[Ag-eq] "neck-reining"

[Susan Roe]

When my cousin and I were learning to ride our first ponies at age 4, none 
of us had any idea how far my cousin would go.  I never did any showing, but 
my cousin Wes went on to be a very accomplished professional roper with the 
Virginia Cowboy Association and the American Quarter Hourse Association.  He 
just stopped ropeing two years ago and he just turned 50.  His first horse 
which was bred and raised on the farm was a beautiful horse named Warrier. 
Wes was also left-handed which made his training even harder.  He was in his 
first Quarter horse professional show at age 13 and came in 3rd place.  His 
first registered Quarter Horse roper was Patty Red.  He has had at least 
four other quarter horses and his current Quarter Horse is named Trouble. 
Warrier was neck trained and the description of power stearing hits it right 
on the head.  You had to be very careful riding him because the slightest 
pressure would have him turning on a dime and if you slightly pulled back, 
that was his signal to rocket backwards.  This was his training so when Wes 
had the rope loop on the calf's neck, one tap back on the reins and 
backwards he'd go to keep pressure on the rope as Wes jumped off, ran along 
the tight rope line, flipped the calf off his feet, (called daylighting), 
put the calf on his back and then tied three legs together for the ending of 
the timer.  While all of this is going on, Warrier had to keep that rope 
tight.  He had extra power steering and it felt so odd when his hind 
quarters would slightly drop and either turn on that dime or shoot 
backwards.  Needless to say, I didn't ride him very often, I stuck with my 
own horse which was his brother.  Their father was a huge Tennessee Walker 
and their mother was half mustang.

Susan
dogwoodfarm at verizon.net