EMBARRASS- Yearling calves kept wannabe cowpokes busy as the annual team penning and ranch sorting competition got underway in Embarrass last weekend. The event drew riders from across the area who competed over the three-day event.
In team penning, groups of three riders compete to get three specific calves, which have numbers on their sides, moved from a group of 30 calves, each numbered 0-9, at one end of the horse arena into a small pen at the opposite end. As the riders enter the arena, the number for the calves is called out. The first job is identifying the correct calves, and then the riders need to try to coax those calves away from the others, bunched up against the fence.
Of course, the calves do not understand the rules of the game, and even if a calf ends up in the pen, it might decide to just wander back out before the time buzzer rings. By Saturday afternoon, the calves did seem to have a better idea of the rules, and more teams were getting three calves into the pen in time. There are multiple groups of calves that get rotated in and out of the arena.
Riders have only a few minutes to complete their task. Teams earn a score if one, two, or three calves are properly penned. Of course, other calves sometimes get mixed in, and it only takes one “junk” calf to throw out that score. At the end of the day, teams with the fastest time and three calves win cash prizes, paid out from the entry fees.
All the available slots filled up and competition going on well into the early evening on Saturday. Forty-six teams competed in team penning on Friday and 70 on Saturday. Ninety teams competed in ranch sorting on Sunday.
The fast run for the two days of team penning and a $300 additional prize, which was sponsored by NorthShore Mining, was won by Maija Peterson, Martin Schwartz, and Sigurd Noyes, who also won a $504 purse for the fastest run on Saturday.
Friday results: First place ($330) was Brent Christiansen, Martin Schwartz, and Dona Schwartz. Second place ($291) was Deb Mazo, Dona Schwartz, and June Burrows. Third place ($207) was Deb Mazo, Martin Schwartz, and Les Mazo.
Saturday results: First place ($504) was Maija Peterson, Martin Schwartz, and Sigurd Noyes. Second place ($441) was Lynda Shively, Redbarn Connolly, and June Burrows. Third place ($315) was Dona Schwartz, Martin Schwartz, and Billy Mitchell.
Sunday Ranch Sorting attracted 90 teams. First place ($864) was Deb Mazo and Billy Mitchell. Second place ($756) was Jeff Thurlow and Dianna Thurlow. Third place ($540) was Sami Birklund and Martin Schwartz.