Division Definitions & Rules

General Rules & Information

* All teams will compete in the order they are drawn. If the team is not at the gate ready to enter the arena when instructed, they will be skipped and given a NO TIME for that event.
* Any roper will be allowed ground help. Only one person may help at a time. Ropers must dismount for ground help to start doing groundwork, or their rope will be thrown straight out in front of them with no coils on the ground.
* Any harassing or yelling at the judges will be an immediate disqualification of all events with no refund of entry fees. You will then be asked to leave the premises. Please remember this is a family event and we should be representing that in our actions and speech.
* No rubber or man made material is allowed for a horn wrap.
* No tie downs

Roping Rules

1. Time limits - two minutes to head the cow and four to complete the run.
2. Time stops when both ropes are tight and the ground man is off the calf.
3. Rim fire; a rim fire is defined as the rope touching the horse that is blocking the calf, the rope touching the horse that is between the header and the calf, or the rope wrapping around the headers horse. The team gets a 5 point penalty.
4. No loping to catch a cow, but once the cow is caught, you can lope if you're going to lose your rope. The team gets a 5 point penalty if they lope to catch a head.
5. Roughing the cattle: 5 point penalty at the judges discretion. You will be given two warnings and after that, the team is disqualified for that event.
6. Lost rope: 3 point penalty.
7. Rope on horn: anytime a roper dismounts in the arena for any reason, they must throw their rope on the ground, or it must be tied to your saddle with a rope strap properly and securely attached to the saddle in an appropriate manner.(Rubber Strap, Bungee Cord type straps do not qualify) Otherwise, it's a 10 point penalty.
8. A loop must leave the roper's hand before it reaches the animal in order to count for points.
9. Only one rope per roper may be carried into the arena. You may have a second rope hanging on the fence if one breaks. The broken rope must be cleared from the arena before the second rope can be picked up and used.
10. You must be on or have your horse with you at all times. Any loose horse is a 5 point penalty.

11. All JUDGES DECISIONS ARE FINAL.

12. If a roper touches a rope that has already been thrown at the cow to make it a legal catch, then the shot only counts as 6 points, head or heels.

Heading:

1. Stop and Face: after the calf is headed with four feet on the ground facing the header, the team can call stop and face and the team gets 3 extra points.
2. Cattle roped deep (Belly Rope): if a cow is roped deep, there is no penalty except the time it takes to remove the rope. But you must remove it before you go on.
3. If the wrong calf is roped, you have to remove the rope and then you can continue. You are only penalized by time and a 1 point penalty for each miss.
4. If two ropers head the cow at the same time, only one rope can count and the other rope has to be pulled clear once the cow is on the ground. No matter what shot the head is caught with, if two people catch, the shot is only worth 6 points.

Heeling:

1. If a roper dallies on a high hock, it is considered roughing the cattle with a 1 - 5 point penalty at the judges discretion.

Front Footing:

1. If a single front foot is caught; 3 point bonus. The cow's leg must be pulled straight out in front of the cow, or it's a 5 point penalty, roughing the cattle.
2. If both front feet are roped a 6 point bonus is given to the team

Deductions:

1.Miss Shot -1
2.One Heel -2
3.Lost Rope -3
4.Rim Fire -5
5.Lose Horse -5
6.Rope Left on Saddle -10
7.Cattle across Scratch Line -1 each/ -5 Max
8.Animal Abuse -5 (Judges Discretion)

STOCKHORSE

Pattern will be determined by the judge. Division placement is based on the rider's age & ability, not the age & ability of the horse.

Open Stockhorse:

Anyone may compete in the open division, including professional riders & trainers. The rider will complete the reining pattern, then box the cow, take it down the fence, and then have the option of either circling or roping the cow.

Novice Stockhorse:

Only competitors who have not trained, accepted money, or made a living from teaching horse lessons or training horses in the last 5 years, AND have not won over $500.00 in prize money as an Instructor or Trainer, are eligible to compete in the novice stockhorse division. The rider will complete the reining pattern, then box the cow, take it down the fence, and box it again at the opposite end of the arena. Youth Stockhorse: Rider must be under the age of 18. The rider will complete the reining.

ROPING (thanks to Cliff Peterson for the research and development of this policy)
Each competitor must declare their category prior to sign up.

Open Roper:

Any competitor may declare themselves an open competitor. Note this declaration will disqualify that roper from any novice status. Open team is any team with 2 or more declared open ropers on a team.

