Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2024 i The Team Roping Journal

MATCHING THE STRIDE OF THE STEER On the day we took these pictures, I was working with a 4-year-old mare, teaching her to match the stride of the steer as she caught up to him. In these pages, I'll talk about what I do to instill that in a head horse in the practice pen. WHY DO YOU NEED TO MATCH THE SPEED OF THE STEER? That rate sets up your move in the corner. Your horse has to match the stride of the steer to set that up. If your horse is overrunning the steer, it's hard to make it controlled. It's hard to do that as well if your horse is underrunning him. 1 DOWN THE ARENA I was making sure I had my hand down, letting her run…

Canada's Graham brothers—Dawson and Dillon—are making their move up the rodeo ranks. The 2022 Canadian champs finished 19th and 16th in the world last year, respectively, and are looking to close the deal on their first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo presented by Teton Ridge in 2024. As is the case with all world-class teams, their rise in the roping world has a whole lot to do with the horses in their trailer. “It could always be better, but it could always be worse,” big brother Dawson says of their 2023 NFR near miss. “The day it happened, and we finished just short, a guy was pretty bummed out. But then at the same time, you think of all the screw-ups you had, and realize that maybe making it isn't as…

At the Barrier | association news | industry news | new products One of the biggest stories of the 2023 team roping season was the meteoric rise of the Riata Buckle to one of the richest ropings in the world and the largest WSTR Qualifier in just its first 24 months. It was officially the most-streamed team roping event of the year, and in 2024 it's on track to pay at least $3 million. Entries will open for the 2024 Riata Buckle in July, so TRJ did a quick interview with Riata Buckle's Lucas Gentry on the upcoming event: Q: Before we ask about the 2024 event, are ropers beginning to understand what your stallion incentive program is? A: There is still a little confusion, but generally it is understood this…

Bob Feist Invitational announcers Dru Stewart and Reed Flake repeated their request for Kaleb Driggers and Junior Nogueira to re-enter the Lazy E Arena and make their victory lap over and over after the duo had won $162,000 at the 2024 BFI, roping six steers in 44.76 seconds March 30 in Guthrie, Oklahoma. But it took what seemed like forever for the two-time world championship team to break free from the crowd of fellow ropers who mobbed them after the biggest jackpot win of their storied careers—careers that amount to more than $5 million in collective PRCA earnings, six $100,000 American Rodeo paydays (four for Driggers, two for Nogueira) and nearly every major rodeo and jackpot title in the sport. In 16 prior BFI appearances for Driggers and 10 for…

Ropers at home with | Jake Barnes | Clay O | big break Q: How long have you been heeling for Dawson at the rodeos, and who taught you guys how to rope? A: We started rodeoing together in 2016. Our grandpa Roger Fletcher and our uncle Kurt Fletcher taught us how to rope. The Fletcher side of our family ropes, and the Graham side is mostly farmers. Q: How big is team roping up in Canada these days? A: Team roping's pretty big up there, and is getting bigger, for sure. Some of the lower-numbered ropings in Canada are getting 600 teams now. Q: What's your favorite career highlight so far? A: Winning Canada, for sure. To win that was definitely a goal of ours. Our parents always took…

Rhen Richard was the reigning National High School Finals Rodeo allaround and tie-down roping champion when he rolled into the Reno Rodeo with Nick Sartain in 2008. Their first rodeo together had been just over a month earlier in Guymon, Oklahoma, and Richard's goal was the Resistol Rookie of the Year title with Sartain, who'd already made the Finals in 2006 with Shannon Frascht. “I felt like I should have been there, I felt like I had a good partner with a good head horse,” Richard said. “We entered because we expected to win.” Richard heeled three steers in Reno on a 5-year-old stud named Travs Little Sug (who's now a Riata Buckle and Royal Crown sire) in 17.6 seconds, worth $10,909 a man—a win that would have him convinced…

We all rope so much, and we've run so many steers at this point, it's really no different for me no matter what's on the line. If I miss, it for sure won't be the first time I ever mess up, and it won't be the last. I try not to put too much pressure on myself, because this is what I'm supposed to be doing for a living, and I know I'm working at it. If it doesn't work out the way I think it's supposed to, there will be another way it will work out. Last year helped me a lot with that—I kept thinking there were big rodeos I had to do good at to get to the Finals, and I'd mess up or it wouldn't work…

What are you looking for when judging a head and heel horse at the futurities? “I just want to see it easy. You want a horse that makes it as easy for you to do your job as you can. It's total control the whole time. I don't want to see a rider having to rope around the horse. And that's something with the heel horses that's tough today. Everybody that's showing ropes so good, you know, they can rope around some of that stuff, so I try to see the horses that the guys enjoy riding and do a good job versus the ones that are having to try to rope around a horse.” — Genuine Billy Cook Saddles’ Jody Ramer, who's won the AQHA World Show and who…