Ropers, hope you are doing great and had a successful fall start! The USTRC Finals are over with and now on to Las Vegas if you are planning to compete. I wish all of you the best of luck!
As we move into winter, we are blessed to have many indoor arenas across the country now where we can still put forth the effort to stay sharp. What I would like to discuss with you in this article is just that, Staying Sharp! It does not matter how many clinics or lessons I do through out the year, it easy to see who has continued to put time into the practice pen. All of the articles so far have been about breaking your practices down to execute a sound and fundamentally correct business plan within practicing. How you practice is how you will compete. The one thing that no clinic or lesson will ever teach you is to rope at a higher level than what you are capable of achieving. I have many students that come in throughout the year for tune-ups or wanting to advance to the next level of their roping career. It is so fun and rewarding to see the excitement of those who have been working at it and knowing they are enjoying the sport that much more. When asking them what they have been working on, I continue to hear what we have discussed in previous sessions but always hear whom they have been roping with. Where I am going with this is they have continued to keep their game plan in place and rope with other ropers that rope at a higher level than they do. The first thing that comes to mind is I don’t rope good enough to get invited to rope with “that” person or even practice with them. As long as you think that, you will not get the opportunity. If you believe you want to get better and be around a higher level of roping, then you will. We can lay out the instructions of the sport but roping with someone that pushes you to being better is taken in by sight and sound. If you are around it, you will start to perform and do it. Once we have reached the roping status and moved on from the chute working status, we are all guilty of becoming complacent within our practices. Since we do not do this for a living and want to enjoy the time we get to rope, practices tend to flat-line. If you have the opportunity to work chutes around someone that ropes really good, you will still absorb what is going on and pick things up that will help you within your roping. The most incredible thing to happen in the team roping world has been the handicap system and everyone able to compete on their own level. But, then we continue to remain at that level and go through the ups and downs of being successful. The good days come and go and seem like they get further apart. Keeping yourself sharp by practicing or watching better ropers practice will push you to excelling and doing things you don’t even think about. Remember, iron sharpens iron! God Bless until next time.
Author: Krece Harris
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Staying Sharp
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WORKING AS A TEAM
Hello Ropers, it is great to be back for the sixth article. I hope your summer of roping has been great and the previous articles have helped you with your roping. I would like to discuss the importance of working together as a team during your run. There are so many draw-pots out there now which makes it easier to go and compete but many times we do not know who the person is that we are roping with. As mentioned in previous articles about the steps for the headers and heelers, we need to make sure every time we back in the box and execute fundamentals, we also work with the person in the other box.
Headers, you have to do your job as if there is not a heeler over there to help you. If the steer runs straight, right or left, you still have to go catch them. Many times heelers choose to stay back because they are watching what the header is doing and this allows the steer to run to the right fence. Now the header has to change position and move up higher on the steer to be able to catch without hitting the fence with their loop. I stress so much to all of the heelers how important position is, and if the heeler is in proper position, they will not allow the steer to run to the right fence. Remember, the shortest distance from point A to point B is a straight line. Both header and heeler serve as the hazer! Heelers need to let the steer know they are out there to the right but not haze the steer left while the header is trying to achieve position. Just as a header needs to understand that if they get to position and swing several more times, they automatically become the primary hazer and the steer is going to move right in front of the heeler.
I like to start my heel horses with the gate. That does not mean I take off running at the steer. The haze is created the first ten feet out of the box. So if I am ten feet out of the box and ahead of the header, I have established myself as the primary hazer. At this point, I throttle my horse to wait on my header to move forward to position and I can then hustle to position working with the header to keep the steer running the straight line or pattern. If we do this, handles become more consistent by headers and heelers catch rates are higher because they are in place to follow the steer off the corner or set and rope. Now, we are team roping because we are working together as a team to control the environment of the steer. If we control our environment instead of the steer controlling us, we make more consistent runs. Oh, and this is also allows us to make faster runs without trying to be faster. I always tell my students, control is fast! We can slow down and work smarter to be faster.
Until next time, best of luck with your roping. Rope smarter, not harder!Thank you and God Bless!
