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Huron Expositor, 2007-08-01, Page 12Page 12 The Huron Expositor • August 1, 2007 r Horsemanship and cattle know-how important • skills in sport of team cattle penning Susan Hundertmark_ Clouds of dust float across the field as horses thunder past, their riders hollering at the cows they're trying to separate from the herd and urge into a pen. And, as the seconds tick down and one wily cow escapes back, to the herd, a cry goes up from the specta- tors alerting the riders to the chal- lenge. While she's been competing in team penning with her family for more than a decade, Jacquie Gowing, of Brussels, was excited to offer it as a Brussels Homecoming event over the weekend to spread the word about the little-known sport. "The Optimists asked if we could do it so everyone could see the sport in action," she says. "Very few people have heard of the sport and this is one more way to spread the news," says Gowing. While she's quick to clarify that team penning is not a rodeo sport, Gowing says team penning comes from ranching and does require excellent horsemanship The sport involves three riders on a team which is timed as the riders try to separate three cows wearing the same number on their backs from the herd and lead them into a pen. "If you can't do it in under 35 sec- onds, you're not in the money," she says. Because she grew up with horses and cattle, Gowing says she found her first experience with team pen- - ning fun, challenging and "very addictive." She says it's important that the horses used in the sport are "cowy horses" or those used to being around cows. Finding horses bred specifically for the sport meant getting them from western Canada when Gowing began competing. h I "There was nothing their farm where �o competitions are held regularly and other competi- tors are welcome to come and prac- tise. Team penning is a high speed sport and riders need to be able to change directions quickly as they try to herd the cows. "You have to be able to read cattle too - to watch their eyes, ears and head and know when they're going to stop and go," she says. Rather than chasing cattle, the sport is about controlling them. "You have to know when to push them and when to take the pressure off. You can't just run at them full tilt," says Gowing. And, it's a sport for all ages. Gowing's three children have com- peted since they were as young as six and her sons, ages 14 and 16 are still competing. Her daughter, 18, doesn't compete anymore but does act as secretary of the Western Ontario Team Cattle Penning Association. Over the weel�end, 200 teams competed on Saturday and another 165 teams competed on Sunday with participants from all over Ontario. The Gowings traveNthe to team pen- nings events every eekend of summer to places such as London, Collingwood, Arthur, Hanover, Uxbridge, Ottawa and Zurich. While the sport can be found in Quebec and the U.S., the Gowings mostly remain in Ontario. "There's a higher level of competi- tion down there," says Gowing, of the U.S. The finals for the Ontario Team Cattle Penning Association is in Walkerton in October. Gowing says she hopes the week- end competition might get more rid- ers involved in the sport. "Everybody wants to be a week- end cowboy. We always hope more people will get involved for the sport to survive," she says. Susan Hundertmark photo Nick Gowing, of Brussels, tries to round up one heldof three during Nhe Brussels Homecoming o. 6 cows during a youth class of the team cattle penning competition event over the weekend. started. There are far more ranches out west. But, people are breeding horses and training horses now in Ontario that are good for team pen- ning," she says. "If you use a horse that's not used to cows, they spook and it's a big scene," she says. Jacquie and her husband Paul have a team penning facility at Local lawn bowlers heading to Canadian Senior Trigles Susan Hundertmark_ Local lawn bowlers le dawn bowlang eventhn e Canadian Seniors Trip Sarnia from Aug. 5-10 after winning silver at the Ontario finals for seniors at London's Fairmount Lawn Bowling Club recently. Carol Carter and Maureen Te Compson, of the and Jo Anne Seaforth Lawn Bowlinglub Bugler, of the Exeter club from racross the prresented ovince in istrict 4 in a field of 16 team the Ontario competition. u started raining and+e weren't playing well started raining we well but we came back and showed we did know how to bowl," said Carter, adding the local team won five out of six games to earn silver. The seniors' triples competition is for bowlers aged 60 and over.