by Roxanne Sapergia
A team sport made up of six – three good friends and three great horses – is how trainer and avid competitor Lindy Baron of Cayley, AB, describes the sport of team penning.
Over the past three decades the sport of team penning has grown in leaps and bounds, so this month we will look at some of the attraction and the skills required to play the game. For a closer look at the sport, long time team penning competitors and trainers, Lindy Baron of Cayley, AB, and Donna O’Reilly of Millarville, AB, share some of their thoughts.
When asked what it is about the sport that attracts her to it, Baron replies, “The fact that so many variables come into play – your team members, your horse’s power, your skills as a rider – and on top of all that you add 30 head of cattle to the equation, means that you end up with an arena full of energy and excitement.”
With her quick wit, Baron laughs and adds, “Team penning is a bit of gambling, a bit of luck, and hopefully enough skill to put together a decent run in one minute.”
One of the most exciting aspects of the game for O’Reilly is the fact that you have to be able to fix things on the go! A fun-spirited lady who doesn’t back down from a challenge, O’Reilly says, “I love the challenge you get from fixing on the go.
“You have to be able to change your plan in a second when unpredictable things happen… and they happen all the time. You have to do your homework and learn how to work as a team, keep up on your horsemanship, and practice with your team members. It is really important that your team members keep up together as a group.”
The partnership between Baron and O’Reilly is not only a connection in the show pen, but they are also good friends. Smiling, Baron goes on to add that, “The team members need to have a connection, a chemistry really. I have been at this game long enough to learn that I can personally do better penning with people I like.
“I like people who can communicate and problem solve on the go.” With her characteristic laugh she adds, “And hell it is just a lot more fun doing it with people you like!”
O’Reilly explains what team members on any team should strive for. “Good team members are not afraid to make a mistake,” she says. “They have open communication, always try to do their best, are not afraid to let you make a mistake, and never hold it against you if you do.”
As with all equine sports, the equine athlete is the silent partner who puts us in the winners’ circle, and the penning horses are no exception. Baron describes the qualities she looks for in a four-legged partner.
“I personally like a horse that is quick-footed and a little on the smaller side, maybe around 14.2 or 14.3. I like a horse with a short back, a good mind and a good engine. They need to have a big stop and lots of cow sense, which goes without saying.
“I like to ride mares because they seem to have the ability to channel their energy better and they seem to have a little more fire and snap.”
O’Reilly’s choice for her mount is one that is cool headed and one that enjoys the game. “I like to ride a horse that wants to play the game. If they like it they just get better and better, and if they really aren’t enjoying it they will get worse and worse.
“It is really easy to tell, if the horse is not enjoying the game, they will begin to refuse to enter the herd, or maybe don’t want to be bridled, some will begin to over-ride cattle and go by them. If the horse is happy he will stand in line quietly and not try to turn away, he will enter the herd as straight as an arrow, and come out the other side with one critter.”
Both trainers agree that they like horses who have been shown at the Snaffle Bit Futurities. These horses tend to make excellent penning horses because they seem to make the transition easier. They are solid in all three disciplines and have been shown in the herd, rein and fence work, they really know how to work a cow and have been shown all over the arena.
Two of the best Non Pro coaches around, both Baron and O’Reilly spend a great deal of their time coaching riders and like to see riders at a certain level of horsemanship prior to entering the show pen.
Baron begins by explaining that she likes to have her students confident in their basic skills and she drills them on their walk, trot, lope, stops and rollbacks prior to spending lots of hours one on one with a cow, where they learn to stop, rate, slow down and get hooked on a cow.
“I feel it is very harmful to a rider’s horsemanship skills to learn to ride and pen at the same time. I know several people who are showing cow horses today who have told me that they wish they had not penned before they began to show cow horses because they short-circuited some of their skills.”
O’Reilly adds, “I want my students to have great horsemanship skills. I don’t care if they can read or work a cow, I want them to be able to ride and confidently handle their horse.
“I hope my students are riding the best horse they can afford at the time and I encourage them to set goals.
“As an example, for my lower-level students, a goal might be to compete at the regional level or perhaps even the National Finals. They need a goal to work towards.
“I drill my horses and my students on riding straight through the herd and coming out straight on the other side. We will pick a cow and learn how to drive it away and do lots of one-on-one reading and rating.”
Because penning is traditionally a family sport and you don’t need to have your horse consistently in a trainer’s barn, it is a sport that the whole family can do. Penning is a sport that lends itself to professionals with limited time, it makes for a fun exciting weekend where the weekend warriors can quickly put the corporate world behind them for a few hours.
For more information on the Alberta Team Penning Association, visit www.tcpaa.home stead.com.
Lindy Baron and her husband Ron Ecklin own and operate a training facility in Cayley, AB, where they specialize in team penning, working cow horses, ranch horses, and coaching Non Pro riders. You can contact Lindy at (403) 625-9250.
Donna O’Reilly and her husband Ed own and operate a training facility in Millarville, AB, where Donna coaches Non Pro riders and shares her passion for team penning and working cow horses with their children Jesse and Jenna. You can contact Donna at (403) 931-3382.
