses to keep them paying attention to me. HEADGEAR SWAP In doing that, I’ve been using less bit and bridle and riding my horses more. I’m trying to go through the motions of the run with as much control as I can gain with less bridle. That way, when I get to the…

Before last year’s National Finals Rodeo, I married my wife, Carrie. Then, we bought a place in Lipan, Texas, and that took me from just a rodeo cowboy to someone who had a whole lot more on my plate. The place I bought really helped me grow up—which, I think, is going to change my roping quite a bit. I have a place to pay for, and I want to build fence and traps, which I’m doing myself to save money. To accomplish everything I want to accomplish, I’ll either have to make a really nice horse and sell it or I’ll have to win a lot of money, so I’m readjusting my priorities on both fronts. As a kid, an old friend told me I needed to go do…

“Because of supply and demand in the horse industry, the supply is so far down from the AQHA registry in the last few years that the demand is about to out-rise the supply. That’s the main reason horses are bringing so much. Breeders flooded the market for a lot of years, and they couldn’t sell the horses, so a lot of people got out of the breeding business. It took 10 years for it to be a trickle-down effect. But now, the demand is back and the supply is not there. There are more people getting back into the breeding, more people getting back into the horses. It just went through a phase that they couldn’t sell colts. And a lot of people still don’t buy colts, but they’re buying…

Unless something changes in Nevada between now and March 12, Ariat World Series of Team Roping producer Ben Tibbitts has jumped outside the box to move the flagship Perfect 10 from its home at Las Vegas’ South Point Equestrian Center some 75 miles north to Mesquite, Nevada—where the roping arena sits just across the Arizona state line. Because of COVID-19 restrictions, at press time, the state of Nevada was not permitting gatherings large enough to host the Perfect 10, forcing the move. With the venue itself in Mesquite, Nevada, sitting across the state line in Arizona, the roping will happen as planned, with its special fees, $500 per roper, three-full-round and short format that’s paid big money year after year. “We’ll move the entry fees to the other qualifiers down…

NRS Trailers—the largest livestock, living quarters and Western industry dealer in the United States—is now the official trailer sponsor of the USTRC. With 10 locations nationwide, NRS Trailers has long been a staple in the team roping industry, and this partnership solidifies their commitment to the sport. “The USTRC has always been a very big part of what NRS does,” Mike Henderson, CEO of NRS Trailers, said. “We always have—from a dealership standpoint—seen the value in those guys because they’re our core customer. We’ve always done the US Finals in Oklahoma City and other major ropings. With this thing being in Fort Worth, what an opportunity for us to again step up a little more and take a bigger role. Team ropers, rodeo families, they’re our core customer and we…

Kim Duncan, an electrical engineer and mom to pre-teen twin girls from Cleveland, Tennessee, jumped into the No. 5 spot in the Cinch Ladies Standings with $3,255 in earnings after she won first and second in the USTRC #7 at JX2 Production’s South Georgia Super Qualifier in Perry, Georgia, Jan. 1–3, 2021. “That was a very sweet win because I won first and second,” Duncan confirmed. “I won first place with Braden Raburn, and that was his very first time entering a USTRC roping. And I won second place with his grandfather. They have been lifelong friends. It was really a cool day.” Duncan and Braden took the win, a trophy saddle and $3,720 when they came tight on three head in 35.67 seconds. She followed that up by catching…

ADDRESSING WHAT HAPPENED I’ve had bad weeks before, and when that happens, it’s just not our week. Four steers cut in front of my throw, which was extremely difficult. And the other ones, my horse wasn’t leaving completely flat and I was getting a funny go. Honestly, I didn’t realize that at the time, and someone pointed it out to me after the fact. It made a lot of sense. DECOMPRESSING My wife and I had a honeymoon booked for after our wedding this fall, but COVID-19 caused it to be rescheduled for after the Finals. The first few days were really fun and much needed, but by the last day, I was ready to get home and back to roping. TALKING IT OUT I dang sure knew I didn’t…

