Calf Roping

 My folks took us to the local rodeo and my brother decided that we could make money if we had a rodeo. He talked the neighborhood kids into being in his rodeo and we started to practice.

We decided to rope the old cow to learn how to rope.  We go get dad’s lariat and went out to the pasture. In the pasture we have what we call a “bad strip”, that is an area that a small creek runs down part of the year and it has rocks and weeds and is too rough to farm.

I don’t remember who roped the cow the first time but I think it was my brother because I am not good with roping even today. Anyway when that old cow took off it rope burned his hand and drug him a long ways.  So in his wisdom he decided we should tie the rope around our waists and then rope the cow. They the rope would not pull through his hands and burn them and the two of us could hold her.

Well I bet you can imagine what happened next.  That old cow by now was really mad and when that rope tightened on her neck she let out a bellow and took off for the north pole with us bouncing behind like a rubber ball.  We not only could not hold her we could not get loose from her.  She drug us down through the electric fence and down through the bad strip going full out. We were bouncing and screaming bloody murder.

We were lucky that day that dad was close enough to hear our screams. We were also lucky that my dad was such a fast runner. He ran that old cow down and grabbed the rope and turned where his hip was taking the cows weight and brought that old cow to a stop.

There we were, bruised, crying and bleeding but nothing broke but our pride and my dad “yells, of all the stupid numbskull things you have ever pulled this has to be the top. You need to learn to think things through before you do them. You are lucky you weren’t killed and now we have two fences to fix” He yelled the whole time he was untying us but we did not get a spanking. I think he thought we had enough punishment for one incident.

By the time we got the fences fixed and the old cow back in the fence she was suppose to be in we were sore and tired and a whole lot smarter.

Well I thought I was smarter until I was on my horse trying to rope a corner fence post and my dad said “now don’t be stupid and tie that rope to the saddle horn because someday you are going to catch that post”  I said “I am not that dumb” remembering the old cow incident.

Well after two days of trying and not catching that post I got where I would ride by the post and throw the rope and not even look just start winding the rope back up. Well wouldn’t you know it, one day I caught that post. No I did not have it tied to me or to the saddle horn but I was hanging on to it when I hit the end of the rope and got yanked right off that old horse and landed on my behind right behind the horse.

I wonder if that is why I can’t rope. I took roping lessons when I grew up and still could not rope but I think it all goes back to when I was a kid and mentally I am afraid of roping… Anyway the lesson was learned, roping sucks!