When team roping was team tying
Practically no one under 70 has seen it. It’s not on Wikipedia. Google’s never heard of it. But team roping was team tying in most of the country from the 1930s through the 1972 NFR.
Like rodeo’s current events of steer and tie-down roping, it evolved from ranch work—tying cattle down to doctor, castrate or brand. And even though team ropers have dallied now for 50 years, team tying is still relevant—it was added a few years ago to the roster at the prestigious Windy Ryon Memorial.
This May in Saginaw, Texas, NFR heeler Ross Ashford and steer roper Laramie Allen won the Knot Tying two-header, 40-percenting the field of just eight teams to earn around $1,500 a man and trophy buckles and coolers. The duo, just 23 and 22, fell into the invitation that belonged to Tory Morrison and Dakota Kirchenschlager, neither of whom could attend this year. Only eight teams are annually invited.
“It’s old-school and we don’t get a chance to do that very often,” said Ashford. “It was a lot of fun. I’d always wanted to do it, and it helped that Laramie had a tripping horse we could use,”
Curious yet? Here’s a team tying run, in which both ropes are tied on: You rope the bones of a steer weighing 675 pounds and, as your horse
