Team Roping Competition In Las Vegas

I have to admit, I had never seen a team roping event during a rodeo like the one that we went to this weekend. This competition was held at the South Point casino and hotel here in Las Vegas, in an auditorium there, where dirt covered the ground of the auditorium. It was so interesting to watch these cowboys and cowgirls ride their horses after this steer, then the "header" (the person in front) would rope the steer around the horns, then he (or she) would turn the steer, and then the heeler (the person on a horse in the back) would toss the rope around the back feet of the steer, bringing it down to the ground.

Sounds easy, right? Well, from watching this competition this weekend, these fantastic cowboys and cowgirls sure made it look very easy. I know full well though that it probably is not nearly as easy as they made it look! And the very fact that it did look so easy has got to be due to the fact that these people are professionals, with countless hours of training. They are not only excellent horsemen (and horsewomen)... they can also handle this rope, swinging it in a circle, releasing it, and catching a MOVING steer with the rope!

Then the person in the back ("heeler") swings their rope near the ground, and catches both of the steer's back feet in it. The two horses then back up just a bit, immobilizing the steer. We watched this competition for two hours on Saturday, and I'll tell you, they made it look so very easy. They would accomplish all of this in about 12 seconds!!

AND, the best of the bunch walked away with checks for $200,000 each! Not a bad payday for 12 seconds of work! Ok, so it was probably more like years and years of work, and hours and hours of training, sweating, fingers bleeding, learning not only to ride the horses the way they did, but also how to handle those ropes. I cannot even imagine how hard this sport must be to learn, much less to do such an excellent job at it, the way these cowboys and gals were doing on Saturday!

My husband and I had a "Should've Been A Cowboy" moment (remember the song by Toby Keith?) ... thinking, we are in the wrong business! Look at this! We could make $200,000 in one afternoon in one of these competitions! All you gotta do is ride out and "catch" this moving steer with a rope, how hard can that be? Well, not only can it be extremely grueling and difficult, I read afterwards that these cowboys and cowgirls sometimes lose fingers while doing this!

Add to that, I bet they have to start at a VERY young age learning to ride the horses to become the fantastic riders that they are, and THEN they have to learn how to rope, I wondered how in the world they do both of these things at the same time (this coming from a person who has a hard time walking and chewing gum at the same time!).

So, the next time I watch someone do something as amazing as this sport, and I say "I could do that!" .... Somebody slap me! I'll tell you, this has to be one of the most difficult sports out there, and these folks made it look so easy, which is the hallmark of true professionals.

Between the two competitions we watched, all of the riders competing rode their horses out into the auditorium, as the announcer called their names, and they lined up all of the horses in a huge circle that went around the edges of the field. We couldn't believe how many horses were in this building, and they were all handled so well by their riders!

My hat is OFF to the brave cowboys and cowgirls that we watched this weekend, I have so much admiration for what you do, and to make it look so easy is just a fine example of your professionalism. Thank you for a very entertaining afternoon, oh, and you EARNED every penny of those checks you received. Most received anywhere from $5,000 to $100,000 ~ There were very few that received the big prize, $200,000. So, a tip of the Stetson to you, and Happy Trails!