Kansas Ranch Roping Association Ready To Begin Third Year

The Kansas Ranch Roping Association (KRRA) is heading into its third year at the start of 2012. The KRRA was founded in 2010 by three Kansas horsemen dedicated to fine horsemanship and low-stress cattle handling.
By: The Kansas Ranch Roping Association
 
Jan. 3, 2012 - PRLog -- The Kansas Ranch Roping Association (KRRA) is heading into its third year at the start of 2012. In 2011 the KRRA held 8 ranch roping competitions across South-Central Kansas. They finished their season with 25 teams roping at their October Finals in the Open and Novice divisions, plus a Youth division. They also had the support of 12 corporate sponsors which included both local and national businesses. 

"We've grown a lot," said TA Williams, one of the founding members of the KRRA and incoming president for 2012. "When we started in 2010 we only had a handful of ropers that showed up out of curiosity more than anything. Around here, ranch roping was pretty new. But those first ropers loved it, and started bringing friends and getting the word out. We've started small, but I think our growth is something we can be proud of."

Williams admits that getting a ranch roping association, based on the traditions of the vaquero roper more commonly found in the West or Northwest part of the country, was difficult to get started in Kansas at the beginning.

"There were a lot of misconceptions out there," he explained. " And there still are. Most folks that we talk to around here that have an idea of what ranch roping is often have an incorrect idea about what we do in competition. They'd like to come rope with us, but they think they have to be able to throw a lot of spectacularly long, difficult loops with weird swings and complicated releases, all wrapped up in a name they can't even pronounce. But that's not true."

Since Williams explained what the KRRA is not, he wanted to explain what it is. According to Williams, the KRRA is about good roping with a heavy emphasis on horsemanship and minimal stress on cattle and horses.

"The KRRA is about horsemanship, low stress handling of cattle and horses, and practical roping for any situation. We rope in 3-person teams, with each team having a header, heeler, and ground person. When the cow is headed then heeled, the ground person can either do the ground work (put the head rope on the front legs, and, if only one heel was caught, put both hind legs in the heel loop), or they can rope the front legs and the header becomes the ground person. We like to be able to rope our cow regardless of what direction it's facing, and whether it's standing still or moving from right-to-left or from left-to right. There is no chasing of the cattle. The majority of our loops are thrown from a standstill. In fact, loping will get you disqualified unless it's just for a few steps in order to get out of the way of the action. Winning is based on a point system: Each loop thrown has a point value, and teams can also be deducted points for things like dropping a rope."

And the roping itself isn't nearly as difficult or complicated as most people think, Williams emphasized.

"A lot of our members do love the longer, Vaquero-type  loops, and they're definitely working on getting better at them. But right now, a team with solid horsemanship skills and good cattle handling can win or place with the simpler, lower point loops most ropers can already throw."

According to Williams, the KRRA welcomes ropers of all skill levels. In addition to the competitive ropings, the KRRA holds several low-cost clinics during the year where people new to roping, or curious about ranch roping, can come to check things out.

"People start coming to KRRA ropings or clinics at all skill levels. Some are full time cowboys or cowgirls that can already rope well, but they're new to ranch roping. On the flip side, several of our members that started with us in 2010 had never even thrown a rope from a horse. But they caught the bug, and this year several of them qualified for the Finals. We welcome new ropers regardless of their roping experience, or lack of it. If you have the desire, we'll do what we can to help."

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About The Kansas Ranch Roping Association (KRRA):

The KRRA was founded in 2010 by Scott Gore, Mark Young, and TA Williams, three Kansas horsemen dedicated to fine horsemanship and low-stress cattle handling. For more information on the Kansas Ranch Ropers Association, contact TA Williams of Benton, KS at 316-619-1613 or tadoubletd5@hotmail.com.
End
Source:The Kansas Ranch Roping Association
Email:***@hotmail.com
Tags:Ranch Roping, Ranch, Roping, Horses, Cowboys, Cowgirls
Industry:Agriculture
Location:Kansas - United States
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