Krece -
Slow Down To Be Fast
Hello Ropers, I hope your summer has been going great and your roping has been successful. This month’s article is directed in an area we are all guilty of and I know it will touch base with most. To this day I have always said, “slow down to be fast” or “take the time it takes so it takes less time.” It seems we all like to rush through things to get them done but in the process all we do is create more work for ourselves. When we are in the practice pen, the practices we have become our mental and physical memory and preparation.
As I continue to do clinics and lessons, I continue to see speed take precedence over correctness. We need to utilize our practices to work on goals or the steps I have mentioned in previous articles, then we become more solid in achieving balanced runs.
This sport is called Team Roping and that means more than one person. Controlled runs are built on executing a sound business or game plan. If we are more consumed with catching instead of what allows us to catch, then we will never achieve the goal of control and consistency in catching! You have to be disciplined with your groundwork.
Headers, if you are out of balance and your left hand moves out and left to pull your slack, you will be the same way on your horse.
Heelers, the same applies for you. If we rope the dummy slower and think about control and slowing down to be under control, then you develop the muscle memory correctly and then speed will start to surface within your roping. For example, headers catch and the left hand moves out and to the left. This means the horse is moving away from the steer faster than the steer is moving down the arena. Because we are going faster, subconsciously we think this should make for a faster run or time. In essence, we are really adding time to the clock because we have now taken all of the timing away from a heeler and they have ride further across the arena to time their horse and swing with the steer. It is basically starting over for the heeler when they make the corner.
Heelers, I have said Position is 80% of heeling. If you work harder down the arena to be in position, then you do not have to work as hard across the arena. If you fall back and do not stay in position, you are always playing “catch-up.” This will sometimes change the thought process of the header to speed up or slow down creating inconsistency in the handles.
Remember, being under control will create a more balanced run. Controlled is faster than trying to achieve speed in itself. Slow down to be fast, take the time it takes so it takes less time!! The speed will start showing up on it’s own if you take the time needed to control your thoughts, practices and runs! God Bless and until next month, stay with the fundamentals!!
Thank you and God Bless! -
Steps for Heelers
As I write the third article, I am still presented everyday with the same situations during lessons and clinics that ropers are practicing with an unclear game or business plan. This is where the bad habits are created and not even knowing that it is happening. The first article was the model of the practice and the second article was breaking down the first five steps for the headers. This article is breaking down in order the steps for the Heelers.
We can always fine-tune each step but we need to execute them in order to get on the right track. Haze is step one for a Heeler. All this means is for the Heeler to be recognized as a threat to the steer before the header is so the steer does not run to the right. Our job is to keep the steer running straightforward.
Once you establish a haze or even if you don’t, the most important thing to do is step two. Get into position!! Position is the key to your run! I like to teach “keep your horses nose even with the hip of the steer” as you run down the arena. You will remain in your lane to the right of the steer. This is where “timing” is created! When you match the speed of your horse to the speed of the steer you are in time. Your tip will be forward and down when your horse is down in stride on their front feet.
Step three is to have your swing going and tip down towards the steer. If the tip is not loaded or in the direction of our target, the delivery is almost certain to be incorrect.
Step four is follow the hip of the steer. All Heelers are guilty of watching the head catch. The problem with this is that is not the target, where you look is where your horse goes. Disciplined eyes make disciplined feet. Your eyes are your horse’s feet! Many Heelers do not like to ride that high and stay with the hip because they will run by the corner. This is true if you are looking at the head of the steer. Look at the end of the steer you are going to rope.
Step five is “ROPE”! If we work smarter going down the arena keeping the steer running straight and making sure we achieve position, have our tip down going in the direction of our target and follow our target by watching the hip or backend of the steer, then we should be ready to rope. We can set it all up for success before we make the corner.
The first three hops a steer gives us are usually the best three. I am not teaching to rope fast, just promoting being efficient! If we execute a fundamentally sound business plan for every practice, then we will get the results desired for our efforts. Until next time, enjoy this practice plan!
Krece -
Work Smarter, Not Harder
Hello ropers! Great to be back writing the second article! I hope everyone had a chance to read and try what was talked about in first tutorial. I am going to follow up where I left off.
Again, fundamentals are where you keep your focus. I always have students calling or sending messages/videos with a problem and every time the problem can be traced back to a fundamental oversight. This is where we dissect the steps I mentioned.
