Albuquerque, New Mexico hosts the Southwest Regional Team Roping Finals this weekend, August 17-19, 2007!

This is a huge event for team ropers, with the 2006 event having a total payout of over half a million dollars!

Thousands of horses and riders will be gathering at the New Mexico State Fairgrounds this weekend to compete. Prizes include cash prizes of up to five or ten thousand dollars per event, trohpy Martin saddles, plus trophy leather coats, trophy Gist buckles and spurs, and even special edition gold buckles!

For those not familiar with the sport, the rodeo event of team roping involves (surprise, surprise!) a team of riders and their horses, cooperating to try to rope a steer as quickly and efficiently as possible. The steer bolts out of a chute, getting a head start on the horse-and-rider teams. One horse and rider pair acts as header, aiming to rope the animal's head, trying to settle a loop around the steer's neck, horns, or "half-head," meaning the loop goes around the neck and one horn. The header then takes a dally, that is a couple of wraps of the rope around the horn of the saddle. Once the header has made the dally, he will turn his horse and the steer. The other horse and rider pair, who take off from the other side of the chute, wait until the header has turned the steer. This "heeler" then attempts to rope the steers hind legs. There is a 5 second penalty for roping only one hind leg and a 10 second penalty for breaking the barrier. If either header or heeler fails to settle that loop, the team gets a "no time."

It's a really exciting activity to watch, so come on out to the New Mexico State Fairgrounds this weekend and check out the excitment of team roping. (Sorry, it's too late now to compete if you're not already registered!)