Strategy in Team Penning

Video Transcript

"The strategy of team penning requires that the team work together in a quick and efficient way. It's great if teammates have an opportunity in an ongoing way before they every present to the competition where the sixty second clock puts quite a damper on any mistakes. Our teammates get to practice, here, most every Wednesday and so we are fortunate that as a nondescript riders we're getting there with some kind of strategy. Part of the strategy is understanding how to come together after you've brought your three cows out and you now need to bring them to the pen. It's a common knowledge that, in team penning, if you end up coming out of the herd when it's time to pen if you are the furthest away from the pen, or in my direction on my left hand side, you're going to become what's known as the sweep. That's your job position. If you're in the center, you become what's called the wing, that's your position. And then the other person comes up with the position we call the hole. The area between the fence and the small pen that we put the cattle in. As you come together you create a convergence of all riders in pushing or sweeping those cattle, three together, into the pen. It's not unusual for the cattle to get startled and run out causing the teammates to quickly assume different positions and try to regain control of the herd. The sweep has to come in a fast and frantic fashion, coming wide to bring all three cows to want to see that open hole and jump in the pen. The person on the wing is guarding that area which would otherwise be similar to that open gate. We don't close the gate, we just bring the first rider in who raises their hand across that line, and that's when the timer says flags down or time is, good time, all kinds of things. So, when you come into the pen it's important that one person gets their hand up quickly so that the clock can stop and you can see what your time is. Within sixty seconds you have a chance to go to the, what we call the second go. At a big even it's not unusual to have one hundred or plus teams. And they take, out of those a hundred, they'll usually bring back either thirty percent or, sometimes, fifty percent of the teams for a second go. After the second go you get to go to a top ten. The other good fun is, often, buckles are received for the first place winners and then paychecks on through, depending on the number of teams. So, besides the fun, there's always that remote chance that you might just come back a big winner."