Ranch Roping Invades Moose Jaw With Its Go Easy Style

By Robert Thomas

If you were looking for authentic everyday cowboys and their true to life go easy style the Golden Mile Arena was the place to be this past weekend as the Canadian Ranch Roping held their national finals.

“We are as close as you can get to the actual authentic working cowboy,” Ross Smith event organizer told MJ Independent.

The nationals, which for the last few years have been held in Moose Jaw, brought 33 teams (of three) in the Open Championship and 10 teams in the Novice Championship from Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta to vie for the Canadian championship as well as renew friendships and fellowships many times going back decades.

A calf is roped both on the horns and around the back leg - MJ Independent photo

“It was really nice to get out and spend time with friends again. We had a really nice and relaxed atmosphere through the weekend. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. It actually went quite smooth except for the fact one of our local guys, Mike Ramage, came off his horse and hurt his back,” Smith said, adding “but the good news is he is on his way home and he is doing OK.”

“Canadian ranch roping is the closest thing you will find to actual ranching and roping and treating cattle. Most of the people who come and compete here when they are at home they do this at home. I always use to say when I go to a roping I just put on a clean shirt so I don’t smell bad,” he said.

“I ride the same horse. I use the same tack. When I was riding today I still have my fencing pliers off of my saddle bag and there are probably some guys with them in their saddle bags if you look. We are just working cowboys and we just come to town on the weekends,” Smith, who was a longtime working cowboy at the Valjean Community Pasture. The Valjean Community Pasture has several thousand cows that graze it every year.

Rope heading for the back legs after the horns were properly roped - MJ Independent photo

Ranch roping is a slow paced and largely untimed sport where points are awarded not for the time but rather the style and difficulty of the various ways the lasso is performed and thrown.

The sport places utmost importance on the safety of the cattle, horse and the rider. It is not a sport you will see competing at rodeos.

“Our whole idea of what we do is we’re using the stress free method of handling cattle that actually the Spanish vaqueros from Mexico and California used a couple of hundred years ago,” he said.

“What we do is as you can see is quite a bit different than a rodeo.”

A couple of cowboys talk things over - MJ Independent photo

Ranch roping, despite its connection between horse, rider and cattle, is not an event held at rodeos.

“No we haven’t had our event held at rodeos. It’s a completely different format and thought process and everything,” he said.

Whereas rodeo events are fast paced and timed Ranch Roping is not timed event (unless there is a tie on points).

“Our sport is judged where rodeo events are timed. So we actually get points for certain loops. The more difficult the loop the more points we get. And that is why you will see some loops we get we throw them up in the air and they turn around and come down. So it is about fancy difficult loops and we aren’t actually allowed to go fast or we get penalized,” Smith said in explaining the sport.

A calf is properly roped around the horns and the back leg - MJ Independent photo

To see a demonstration of Ranch Roping check out the video below showing the rider’s viewpoint and explanation on how to lasso an animal.

The sport, since it is based upon real world situations where harming an animal would cost his owner money, stresses the humane aspects of handling cattle.

“If you get ramming around and run a cow into the boards or something like that you are automatically disqualified,” Smith said, adding “we’re very much into stockmanship and the best interest of the cattle and the horses.””

Cattle used in the sport all have special protective headgear for the cattle and there is a limit on the number of times an animal can be roped during a session - twice - before it is swapped out for new stock. Additionally no animal is roped more than three times during a day.

“So they (the cattle) don’t work real hard.”

The sport is set up that speed, which may lead to injuries of the cattle, horses and riders, is not allowed.

“If we go fast we get penalized.”

Ross Smith prepares to bring a steer down so the lassos can be removed safely without injury to the steer, riders or horses - MJ Independent photo

Time in the sport only comes into play if there happens to be two teams tied with the same number of points then the team with the lowest time would win.

Rushing or being rammy is not in the best interest of the teams as it could cost them the championship.

“The really good runs are the smooth ones that go really slow. Most of the years that I was Canadian champion we never got our horse out of a walk,” Smith said.

As in all other equestrian sports this year the price of fuel has dropped the number of competitors who made the trip to Moose Jaw to compete.

“Our numbers were down a little bit just like all of the other (equine) events and fuel cost had a lot to do with it as well as this is the first year after COVID and there is a lot of stuff going on. So people had to chose what they wanted to do,” he said.

“It (higher fuel costs) is a big factor. I know some of our competitors said they can only go to only so many (events) simply because of fuel (costs)…when you are pulling a trailer and getting really poor gas mileage you feel it. It really adds up with the fuel prices we got.”

The fact that harvest is wrapping up for some competitors had an effect on turnout as well.

A portrait of one of the competitors - MJ Independent photo

Saturday night featured a catered buffet meal at the Corral Room located at the Golden Mile Arena.

The evening featured giving our awards and fellowship - a key part of the event.

“We do a lot of that (fellowship). It’s a family sport. You will have husbands and wives and kids all competing. And sometimes on the same team. and we have teams that are like three different generations. There are three people on a team and there is a grandfather, the son and a grandchild all competing together on the same team. So it is very family oriented.”

Getting ready to rope the back legs - MJ Independent photo

Ranch roping is a sport where there is no women or men divisions - both sexes compete on the same teams and against each other.

“Women and men compete together.”

Asked if having women compete against males is an unfair advantage for women competitors Smith replied not at all the women in the sport are highly competitive against their male counterparts.

“They (women in the sport) have beat us lots. No there is Theresa Millar has been Canadian champion ranch roper and she won money again this weekend. And there are some ladies who rope really well,” Smith said.

“They take our money.”

Three Amigos??? No this is not a remake of the popular spoof movie but three of the competitors taking in the action while always ready to jovially jeer others who miss a roping attempt - MJ Independent photo

Competitors in the Open Championship are the top riders while the Novice Championship is for people just starting out in the sport regardless of their age.

“We had one little guy that was our high point champion for the year I think he is 11 years old and one of the guys in the novice is in his later sixties. So it all just depends on your ability and if you are starting out. We just kind of rank you on your ability to rope whether you are in the Novice or the Open (championships).”

A steer is perfectly roped around the horns - MJ Independent photo

WINNERS

Open Championship Winners

Lars Baron - Moose Jaw, SK
Dane Knox - Moose Jaw, SK
Don Millar - Mortlach, SK

Novice Championship Winners

Sherri Stender - Meyrrone, SK
Tammy King - Corning, SK