Everything Horses and Livestock® Magazine Sept 2018 Vol 3 Issue 3

Everything Horses and Livestock Magazine ®

Visit our Website for Videos & More!

ChadMathesRoping.com

The "right" way to rope? Hello Ropers, hope all of you are having a great season. This month I would like to focus on you as an individual, by that I mean, what do YOU need to do to achieve your goals. I suppose I attended 6 clinics when I was in my teens, all world champs and the greatest Ropers of that time era. They all had one common denominator, their way was the best way. One guy would tell you to do "this" at his clinic and then the next instructor would say no, no you have to do "that", which happened to be the exact opposite of the last clinician. So, I would change styles every time I went and usually struggled for a few weeks after the clinic, which is normal. I think what we need to study as instructors is how to help the individual as much as we can. Let's use some examples, hopefully by the end I can convince you that there is no "right" way to rope. For the purpose of this article, let's assume that we are talking about catching our cattle in a jackpot setting, in other words, running to the hip and roping steers for consistency and not

I like to rope closer than most people do. The way my horses stop, and the angle of my swing makes it easier for me to finish my runs. I don't teach all my students to rope that close because it's a more difficult

speed. Your body type can dictate your style. For example, I had an instructor tell me one time "when heeling, you should see your steers feet clearly all the way through the corner". I'm 6'0 inches tall and if I do

shot, it just works for me. People with taller bodies and longer arms tend to get along better from a further distance. If you are taller, being closer makes you retract your delivery rather than being able to reach and extend. There is no one set position for everyone, you have to figure out where YOURS is. How should I deliver my loop? Should I rope right to left,

this, I am 10' away from the steer chasing him down after my header turns him. If you are tall and your horse has a short neck, this may work for you, this will not work for 90% of heelers out there. So, body type for sure makes a difference on position, and everyone has a different body type. Most people's steers should cross under your horses’ neck at some point during the turn if you don't want to be late.

Everything Horses and Livestock® | August 2018 | EHALmagazine.com 10