The object of this event is for two ropers to head and heel two calves and present them at the fire ready for branding, stretched but not laid down, necessarily. Each will head one and heel one. This is not a timed event, but there is a time limit of seven minutes. The calves will be headed and then heeled. The ropers will use only rawhide reatas, at least 50' long. Ropers will be discounted five points per miss, whoever catches will be evaluated for the difficulty of the loop thrown. There will be no team roping shots for the head or the heels. The team will be evaluated for how they work together and how they handle the herd. There will be approximately ten head in the pen along with a mother cow or two. Each calf will be stretched once, so pick a fresh calf for each go around. An appropriate catch is around the neck and should include a front foot. Any intentional unnecessary roughness will be grounds for disqualification. The heeler must catch at least one hind foot and be below the hock before any dallies are taken or they will be disqualified. At no time will a horse move faster than a trot or be disqualified, the judge will use his discretion.The purpose of this event is to display and encourage the use of the reata and the practice of handling horses and cattle in the manner appropriate to the era of the Californios. Consequently no horse will be used with anything other than a snaffle, without shanks, a bosal type hackamore or jaquima, or an appropriate bridle. The juez de campo will have the final say.The use of tie downs, draw reins, chain curb straps, running martingales or any other head-restricting device will not be appropriate. There will be no rubber on the saddle horn and old style ranch saddles are encouraged but not necessary.We encourage the appropriate dress for a ranch working situation, chaps or chinks, cowboy hats (no caps), cowboy boots, long sleeve shirts, ranch saddles, again we are trying to display an old time Californio Reata Ranch Roping.If you are interested in participating the fee will be $25 per person. This will take place at Vaquero Days in Descanso,Dec. 2, Sat. at 9:00 let us know if you can come, there will only be 20 teams, make a reservation, call Garry McClintock at 619-445-3946.This will be a judged event with a total of 100 possible points. The prizes will be awarded, first to the winning team, with awards for the best headshot, best heel shot, and a top hand award. The points will be given as follows: 50 points for the roping, 25 points for herd handling, and 25 points for horsemanship. If the team fails to catch and stretch the calf in the seven minutes, there will be no score. The individuals may still be considered for the other awards.As a reminder there will be no team roping loops considered, there will be no loping the horses, no choking the cattle, no dragging the cattle and no dallying on a high hock catch. Dallying on a high hock will disqualify the team.The size of the loop thrown must be at least 10 feet.Point evaluation for Headshots:Sidearm throw 10 pointsHoulihan throw20 pointsScoop loop throw20 pointsDel Viento 25 pointsBackhand throw 15 pointsIf you pick up a front leg, add 5 points, to herd handling points not roping score.If a critter is caught deep around the belly, 0 points are awarded for the loop and the critter must be headed and stretched out. This will be a catch and scored.HEEL SHOT POINTS:NEGATIVE POINTS: 5 points One hind foot - 5 pointsReverse Flank Shot15 points Each Miss -5 pointsFlank Shot10 points Choking -5 pointsBackhand Flank15 points Dragging -5 pointsBackhand trap10 points Herd Scattering -5 pointsDel Viento25 points Loping Horse -5 pointsHoulihan hip20 points Side arm hip 15 points * BONUS POINTS will be awardedBackward side arm hip20 points at judge' discretion, for long shotsScoop loops25 points with added coils. .
