Try Tying-On: Part 1
February 9, 2010
AQHA Professional Horseman Jay Holmes thinks tying-on is a good option for many ropers.
If a person ties-on, they could compete and enjoy roping more, rather than worrying about dallying.
By AQHA Professional Horseman Jay Holmes with Christine Hamilton in the American Quarter Horse Journal
This is the first in a two-part series.
To AQHA Professional Horseman Jay Holmes of Sarasota, Florida, deciding to tie-on in the heeling isn’t about how good someone is or isn’t as a roper. It’s about making roping fun for a competitor. Tying-on can be a practical way to do that.
If you provide the desire and practice time, AQHA Professional Horseman Patrick Hooks of Texhoma, Oklahoma is offering to provide the knowledge it takes to know how to rope through AQHA’s FREE report, Roping Basics. Download your copy today!
“People who don’t rope a lot are better off tying-on in the heeling,” Jay says. “For one thing, their hands might not be used to the roughness.”
“When you dally in the heeling, your horse is stopped but the steer is still moving, and the rope has to slide through your hands,” he explains. “Someone who ropes all the time is used to doing that, and their hands are rough.”
People who work indoors might not be used to running the rope through their hands. More importantly, people who don’t rope a lot also might not have the quick reflexes needed for a good dally. Tied-on, that person could compete and enjoy roping more, rather than worrying about dallying.
“A person might have a really good horse that stops when they throw the rope, but they aren’t fast with the rope,” Jay says. “It’s easier for them to tie-on – they can guide the rope in a little bit more and not worry about dallying.
“When you dally, you have to turn loose of the rope and grab it again, but when you’re tied on, you do not have to turn loose of the top strand of your rope,” he says. “You can hold one strand of your rope the whole time you rope.”
He also recommends tying-on for people who need to protect their hands, like surgeons who rely on their hands to make a living or older competitors whose reflexes simply aren’t what they were in the past – especially if tying-on keeps them competing.
Stay tuned next week for the second part of this series where you will learn more about your options when tying-on.
Tying-on is accepted in AQHA heeling competition for women and all riders over age 50. Want to know more AQHA competition rules? Get your 2010 Official Handbook of Rules and Regulations. You’ll need your AQHA ID number and PIN. The handbook is free.
In AQHA’s FREE report, Roping Basics, AQHA Professional Horseman Patrick Hooks introduces you to roping terminology, different types of ropes and shows you how to build a loop and swing the rope with step-by-step photos. Download your copy today and start practicing!
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June 29th, 2010 at 8:12 am
[...] and then get in the ground. Some amateurs want to move their rein hand to the left to get their dally, which can make the horse turn too early. Then the amateur might not get his dally or could lose a [...]