1. Roping
By Vaden Holmes

2. Materials Horse Right or left glove (thin gloves)
Saddle, reins, saddle blanket, and a bridle
Roping rope
Steers
Arena
And a shoot

3. The Box
First after you saddle up you need to get on the horse and back into the box. The box is an area that has two bars and you just back your horse into the corner of the box were the bars intersect
If you are a header (which means to rope the head) you will get into the box an the right. If you are a heeler (roping the feet) you back into the box on the left.

4. Pulling the Lever
There is usually a lever that either the heeler or someone not on a horse and helping that pulls it, and the lever is attached to the shoot where the steers go
When the lever is pulled you will make your horse run and then you chase the steer that was released from the shoot

5. Heading
If you are heading (which means you are roping the steer or cows head) you would run toward the head of the steer.
You should be just a little bit behind the steer’s head but not too much behind.
Your rope should have a big loop at the end, and the excess rope should be coiled up. To coil your rope you hold the end with both hands, slide the hand farthest from the end (the end has a knot at the end) slide it as far as it will slide, then kind of push back to the end and then it will curl. Just keep on doing that until you reach where you had your loop, but only arms length from your loop.
After that you need to swing your rope above your head in a circular motion. When you do this your rope should be just a little bit farther than the horses ears on top of it’s head.

6. Heading Continued……
After you have got the rope swinging you need to kind of toss the rope aiming for the steers head, but you need to let some coils out of your hand but not all of them.
Your goal is to try to get two of the steers horns which are on top of the steers head and once you get the horns you need to dally.
To dally isn’t too complicated, but to do this you have to still use your horn on the saddle which should be in front of you that has a place where you can hold on to. You take the excess rope and wrap it around the horn on the saddle.

7. Heading Continued……. Again
After you finished the dally you hold on tight to the rope.
You turn your horse by pulling the reins (those are attached to a leather bridle, or thing on the horses head) to the left, still holding the rope. You look behind you at your partner (or heeler) to watch to see if he/she catches the steer. Once your partner misses or catches the steer stop your horse by pulling the reins towards you. Also, if you missed the steer before your heeler was able to rope then just stop the horse

8. Heeling
Heeling is almost the same thing as heading, but not exactly. To start off, you need to be just behind the steers feet after the lever is pulled.
You chase the steer until your header catches the steer. (if the header misses you have to start all over)
When your header catches the steer you swing your rope above your head like I explained in heading (so refer back to that if you have forgotten how to swing a rope) and then you gently throw it at an angle towards the steers feet. If you catch it then you pull the rope towards you until you can’t pull it any more and then quickly dally. (Refer back to the heading if you have forgotten how to dally)

9. Heeling Continued………
After you have dallied you need stop your horse ( your goal is to get both feet ) and then you hold that position until either 1 or 2 feet are caught.
If you caught 2 legs, when you stop the steer will fall, but this doesn’t harm the steer.