| Team Sorting , with Smokey and Ashleigh in St. Regis, MT September 2007. |
| The BTPSA Penning jackpot winners at the Year End Event, April 5, 2008. Shown from left are Peggy, Mike & Aaron with their quarter horses. Catherine and Smokey, who placed second for the day, are on the right. |
NEWS FLASH! Smokey, the Foxtrotter, and his cowgal pal win the BTPSA 2008 HIGH POINT PENNING AWARD |
Who'da thunk it possible? Competing in an arena full of quarter horses in a
sport made for quarter horses. Cutting out, moving and running down cattle.
A Missouri Foxtrotter, teamed up with an older redheaded calgal, actually
won the BTPSA 2008 High Point in Team Penning!
Hitman's Smokey Gun and I had never tried penning until September 2007. I
thought (ahem!) I was too old to try such an aggressive sport. We'd been
dabbling at Team Sorting for a year or more, liking that just fine. But when
Gary & I took him to a Joe Enger Penning Clinic in Helena, the light blinked
on and he lit up. "You mean I can run down these cows as fast as I
need to? Yeeeeehaw!"
Competitive by nature, Smoke loves to boss a cow around. What I didn't
know was just how fast he could go when motivated! I guess I should admit
that the 16 year old crazy barrel racer chic in me came out too. As the season
went on, Smokey tried more and more moves, even slipping in some really
intimidating cutting maneuevers, to let the cows know exactly who was boss
and where he wanted each one to go. I'm not proud, I'll admit there were a
few occasions when my life flashed before my eyes on a run down to cut out a
"bad" cow, so we could pen the good ones. When I lost a pedal one day, I
dropped the reins, grabbed some mane and let him do his job -- after he came
back under me to scoop up my butt so I wouldn't go over the handlebars!
Few of the western horsemen out here realize that Missouri Foxtrotters were
bred and used on cattle in the Ozarks. We love what we do and our horses
love what we do. We also love challenging what others believe and proving
that just because you're different, it doesn't mean you're not a winner.
What's team penning? It's 3 riders on horseback, working
together, to cut out 3 cows with the same number from a herd of 30
and run them, and only them, down the other end of a large arena
and put them in a pen -- in less than 60 seconds. For more info see
www.USTPA.com .
Stay tuned for our next news story, "Adrenalin keeps you young."
With Phil M & Cat T
With Steve W
With Paula P & Dani E
With Joe E
| Some of our great partners along the way... (Click on photos to see a larger version.) |
| Click the painting above to find out more about the Bitterroot Team Penning & Sorting Association (Link coming soon!) |
| Hitman's Smokey Gun, cooling off in his cooler and wearing his prize. |