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Thursday, July 31, 2008

The Real Cowboys Can Sort

By Harold Smith
Mountain View Telegraph
      Bull riding, popular and exciting rodeo event though it is, isn't real cowboy work, not in the traditional sense of what a ranch hand really does to make a living.
    Sorting, however, is at the core of what it means to be a Western cattleman.
    "We're going to run a ranch sorting event right here," said Roger Clyde, a promoter who lives in the Longhorn area about seven miles east of Moriarty. "We've been working with Bill Howard, the head of the Moriarty Heritage Rodeo Arena Committee."
    The inaugural Moriarty Heritage Arena Ranch Sorting 3-part competitive series will begin Saturday with registration at 8 a.m. and the first-go starting at about 9 a.m. at Heritage Arena, Clyde said during an interview last week. The series, which is sanctioned by the Ranch Sorting National Championships, will continue with competitions on Sept. 6 and Oct. 4, also at Heritage Arena.
    "One sorter acts as a gate guard while the other sorter sorts the announced number (on the calf)," Clyde said. "The goal is to put as many head in the pen as they can in 60 seconds. That's the hardest thing to do in our event."
    The top 20 participants in each division — after totaling points for all three days — will qualify to compete in the RSNC Finals in Ponca City, Okla., on Oct. 9-12, according to the Web site at www.rsnc.us. It's part of the RSNC's "2008 Saddle Race", Clyde said.
    "We expect the third show (on Oct. 4) to be the best," Clyde said. "We'll have a lot of the knots worked out by then, and the buckles will be awarded at the end."
    The series' high-point riders in the beginner, rookie, novice, amateur and open divisions will be presented buckles.
    Here's the rundown on entry fees:
    n Open, all levels, pick 4/draw 1 — $30 fee per rider/ride, 60 percent payback;
    n Beginner ranch hand, pick 1/draw 4 — $15/$10 gate, 50 percent;
    n No. 10 handicap, pick 4/draw 1 — $25, 60 percent;
    n No. 4 pick 4/draw 1 — $20, 50 percent;
    n No. 6 handicap, pick 4/draw 1 — $20, 50 percent;
    n No. 10 master's, pick 4/draw 1 — $25/60 percent.
    The Moriarty and Estancia High School Rodeo Club will help out with the wrangling chores, Clyde said. Club members will also be able to compete with the membership fee waived.
    The goal of Howard, the committee's first-year president, is to get as many events scheduled at the local arena as possible.
    "The folks around here have been good to me," said Clyde, who moved to New Mexico from Bakersfield, Calif., a little over two years ago. "I'd like to give something back, and I don't want to see Moriarty get left behind. I know everybody's looking for the new racetrack for help (with the economy), but I'd like to get things going with what we already have."
    For information, call Clyde at 307-5576 or e-mail him at amerscot51@hotmail.com.>    Harold Smith can be reached by phone at 823-7104 or by e-mail at hsmith@mvtelegraph.com.>   

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