Breakaway roping makes RodeoHouston debut during Women’s History Month

HOUSTON — Bull using, barrel racing and workforce roping are a number of the traditional rodeo occasions you’ll see on the Houston Livestock Present and Rodeo. However this 12 months, there’s a brand new competitors and it made its debut firstly of Girls’s Historical past Month.

“Breakaway roping is not a brand new occasion to rodeo, however it’s to RodeoHouston,” says Texas native Taylor Hanchey. “We rope the calf across the neck. Our rope is tied to our saddle horn. Because the slack comes off the rope, it pops off.”

Together with the rope comes a flag, a sign for the watch to cease. All of that occurs in simply seconds.

“If you happen to’re not paying consideration, you’re going to overlook it,” Hanchey says. “I like that, that it’s simply bam, bam and we’re carried out.”

If Hanchey’s identify sound acquainted, it is as a result of she’s competed at RodeoHouston earlier than. 

“I had an ideal barrel horse that I got here right here and competed on. Then he bought harm, so I picked up my breakaway rope and began roping,” says Hanchey.

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She provides that horses used for every occasion are a little bit totally different. Barrel horses, Hanchey notes, are bred for working and pace.

“Rope horses are geared for pace, however far more for the cow,” she says. “They’ve to trace the calf, so that they’re bred to try this.”

As a barrel racer, Hanchey got here down the alley. Now she’s taking pictures out of the field, attempting to rope that calf in about 2 seconds.

“The coaching is simply as a lot psychological as it’s bodily, simply because it does occur so quick that you simply simply must let intuition take over,” says Hanchey.

She will get to do a few of that coaching together with her husband, world-champion tie-down roper Shane Hanchey.

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“(There’s) very a lot a little bit little bit of rivalry and competitors, nevertheless it’s enjoyable,” Taylor Hanchey says. “It makes each of us higher.”

Clearly. Wednesday evening, she superior to the semifinals, which suggests she will get to introduce extra individuals to breakaway roping.

“I feel RodeoHouston brings a variety of non-rodeo followers, so we’re attending to be in entrance of people that haven’t seen rodeo a lot, however most likely have by no means seen breakaway roping,” Hanchey says. “It is thrilling!”

The following time you may catch Taylor Hanchey competing in breakaway roping at RodeoHouston is on March 17.