The Rural Voice, 2001-09, Page 44A cut above
Cutting cattle from a herd on horseback is a
useful skill for cattle producers but it's also
becoming a hotly contested talent at Ontario
competitions
Story and photos by Mark Nonkes
Everyone wants to be a cowboy,
says Jacquie Gowing while
preparing to mount a horse on
her farm near Brussels. It doesn't get
much better than being Saddled to a
horse and chasing cattle through open
pasture or in the ring.
Gowing is one of a growing
number of participants in the rodeo.
sport of team penning. Team penning
is a fast -paced sport where three
peopte on horses go into a ring and
pull out three specifically numbered
cattle from a herd. These three cattle
are brought to the other side of the
arena in a small pen in the time limit
of 90 seconds. Teamwork is the key,
individuals must work together to
achieve the desired result, the fastest
40 THE RURAL VOICE
time with the most cattle penned.
Gowing has been involved in team
penning for about three years. A
local circuit in Southwestern Ontario
provides competitions about every
other week of the summer in places
like Alymer, Walkerton and Paisley.
The biggest competition in the area is
at the Western Fair in London on
September 10. It's the competition
with the most competitors and most
prize money.
When Bob Orr of the Ontario Team
Cattle Penning Association found out
the Western Fair was looking for
exciting event, he quickly brought up
team penning.
The sport fit the bill. The Western
Fair was looking for an exciting and
entertaining event that could fill the
entire day, Orr said.
"They were looking for something
that draws and keeps a crowd," Orr
said.
After some presentations to the
Western Fair planning committees,
they were accepted to hold an all -day
competition. After only one year it
has turned into the most prestigious
event on the Southwestern Ontario
penning circuit.
According to Cheryl McLachlan of
the Western Fair the first team
penning competition last year was
very successful. Inside the Ontario
arena, where the competition is held,
all seating was filled. The team
penning groups were asked to return
to the fair after last year's success
because of the excitement penning
creates.
"There's lots of action from one
end of the arena to the other,"
McLachlan says.
Winning a competition always
depends on the type of cattle. Some
are pretty calm while others are wild.
Both Orr and Gowing say that much
of the sport involves chance and luck
of the draw. If the cattle start