When chasing a calf down a rodeo arena, a rider and his horse have to be in perfect sync.
The horse must be able to stop on a dime after the calf is roped and keep the line taut, so the rider can run over and tie the calf's legs. With most runs lasting just more than 11 seconds, every move has to be precise.
"A lot of times you can say that the horse is more important than the rider," said Brent Lewis, who trains horses in Eloy and was a competitor in Tuesday's tie down roping competition. "When you have trust and confidence in your horse, and they have confidence in you, then you can work more as a team."
Most calf roping horses will start their training around 8 years old. The process of getting a horse comfortable with being around the calves, responding to the rider's commands and finding a routine that works can take up to two years.
People are also reading…
According to Lewis, who has trained and ridden two Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association calf roping Horses of the Year, the first four to five months of training for a calf roping horse are vital to setting up a solid foundation. Everything they need to learn is taught during that time period. The next year and a half of "seasoning" is focused on repetition and getting the horses used to the crowds and different arenas. A trained horse can sell anywhere from $45,000 to $100,000.
Typically, calf ropers will use quarter horses because they are shorter and more compact. Along with their running ability, trainers look for horses that are willing to learn and accepting of commands.
And maybe the most important aspect of the training is making sure that the horses enjoy what they do.
"If they don't enjoy it, then it's not worth making them do anything," said Cutter Parsons. "Once they're finished off, they're pretty much bomb-proof because they have such a program where they know exactly what they're doing."
Lloyd to get clarity on Arizona basketball future this week | Greg Hansen
