
Team penning is a western
equestrian sport that evolved from the common
ranch
A ranch (from /Mexican Spanish) is an area of landscape, land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of farm. These terms are most often ap ...
work of separating
cattle
Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...
into pens for branding, doctoring, or transport.
Today it is a fast-paced event that gives a team of three riders on horseback from 60 to 90 seconds (depending on the class or the sanctioning of the event) to separate three specifically identified cattle from a herd of 30, and put them into a 16' x 24' pen through a 10' opening, at the opposite end of the arena.
[Team Penning](_blank)
Retrieved on 4 May 2009
The sport features 30 head of cattle, typically yearling beef cattle (mature cows or bulls are not allowed), with numbers affixed to their back, three each wearing a number from 0 through 9 or with colored collars attached. Timing starts once the line judge has dropped his flag as the lead rider's horse crosses the foul line. At that time, the announcer identifies the cattle to be separated by calling out a randomly drawn number or collar color. The riders must cut out the three head that have been nominated, take them to the opposite end of the arena, pen them and call for time.
Teamwork is the key with all three riders working in harmony to cut out the correct cattle and drive them to the pen while keeping the rest of the herd (sometimes called ''trash or dirty cattle'') back.
The history of the sport is thought to date back to 1942 when brothers Ray and Joe Yanez, along with Canadian cowboy Bill Schwindt were sorting steers from a herd of cattle on a
Ventura County, California
Ventura County () is a County (United States), county located in Southern California, the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, Ca ...
ranch. During a lunch break the trio reportedly came upon the idea of organizing what were routine cowboy chores into a competitive sport, one in which cowboys could showcase their horsemanship.
[The First Team Penning](_blank)
article from ''Western Horseman'', September 1997, accessed online March 5, 2007. The first organized competition is thought to have taken place at the
Ventura County Fair in August 1949.
Today, the sport is a fast-growing western horse sport in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Europe. In North America, the primary team penning sanctioning organization is the United States Team Penning Association (USTPA), headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. There are an estimated 93,000 active team penners in North America.
Related
*
Ranch sorting
*
Campdrafting
Campdrafting is a unique Australian sport involving a horse and equestrianism, rider working cattle. The riding style is Australian stock saddle, Australian stock, somewhat akin to American Western riding and the event is similar to the Americ ...
*
Cutting (sport)
Cutting is a western-style equestrian competition in which a horse and rider work together before a judge or panel of judges to demonstrate the horse's athleticism and ability to handle cattle. Modern competition utilizes a minute performance ...
*
Working cow horse
References
External links
United States Team Penning Association (USTPA) websiteCanadian Team Cattle Penning AssociationCanadian Team Cattle Penning Association
Equestrian team sports
Western-style riding
Working stock horse sports
{{equestrian-stub