Step one for headers is scoring. This means learning to score yourself so your horse becomes consistent in your commands. If you anticipate the gates opening and your body moves, your horse is going to move as well. Keep your balance equal in your saddle and stirrups and nod with your head, not your back or body. Make sure your left hand is staying consistent with the pressure you have holding your horse. I prefer to use my stomach/abdominal area or saddle horn as a guide so I’m not lifting or moving. This is the start of your run.
Leaving the corner of the box sets the tone for the run. More often than not, headers will leave the corner of the box leaning forward to leave with their horse. Granted this keeps you from going off the back of your horse but it is not correct. This causes you to start your swing later and be out of balance in your swing. The first swing usually goes forward and up and now you have to take extra swings to get your tip down to rope once in position. If we leave the corner of the box balanced with our left hand moving forward, then our weight will remain equally balanced in the stirrups allowing us to square our shoulders and hips to our target. Now our horses are leaving flat, smooth and faster, which means they are out of our way to get the swing started with less effort and match the tip of our loop and swing to the head or horns of the steer.
Watch videos of the open ropers in slow motion and you will see how everyone of them leave the box rotating arms, shoulders and hips to get square to the target. If you don’t do this it definitely does not mean you can not catch, just means you are working harder to achieve the same result as someone who is doing it and you are being less efficient. Work smarter, not harder. Remember it is a timed event!
As we continue from month to month I will break down the “How and Why” of the steps which creates the solid practices. The catch is what makes us feel good but what makes us feel better is to understand how to get better and catch every time as we work in the practice pen.
Until next month, thank you for your time and work on what works and not recreating the same habit that doesn’t work.
Thank you and God Bless!
Krece Harris -
TRU Team Roping with Krece Harris
First I would like to express my gratitude for the privilege to write the team roping tutorials. This being the first article, I am going to explain what I refer to as the “80 / 20 rule”. For years we have heard this game is about 80% horsemanship and 20% roping. Ropers, I’m not saying it is all about your horse but stop and think about what your number one tool is!? For 20 plus years of teaching clinics I have seen it day in and day out, more dummy roping practice than riding practice. This is where I get to the heart of the article. I am a fundamentally driven person. The sport of team roping is a professional sport. This being said, we should treat it as other professional sports are treated. The fundamentals of our sport do not change, they continue to progress! What you practice on the ground you will transfer to your horse. If you are unbalanced roping the dummy you will be out of balance in the saddle. It only makes sense because it is muscle memory. Roping the dummy should be fun and in a relaxed state but it should also be disciplined. I see more people roping the dummy with all of their weight on one foot, left hand against their chest or stomach and not squaring their shoulders to the target. My analogy or comparison to this is golf. We use the tip of our rope to catch with, just as golfers use the club head or face to hit the ball. Without equal balance in our stirrups, control of our left hand to maintain our horse position and squaring our shoulders to the target, there is no way to achieve consistency in the catch. This is all created within our ground work. Mental discipline leads to the physical muscle memory. You should rope with equal pressure on both feet just as being in your stirrups. Your left hand should be relaxed and in front of you, not against your body and you should have your shoulders squared to your target. Just as other sports are performed and executed, core balance plays a huge role. Disciplined eyes make disciplined feet. Your eyes are your horse’s feet. Your horse goes where you look!
I like to use steps in my teaching. If we have a game plan or purpose each time we practice, then we will achieve the goal of winning. Headers, keep it in order! Score, open up or square your shoulders and rotate your hips to your target leaving the corner, swing out and get your tip matched to your target, ride to position and make sure you complete a two-hand delivery. These are the 5 steps to practice in order. Heelers, same goes for you! Your first step is to establish a haze, then you must get to position. If you do not establish a haze, ride for position as intently as you can. Third, you must have your tip down in your swing. Follow the hip of the steer, not the head horse or head of the steer. Step five is be ready to rope! Nothing was mentioned about the actual catch because if you are working on setting your run up through your horse in a fundamental correct order, you will achieve your goal of the catch.Review These Steps…
Headers
1. Score
2. Open up or square to your target
3. Swing out and match your tip your target
4. Ride for position
5. Deliver your loop with both hands to your targetHeelers
1. Establish your haze leaving the box
2. Ride to position (always ride position even if you miss step one)
3. Have your tip down in your swing towards the steer
4. Follow the hip or back-end of the steer
5. Be ready to rope (your first three jumps are usually as good as they get)Thank you and God Bless!