Cowboys

The last 2 days I happened to show you only cowgirls, so today, in the interest of being fair, here is a shot of some of the cowboys! The athleticism of these horses never ceases to amaze me. Look at that horse changing direction and getting ready to leap after that calf. He's right there where his rider wants him to be, with no hesitation.

I also realized that many of you probably don't know what team penning is: 3 riders enter a large arena where a herd of 30 cows is bunched together at the far end. Each cow is wearing a number from 0 to 9, with 3 cows of each number in the herd. Once the riders cross the foul line, the timer is tripped and the judge calls out a number. Before they run out of time, the riders must get the 3 cows with their assigned number out of the herd, (Without letting the rest of the herd cross the foul line.) down the length of the arena and into a small pen. The fastest team wins. MUCH easier said than done!! It is a wicked lot of fun for the whole family! For more information, you can check out Central Maine Team Penning or the United States Team Penning Association.