Novice Roper:

Any competitor who is new and/or inexperienced in ranch roping and who has won less than $1000 in cash and prizes at any ranch roping competition, and has not won a Fiesta Novice Champion Buckle
Note; if a rider declares themselves to be a novice ranch roper, but displays proficient horsemanship and roping skills, the Fiesta committee will automatically place that competitor in the open category. A novice team may consist of 2 novice competitors and one open roper, or all three ropers may be novice competitors.

Youth Roper:

Any competitor under the age of 18 at the date of the competition and have not competed in the main event.<br>

Policy Changes/Additions

1. If the Roper has a designated ground person and wants to do the groundwork the designated ground person can hold the cow down but must let Roper set all the Ropes. (A) During the Tie Down Groundperson can hold the cow tie while Roper ties it up.xz
2. Tying Off to Cattle: If your horse can handle tying off to the cattle you may do so. The only way you can tie off to the cow is; if you dally and then you can tuck the rope under itself but you must take the coils with you. If coils are dropped on the ground or left on your saddle you will be given a 10 point penalty. You must still have control of your horse and loss of control is an additional 5 point penalty. Totalling up to a 15 point penalty
3. Any team with a Novice Roper under the Age of 18 they must have an open roper or an approved Novice Roper with them to keep the team safe. Committee has the final decision on all teams that are entered and has the final decision to not let a team enter. Team will be notified if that decision is being made or not. Payment will be returned if the team is declined.
4. Arena Boss will call teams to the designated Arena. Arena Boss will call for the team number twice. If a team is not present or ready they will notify the Judge and move to the next team.
5. If you are unable to find a tag on a cow. Time will be paused until found. If not found Ropers will return back across the scratch line and be given a new cow. If cow is found time will continue once its been located

Committee Members Positions:

Jordan Miller - Stockhorse Coordinator
Crystalin Murray Christensen - Kids Events & Prizes Coordinator
Zach Christensen - Dutch Oven Organizer
Jim Crotts - Website, Campfire Coordinator
Wendy Hensley - Marketing & Administration Coordinator
Thain Irwin - Cattle Coordinator
Clifton Peterson- Committee Member
Teddy Franke - Facility Coordinator
Scott DePaolo - Team Leader

Event Support:

Jacque & Dave Dodson - Potluck
Duane Nelson - Campfire
Matt Richards - Stock Contractor
Tony Fisher - All around BEST judge.
Arena Boss -

New Point System:

Old Scoring system: Score that they earn on each run are the points. Then it's all lumped into one score. New Scoring system would change it to how you place in the event giving a score of 10 - 1 point depending on the number of entries. Open Teams will only earn points if they place the top 10 teams. Novice teams will earn points if they place in the top 30 teams.

For Maverick Branding scoring also needs to include the number of cows roped. One point for each part completed. head catch, Heels, complete brand. The more of these points earned the higher your standing will be no matter what points earned from fancy shots thrown.
Talk with Jim about how to work the point system to make all these parameters work.
Maverick branding with who has the most cows will be the winner. Even if they have a negative score.

Open Scoring.
1st - 10 pts
2nd - 9 pts
3rd - 8 pts
4th - 7pts
5th - 6pts
6th - 5pts
7th - 4 pts
8th - 3 pts
9th - 2 pts
10th - 1 pts

Novice Scoring

1st - 10pts
2nd - 9pts
3rd - 8pts
4th - 7pts
5th - 6pts
6th - 10th - 5pts
10th - 15th - 4pts
15th - 20th - 3pts
20th - 25th - 2pts
25th - 30th - 1pts

Teams Roping with Novice Ropers under the age of 18. Permitted Ropers
1. Declared Open Ropers with Committee's Approval
2. Proficient Novice Ropers with Committee's Approval
3. Immediate Family
4. Approval from Parent/Guardian

Two Arena Organization:

* Split Division Entries in half
* Half in West Arena and other half in East Arena
* Entry numbers will be labeled with Arena and Order. Ex. W1 E3.
* Slack for 3 man doctor will start once one arena has finished the Tie Down event. The second arena will help with slack once they complete Tie Down
* Announcer will be calling teams one time. Arena Boss will be at the Gate with a list and be staging Teams and calling for teams one more time.
* Need two Gate Keepers may be needed if things get dragged out and we need to speed up.

Arena Boss

* Calls Teams/Rider(stockhorse) to Designated Arena.
* Informs Cattle Rotation Team of when a Arena need a cattle change
* Informs Judge & Scribe of Teams of any teams not ready and to be skipped.
* Informs Clean-up team/ground team of a Designated Ground person for a rider.