YOUR WORST HORSE-BUYING NIGHTMARE ACTUALLY HAPPENED TO TISH LUKE. The Florida rancher who hits all of America’s biggest team roping jackpots bought a once-in-a-lifetime 7-year-old gelding last year over the phone. She had a local vet send x-rays and flexion-test videos to her dad, who is a vet. The head horse passed and was sent to her Florida ranch. “I won $7,500 on him the first week I hauled him,” she recalled. “The following week, he was still totally sound. Dad was here at the house on his annual visit to go through all my horses. He said, ‘There’s no need to check the new horse—he’s the soundest horse on your place.’ But we flexed him anyway and oh my gosh.” The horse had an old injury; a torn hind…

Gold Buckle Beer, the official beer of the Ariat World Series of Team Roping, jumped on board to sponsor the Open at the USTRC’s National Finals presented by Cinch. The beer company—based in La Junta, Colorado—will add $10,000 to the US Open and $30,000 to the Open at the Ariat World Series of Team Roping Finale. “We are eager to be joining the USTRC Open this year in Fort Worth, contributing directly to the payout and the after party,” said Jessica Wahlert, marketing manager for Gold Buckle Beer. “Partnerships are key to building any brand, especially in an industry like ours. Now, including the USTRC as well as the World Series of Team Roping Open, we’re proud to be giving back to the cowboys and the sport our beer is…

The Women’s Rodeo World Championship (WRWC) announced updates regarding Challenger classification for the Nov. 1–6, 2021, event, at South Point Arena, held in conjunction with Professional Bull Riders (PBR) World Finals in Las Vegas. In addition to the classification updates for 2021, there will also be a new technology release associated with the WRWC Leaderboard (Segment W21), which will separate athletes into Pro and Challenger—with a Leaderboard for each classification. Last year, WRWC launched the inaugural event using this revolutionary Pro and Challenger classification system. Athlete classification is established under the Rodeo Logistics Athlete Classifications (RLAC); using Equi-Stat earnings in barrel racing, Global Handicaps Systems numbers in team roping and Virtual Rodeo Qualifier verified earnings in breakaway roping. RLAC is a tiering process where athletes are ranked based on earnings…

Q: Reliance Ranches is based in both Llano, Texas, and Guthrie, Oklahoma, right down the road from the world-famous Lazy E Arena. Talk about the goals of this impressive horse operation, and what makes it special. A: Reliance Ranches has a very successful Quarter Horse racing program. Reliance-raised horses have over $7 million in racing earnings. The Lazy E stands some of the most recognized Quarter Horse studs in the business. And what we’re finding is that these horses can not only run, but are also very versatile and make great performance horses. Q: Tell us about your role in this family-owned horse business. A: Once the horses have either aged out of racing or don’t make the cut to go further down that road, we look at their potential…

Shortly after brothers TJ and Justin started Jones Fencing in 2012, Seth joined the crew. Justin peeled off to return to electrical work, but TJ and Seth spent the following years building a solid business. “It’s just a local fencing company right here around Weatherford, Texas. He lives in Weatherford and I live just north of Decatur, so we cover the surrounding areas. Mostly we build a lot of pipe fence and we build some barns. We’ve been doing that for going on six or seven years, something like that. That’s what I do during the day and we get time to get off and go rope. That’s what we do.” In the beginning, each of the brothers worked to ride and rope, but they’ve settled into a rhythm in…

GETTING WITH THE PROGRAM Your horse has to be listening to you every step of the way to give you the best shot with your rope. Giving roping lessons a lot, I have people tell me that they can only ride into the box and turn one way because that’s how their horse prefers it. That’s just an example of something I usually try to address right away: that your horse needs to be on your program, willing to do whatever it is you want or need him to do. You don’t need to be a great roper or great horseman to do that. It’s a matter of taking the time to acknowledge where your horse’s holes are, and then taking the time to fix them. 1 Say I’m 20th…

“It has enough weight to where I don’t really have to pull [while] scoring or anything like that. I don’t need to pull as much in the box. It’s also enough bit to where, if I use it, it can be a lot. If I want to use that bit, I can, but I really don’t ever have to use it. I’ve corrected [my horse, Marty,] in that bit from wanting to be a little fast out of the box. It really worked ... he was way freer than he’s ever been.’ — Clay Smith, Two-Time World Champion “When they’re up over the bridle where they’re supposed to be, they have three quarters of an inch on their bars. If they break at the pole and lift their shoulders, they…