|
Read this Team Penning article by Connie Hubbard American Cowboy, May/June 1996
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Team Penning This sport requires riders to cut three numbered cattle from the herd and to put them into a small holding pen at one end of the arena. Each team penning team is made up of three horses and riders. Participating in this timed event enabled Connie to write about it knowledgeably, and to do cartoons concerning it as well. This photo shows Connie riding a borrowed mare, Queenie, at Cottonwood Arena in Texas. Her team won that day. There were several articles done for various magazines on team penning, which was one of the fastest growing equestrian sports in the 1990s.
Team Penning Cartoon The cartoon depicted on this website is one of a series of three which playfully shows the most desirable attributes of each team member, the Wing Man, the Hole Man, and the Lead Man – the one that breaks the herd and begins the timed event. CLICK ON IMAGE FOR LARGER VIEW
The sport of cutting requires a horse and rider to cut a calf from the herd and to keep it from returning. The idea is to let the horse do the thinking. Riders are required to enter the herd quietly, to choose a lively bovine ‘opponent’ and once that is done to drop the reins so that the horse does all the defensive moves on its own. It is a judged event that lasts 2 minutes in the arena, but involves extensive training to get a champion such as the one Connie is riding in this photo. Sixie Quixote is the mare’s name and she was ridden to a Legends Championship by five-time champion Matlock Rose. Connie did not win this event on her however as her left hand was too high off the mare’s neck and the judges rightfully marked down for that – not due to a mistake by the mare, but by her rider.
Cutting Cartoon Most cutters will have experienced being dislodged from the saddle at one time or another, as cutting horses are competitive to a fault and will not ‘wait’ for a rider if they are busy outwitting a calf. Cutters are beyond quick so even experienced riders occasionally find themselves without a horse beneath them! CLICK ON IMAGE FOR LARGER VIEW |
