Most of you may know that rodeo is a sport that came out of the days of the old west when men worked cattle for a living. Driving them through Kansas, a place where it is still legal to drive cattle through the city of Wichita on horseback, to the plains of Oklahoma, Texas, and all other points’ west.
You no longer have to work cattle on a daily basis to become a 10 roper, however it might be a good idea if you were to have done it at some point in your life. With the world of technology comes the roping dummy. Some as you can see in the photos are made to be attached to an ATV, whereas someone will pull the dummy around the roping arena as you test your skill set. Others are stand still dummies in which you do not have to rope on horseback. My favorite, and wish I could find one, is where you sit astride a dummy horse, with a dummy calf underneath.
What is cool about this dummy is the horse is life size, and you actually have to tack it. This is also a plus, as when you are finished you merely dismount and walk away. While atop the dummy horse, there is a lever on one side. You kick the lever and the dummy calf shoots out from under the horse on a track. I have been looking for this dummy for years since I tried it at one of my favorite nightclubs in NM. So if anyone knows where I can get one, I am willing to pay top dollar.
This ol' boy has a great forum. Notice his arm, and how he is pulling the slack on the rope. Once you hit, you want to pull the slack and dally the rope. You need to be very careful at this point, as many a cowboy have lost their pinkie or thumbs, something I will get into in another post when I talk about the art of roping. Yes, there is an art and a science to it. 
Great tool to teach children roping skills. My daughter is now wanting to join in the fun. I first need to teach her how to ride like the young lady in this photo. Notice this dummy has no hind legs unlike the dummy below. This dummy is to learn heading. With the dummy below, you can train in either heading or heeling. 
Pull behind an ATV
I serve two purposes. You can rope me, and I'll even keep your beer cold until you are finished.
2 comments:
I was NEVER good at roping. Ever. Once I almost got my thumb hung up in the dally, and I never tried again after that. My husband was good, but it's been years.
Yeah, you've gotta watch the dally. I've known many a cowboy to lose fingers that way.
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