Team roping contest lassos local attention
TEXARKANA, Ark. — Professional team ropers drill constantly with their horses, to learn their sport and to learn their partners, to become champions. And that is just the horse and rider, never mind the team aspect of the sport.
Cal Wolfe of Palmer, Texas, is three years into his journey as a professional team roper. Even though he has been riding for a time (nine years working with horses and learning the craft, then pro riding for three), he still considers himself new to the trade.
“My Dad and uncle are all pro-rodeo competitors, so I got exposed to this at an early age,” he said Friday during completion at the Four States Fair Entertainment Center. “I’ve been dreaming of this since I was a kid, watching them rope.”
When the time came, Wolfe saddled up, beginning the hard work of learning the skills, preparing for the day he would go pro.
“I’ve been practicing with my horses, Bird (sorrel quarter horse) and CJ (dun quarter horse), which is one of the keys to excelling at this,” he said. “When getting ready to do this, you practice doing this. A lot. Both you and your horse develop muscle memory going through the motions. You get used to working with each other, what is expected when.”
Such discipline and focus is essential to this sport. But this sport is one that in particular requires monetary investment along with the discipline.
“If you go pro with this, be ready to lose,” Wolfe said. “You will lose more than you win, much of the time. So when you do win, it makes it all that much more worth it. Discipline and money, have to bring both to the table.”
Wolfe brings his two horses along on each trip. With several roping runs per competition, he spaces the runs between the two so they don’t get too run down. Also, he brings an additional skill that most riders do not. Wolfe shoes horses for a living. “Caring for your horse, how well you do that, is also key,” he said. “Your horses are the essential ‘tool of the trade’. Like any tool, the better you care for them, the better they will perform for you when it is time to compete. My horses seem to enjoy this. I can feel it as they take their position in the box. You can feel them tense up as they focus and get ready to go.”
(This week’s team roping event runs through Sunday. Watson Team Roping, based out of Tioga, Texas, is the promoter. It puts on 13 events a year and will return to Texarkana in October. For more information, visit Watson Team Roping on Facebook.)