Youngsters test their mettle in calf-roping competition

Youngsters who dare to test their horseback mettle and skill while chasing a running calf and whirling a rope will perform this week in the Tall City New Year’s Calf Roping Blowout at the Horseshoe. “It’s for the kids and old worn-out men like me,” said E.P. Birkhead, 78. For more than 60 years, he has been an avid enthusiast of horseback roping for youngsters and old-timers. Birkhead is among sponsors of the fourth-annual calf roping event — set for Tuesday through Thursday — that celebrates a tradition of the Old West that is extant today on ranches in doctoring calves for screwworms in the pasture, branding them at round-ups and roping them at rodeos. Roping is teamwork between the horse and the rider. “You’ve got to have a good horse, because he’s about 75 percent of it (calf roping),” Birkhead said. This week’s blowout begins Tuesday with tie-down calf roping and breakaway calf roping for youth and teens. Breakaway roping, which does not involve the tie-down aspect, is for girls and younger boys who opt not to tie-down. The tying-down feature involves flanking the calf after the calf is roped and using the “piggin’ string” to hold the calf still by tying a front leg to the hind legs. Roping events Wednesday and Thursday will be dedicated to Ultimate Calf Roping for seasoned ropers from youth through competitors of Birkhead’s age. Tuesday’s all-day roping competition begins at 9 a.m. A barbecue lunch and prayer service conducted by Texas-New Mexico rancher-roper Phil Stroud is planned for 1 p.m. Competition will be for age groups from 9-and-under to 19-and-under. Breakaway calf-roping is for girls of all ages and optional for boys age 13 or younger. Competitors in the Calf Roping Blowout are from across Texas, as well as Louisiana, Colorado, Mississippi and New Mexico, Birkhead said. Featured high-profile teen ropers Marcus Theriot, Westyn Hughes, Cooper Mathews and Ty Harris will compete in the 7 p.m. Match Ropers Tournament on Tuesday...more