f you want to see how cowboys really work day in and day out, watch these events. Ranch Rodeos are competitions between ranches and are not part of the Professional Rodeo Cowboy's Association circuit. They tend to be more-modest affairs, in small arenas, in small towns, but they maintain an authenticity that gives them an appeal that the PRCA rodeos can't achieve.

Sorting
A team of five cowboys works to remove cows from a herd in a specific numerical order. As the riders cross the starting line, the announcer calls a number; while four cowboys hold the herd, the fifth must cut out each cow from the herd in the order called. This is a timed event.

Team roping
The objective in this timed event is to cut a designated animal from a herd, head it, and then heel it (which means: tie up its front legs and then with the same rope secure its hind legs).

Team doctoring
A roper must cut away from a herd of yearlings (which weigh about 550 pounds each) a designated animal, drive it and rope it while a second cowboy heels the animal. A cowboy designated as the veterinarian dismounts and draws a chalk mark between the yearling’s eyes. The lowest time wins.

Branding
A timed event in which a roper crosses a start line and enters a herd of cattle. He ropes a calf and moves it across the line where his teammates position the calf on its side and remove the rope. This is the signal for the brander to leave his designated area and race over to the calf to apply the brand. Once branding is completed, the brander returns to his area and timing ceases.

Team penning
Cowboys work together in this timed event to see which team can cut three designated calves from a herd of numbered calves and move them to a pen across the arena. The lowest time wins.

Related Rodeo Links:
The Cowboy Page
Southern Rodeos Inc.
The Rodeo Circuit
Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association
Rope and Tie!
Katy Rodeo
Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo