THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 17, 1996 TAG: 9603160128
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 18 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY DAWSON MILLS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Long : 144 lines
A LONE RIDER, sitting high in the saddle in chaps and ten-gallon hat, gallops furiously toward a herd of cattle and cuts three calves out, causing them to amble toward a pen.
Two other riders, one on each side, join the first. Together, they guide the cattle to an open gate. As one calf breaks away, a rider charges headlong to turn it around and into the pen where the other two have been corralled.
A rodeo act? The last roundup?
No. It's ``team penning,'' and it's taking the country by storm.
Some eight years after it originated in California, and five years after it became a sanctioned sport, it has arrived in Virginia Beach.
``It started here July 4, 1995, at the Rocking A Quarter Horse Farm,'' recalls Ed Adamson, owner of the Rocking A and the Carousel Tack Shop in Pungo. ``We had seven teams. On New Year's Day, we had 50 teams, about 100 people.''
Even during the cold, dark days of winter, when team penning events were moved into the indoor arena at Pleasant Ridge Stables, a few miles from the Rocking A, attendance has run between 35 and 80 riders and spectators.
``It is a sport,'' Adamson says. ``It's the fastest growing equine sport in the country. At pennings in Louisiana and Mississippi, they're giving away $60,000 in prize money, even pickup trucks. They're getting corporate sponsorship.''
At least five organizations have begun to sanction team penning, including the American Quarter Horse Association. There's even a magazine devoted to it: Team Penning USA. Pungo's ``New Year's Day Winter Classic TP,'' as it is called, rated an article in the magazine.
Cash prizes came to Virginia Beach, but on a more modest scale, starting with the New Year's Day event, which drew entrants from Virginia, North and South Carolina, Maryland and West Virginia. On a recent Sunday, the purse, equal to half of the entry fees, was $750. It is divided among first-, second-, and third-place winners. Spectators are allowed to watch for free.
Practices are held at 7 p.m. Fridays, with some riders staying until midnight. Open jackpots, with purses, are held at 1 p.m. Sundays, and frequently don't finish before 7.
``It's an easy sport to understand,'' Adamson says. ``The crowd gets involved and people enjoy watching. Every week we get new people. Teams that play polo come and do this; they're pretty good at it, in their English saddles.''
Among the horse set, team penning is a ``cross-over.'' Western riders and those who ride English style both come out and enjoy it. Some ride quarter horses; others ride polo ponies.
As with any sport, there are rules. But because team penning is so new they aren't always clearly defined. The area where the penning occurs is about 250 by 120 feet (indoor horse arenas, used for jumping and shows, vary in size). The pen, at one end, is set 16 feet from the side. The calves, at the other end, number either 15 or 30, and wear numbers held on with adhesive: each number appears on three calves.
A post, set 40 or 60 percent of the way down the field, marks the foul line. When the riders, coming from one end, pass it on their way to the calves, at the other end, an announcer calls the number appearing on the three calves they must pen. Roughing the cows or using equipment is prohibited, although the riders can (and do) shout at them. If more than four cows cross the foul line, the team is automatically disqualified.
There are two judges: a flag judge and a foul line judge. When the flag judge is satisfied that the cattle are settled, he or she drops the flag, signaling the riders to come out.
The penning has to be completed in 90 seconds.
``There are,'' notes Adamson laconically, ``a whole lot of tricks to this thing.''
At Pleasant Ridge Stables, 15 cows are in the herd for team events. A typical Sunday may include four ``goes.'' First is a practice ``go,'' followed by a ``go'' for mixed teams: one adult and two youths (under 16). The registration fee for these is $10 per person; ball caps are awarded as prizes. The third and fourth ``goes'' are for 50 percent of the purse; the third is for three youths; and the fourth is for adults (although youths may ride in it). The youth event has a $10 registration fee; the adults pay $20.
There's also the ``one on one,'' where one rider has to pen one calf. When that's done, 30 cattle are put in the arena.
The cattle are all yearling calves; full-grown cows move too slowly, Adamson says. Several herds are maintained for the events and after several pennings, fresh calves are substituted. In Virginia Beach, Beefmasters, Longhorn steers and Corrientes (a Mexican breed), are used.
``I've been roping and so forth for over 20 years,'' explains Wayne Webb, who lives on a small farm outside Gloucester. ``I'm a farrier (blacksmith) by trade; one of the few people that's making a living off of horses. I like this because you can get the whole family involved: wife, kids. I've broken both ankles at least twice; my calf roping days are over, but I can do this.''
Children as young as 8 take to it as readily as the adults. Younger ones watch enthralled, as do grown-ups.
``Everyone gets to put on cowboy hats and spurs and play cowboy,'' says Kim Black, an instructor at Pleasant Ridge. ``This is hot. We have moms and kids, grandmothers, everybody.''
``I do it just for fun,'' says Mederise Lake, 12, of Virginia Beach. ``I've done it a lot before in competition. I've won the youth jackpot every time I've been in it. It's good for coordination and all.''
Diane Maydosz, 11, of Norfolk, tried it for the first time on a recent Friday evening.
``It felt kinda strange 'cause I'm used to English riding and showing,'' she explains, ``but it requires the same skills as any equine event. I was nervous, but it was exciting.''
Notes her mother, Ann, ``You'd be surprised how many cowboys there are in Virginia Beach.''
The 25 teams competing for the jackpot on a recent Sunday illustrated the broad appeal of team penning. Among the riders were construction workers, a real estate appraiser, farriers, housewives and students. The Hillbilly Tack Shop, in Moyock, N.C., sponsored a team consisting of Walter Lacy, another farrier, and Jimmy and Faith Rogerson. The shop's name was on the back of their green jackets.
``I'm a city cowboy, really,'' notes Mark Adcock, 33, a union crane operator and rigger from Norfolk. ``I've team roped; went to the East Coast finals. My cousin liked this a lot so I decided to try it. I love it. I'd rather come out here on a Friday night than eat dinner.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photos on cover by L. TODD SPENCER
Vanessa Hopper, from left, Mederise Lake and Amy Moro work to pen a
calf...
Tommy Bishop, left, and Ed Adamson watch the team calf penning
exercise...
Photos by L. TODD SPENCER
Faith Rogerson is part of the penning team sponsored by the
Hillbilly Tack Shop in Moyock, N.C. Teams of three try to cut three
calves out of herd within 90 seconds.
Walter Lacy of the Hillbilly Tack Shop waits for his team's turn in
the indoor arena at Pleasant Ridge Stables in Virginia Beach.
Twenty-five teams were competing for a modest jackpot on a recent
Sunday.
Victor Black, 6, was having a fine time while watching the
team-penning competition at Pleasant Ridge Stables. Competitors,
including Victor's mom, ranged in age from 10 to 50.
Tommy Bishop works to cut a calf in the ``one-on-one'' event, in
which one rider has to pen one calf from among a herd of 30.
Roughing the cows or using equipment is prohibited, although the
riders can (and do) shout at them.
by CNB