Sunday, March 8, 2009

It's All In the Spoke

by Lisa Woodland

A few months ago our son was having a hard time catching his break away calves. As a young roper he was having a hard time changing from team roping to break away and vice versa. I think this is something that every young roper struggles with.

My brother in law was helping us and watching him and told us that he wasnʼt getting his spoke right and that is why he wasnʼt catching. The reason he was catching in the team roping is because he had learned to make his team roping loop big enough.

Once he started changing his loop for the event he was competing in, he has had more success. If you are having trouble catching in both events try these two tips and see if they help you like they have helped us.

Break away or Calf Roping Loops
To measure your spoke Zeak goes from fingertips to arm pit.

Slack is another important part of a correct loop. Zeak measures from out stretched hand to out stretched hand.

Team Roping
In the team roping your loop may need to vary from steer to steer. Zeak measures from out stretched hand to out stretched hand for the right loop. This is the loop that gives him the most consistency.

Final thing is to put a smile on your face, have fun, and catch!

1 comment:

  1. This is really helpful. We always forget about the little things. These things make a big difference in how our kids perform.

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