The Team Roping Journal

Dear Roper, My very? rst newswriting class in journalism school was a doozy. Newswriting 101 in the Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University was, to my surprise, obituary writing. I remember the professor, in his 70s after a long career in loc

Dustin Bird and Ike Folsom won their second consecutive Montana Circuit Finals Rodeo together, roping three steers in 14.6 seconds. They won first in Rounds 1 and 2 with a 4.6 and 4.5, and they won fourth in Round 3 on Jan. 13, bringing their weekend

Oglesby, Texas' Jace Wright and Gatesville, Texas' Parker Cudd won the #9.5 Heartland Ariat World Series of Team Roping qualifier in Hamilton, Texas, produced by Mathews Land & Cattle. Their time of 30.86 seconds on four head paid them $18,000 with q

Bobby Lewis’s 2019 stallion Time To Glo pocketed $37,000 on his way to the Gold Buckle Futurities Superhorse title, in addition to winning the winter event’s Futurity Heeling championship. Time To Glo—by DT Horses’ Hickory Holly Time out of AQHA Head

Dustin Egusquiza and Levi Lord followed up their win at the Sandhills Stock Show & Rodeo in Odessa with a 4.0-second run in the final round of the 2024 National Western Stock Show and Rodeo to take the $4,655-perman win in Denver Jan. 21. Handily, De

Ropers Under 21 years of age in 2024 must have a minimum of 10 entries between January 1 and the start of the 2024 Cinch NFTR in Fort Worth to be eligible to rope at the Cinch NFTR. Those 10 entries can consist of USTRC, World Series, affiliated even

Q: You headed for Brady Minor at the 2006 NFR, and Kinney Harrell at the Finals in 2008. What stands out about each of those trips to Rodeo’s Super Bowl all these years later? A: Just the fun times that came with them both. I was young, and having a

The new year is off to a nice start for Peyton Walters and Joe Mattern, taking home $15,000 for the 2024 WCRA Stampede at The E win. The Texas cowboys stopped the clock Saturday, Jan. 6, in 5.52 seconds to clinch a major win at the start of the new y

Istarted competing so young. While there’s definitely a learning curve to the physical part, it all comes down to the mental side in the end. A lot of people will work hard enough to reach the highest level with their roping skills. But consistent wi

Back in my day, your best horse was your practice, jackpot and rodeo horse. That might be hard for today’s young ropers to comprehend, but it’s true. There are more team ropers in the world than ever before, and both the caliber of horses and level o

It’s a very sure bet that Shane Wohlfert, 53, never imagined he’d be a cowboy when he was growing up in Lansing, Michigan. “I really didn’t know about Black and white issues because there was not very many white kids in the school I went to,” Wohlfer

Kaleb Driggers was in his rookie season in 2009 when he and Brad Culpepper won the first-ever tournament-style setup at the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo, raking in $16,593 a man. Along the way, Driggers and Culpepper set an arena record at 4.0 se

I’ve been teaching a lot lately, and one thing we’re not talking about enough is our heel loop size in relation to the position we like to ride and where we’re comfortable throwing from. Understanding where you rope from and what size loop you use go

In a just-catch situation? Here’s the secret to Coy Rahlmann’s catch-loop. My main goal on that one was to just not miss. This was my hometown rodeo in Sikeston, Missouri, and I had missed the first-round steer. That was the first steer I’d ever miss

At this early point in the year, there are some 7-year-olds that are fresh out of the futurity programs starting to trickle out into jackpot and rodeo competition. The American Rope Horse Futurity Association started having its World Championship in

Patrick Smith’s STAY DRIVEN is the ultimate team roping instructional video, exploring the partnership element of the richest recreational sport in the world. STAY DRIVEN breaks down the elements that make a header and heeler successful together, tea

There’s been a familiar four-legged face out on the professional rodeo trail in the early going of 2024. His name is Bartender, and he’s the blue-roan badass Colby Lovell won the world on in 2020. Two-time Champ of the World Kaleb Driggers has been a

A horse needs to stop, but more important to me than the stop is what they do with the saddle horn. Them stopping pretty is not that important if they bring the saddle horn to me. A horse that stops pretty and brings the saddle horn is probably ideal

Freeze Frame with Dustin Egusquiza SITUATION Second Round, Sandhills Stock Show and Rodeo TIME: 3.9-second run PAYOUT: $1,463 each for splitting third, fourth and fifth in the round on this run, plus $2,246 each for splitting first and second in the

It would be so easy to fix training issues that stem from physical problems if horses came with a play-by-play guide. Hot in the box? Must be ulcers. Treat with GastroGard. Head horse failing to pull? Hocks or stifles need treatment. Heel horse quart

Now in it’s 10th consecutive season, National Team Roping invites team ropers to #eNTRup and join the nation as ropers gather around to compete in the NTR National Finals X, presented by Cinch, March 9-16, 2024, at one of Wickenburg, Arizona’s iconic

Jacksonville, Florida’s perfect weather welcomed ropers to the 19th annual NTRL Finals Jan. 24-29, 2024—the largest roping ever east of the Mississippi River. “This was the best finals we’ve ever done,” President John Johnson said. “We paid out $1,00

“I’d much rather ride head horses at home slow working than a heel horse. At heart, I am a header and I want to be a header, but it might be a little bit late for me on that deal. I enjoy good horses and fast horses. I can sit in the box and tinker w