A  memorial roping for Ray Harmon will be 3/27/08                    

Bobbie on the head, Derek on right hind leg, Ernie roping right front leg

Ernie and Derek lining up with each other to form a straight line.

Derek and Ernie lifting up on the right side of the bull.

Bull laid down like a baby in a crib.

Dave putting front feet in Ernie's loop.

Removing the head loop

Dave putting both hind feet in Derek's loop

       Another great day in the Sandhills of Nebraska

Ranch Roping Article

What is Ranch Roping? There is not an over abundance of information on the subject. When I speak of ranch roping I am speaking of the way that the Vaqueros of California roped livestock for several centuries. They used long reatas  and big loops, masters at dalling and handling livestock.

This style of roping is becoming more popular all the time. There are four swings that we use in this style of roping.

1. The forward swing

2. The backhand swing

3. The houlihan swing

4. The scoop loop swing

The first thing is to help you learn how to keep your loop open. If your loop is not open it is very difficult to make a good clean catch with your rope. We keep the loop open by learning how to control the position our arm, hand, shoulder, and wrist. Depending on the swing that we want to throw, it will be determined by how we use our arm, hand, shoulder and wrist.

One of the hardest things about roping is that it is so hard to see what we are doing with the loop as we swing it. When we are first learning how to rope, what we are doing and what we think we are doing, can be a long way apart. What really helps us learn is to have someone who is very patient and who understands the loops and swings to be there to help us out.

Most of the loops will have a Spanish Name, but they are not widely known by their Spanish name. Therefore what one will call a loop does not necessary mean that everyone knows the loop by that name. So standardization is a problem. Some loops may have several different names, but still are the same loop. This is not a major problem, but it can cause confusion for some.

My personal experience is that this style of roping really fit the ranch way of needing to get things done. Depending on the job at hand and how many cowboys we have to do the job will play a significant factor in determining how we could accomplish the task at hand. The one thing that I wish that I would of learned this style of roping years ago. I wasn’t even aware that it existed. I can’t speak for any of you, but for me to ride good horses and have plenty of livestock to rope, makes for a great day. Hopefully we can help point you down the trial to becoming a better roper.