NEORRA - Event Description, Rules, and Scoring

Three Man Doctoring Novice Class

Each team consists of three riders. Several cattle are loose in the arena. The team is told which animal to rope. The team must head and heel the animal, and it must be stretched out on the ground by its front and hind pairs of feet, with no other ropes on the animal. Events will consist of three rounds, with scores progressive. No roper may head all three cattle. No more than one OPEN roper on a NOVICE team. The OPEN roper has no fee for this event, but cannot receive any awards or prizes of any kind. OPEN roper’s shots may not count for more than 10 points. The top two teams, after three rounds, will compete in a Final Round. In the final round, the calf must be tied down with no other ropes on the calf before time is called. Teams will be chosen by lot.
The two novices on the winning team will be qualified for the finals individually.
Individual points will be recorded for the novice ropers.

Three Man Doctoring, Open Class

Most events will consist of two rounds. Ropers choose their three man team. Cattle will be stretched out in the first round and tied down in the second round. Persons on three winning OPEN class event teams will be graduated to OPEN status, regardless of individual points.
The winning team will be qualified for the finals as a team.
Individual points will be recorded. Point in the Open will be separate from the Novice regardless of the status of the roper.

Two Man Reata Doctoring

Each team consists of two riders. Rawhide reatas are required for this event. Several cattle are loose in the arena. The team is told which animal to rope. The team must head and heel the animal. In alternating events, it must be stretched out on the ground by its front and hind pairs of feet with no other ropes on the animal, or must be tied down with no other ropes on the animal. This will change month to month with April as a stretched out event. Events will consist of one round. Riders will choose their teammates. The winning team will be qualified for the finals as a team. Individual points for the two-man will be kept separately from the Open and the Novice classes.

GENERAL RULES:

1: EIGHT minutes to complete run. THERE IS NO TIME LIMIT TO HEAD IN THE NOVICE CLASS. The Two-Man Doctoring and the Open class have a three minute time limit to head.
2: Time stops when both ropes are tight and the ground man is off the calf. In a tie-down round, time stops when heading and heeling ropes are off, the calf is on its side with at least one hind foot and one front foot tied together, and the ground man is off the calf
3: Rim Fire- a rim fire is defined as one roper’s rope touching any other rider or horse after the rope is on the calf, or the rope wrapping up the roper or the roper’s horse. Team is disqualified for that round.
4: No loping. Loping is considered improper handling and results in a 5 point horsemanship penalty or disqualification, at the judge’s discretion, for that round.
5: Improper handling- 5 point penalty or disqualification, up to two warnings may be given, at judge’s discretion, after which, team is disqualified.
6: Lost rope- 5 point penalty
7: Rope on horn- any time a rider dismounts in the arena for any reason, he/she must throw their rope to the ground, carry it in their hand, or have it fully coiled and secured to the saddle by the rope strap or reins, or that team is disqualified for the round.
8: Any conduct deemed to be unsportsmanlike by a Director, judge, or event host, may result in the offender’s loss of invitation to future events.
9: A loop must leave the roper’s hand before it reaches the calf in order to count for points.
10: Rope swap- rope swap has no penalty. Ground person may swap either with the header or the heeler.
11: Only one rope per rider may be carried into arena.
12: A substitute ground person may be used if a team member has a physical limitation. Substitution must be approved by judge. Only one person is allowed to work the ground. No more than four members are allowed in the arena.
13: The ground man must maintain control of his horse while he is on the ground. If the ground loses control of his horse he will penalized 5 pts. “Ground tying” is acceptable, but if the horse leaves or wanders around, that constitutes loss of control.
14: Proper working ranch attire is required in the arena. This includes hat (no caps), long sleeve shirt, and boots. Exceptions must be approved by the judges.
15: No rubber on saddle horns. No tie-downs, martingales, or other head restricting devices. No tied-on roping.
16: Rodear must be held behind the line until the calf is headed. 10 pt. penalty for losing rodear.

HEADING:

1: Cattle roped deep: NOVICE CLASS and TWO-MAN REATA CLASS- If a calf is roped deep, the rope can be dropped intentionally, not lost, by the header. This will count as a miss. Deep loop must be pulled clear after calf is on the ground before time can be called. Or the calf may be held by the body until it is caught by the head, then may be dropped or pulled back for a heel loop. If calf is held by deep loop while being headed, the head shot counts ½ the regular number of points for the particular shot. Two deep loops on the same calf at the same time results in disqualification. OPEN CLASS- If a calf is roped deep in the open class, the team is disqualified for that round. The team and the judges will assist in releasing the calf.
2: Wrong calf- If a wrong calf is roped, the rope can be removed and team may continue. Judging and time are not stopped. The rope may not be removed by any person not competing on that team in that run.
3: If a rope breaks, it will be considered a miss. The eight minute time limit for completion of the run still applies.
4: If two ropers head the calf at the same time, only one loop can be used to hold the calf. The high point head shot will be counted, and the second rope must be pulled clear after the calf is on the ground before time can be called.
5: A dropped rope implies intention, and only counts as dropped if the calf is roped deep, or if two people both head the same calf at the same time. Dropping a rope to avoid a rim-fire, a wreck, or any other reason, will be counted as a lost rope.

HEELING

1: If an animal backs into a heel shot, it is counted for 5 points unless the trap completely encircles the hind feet as decided by judge. If a calf backs so far into a loop that the loop gets in front of the front feet, it is considered a miss and a qualified heeler must heel the calf, the other rope must be pulled clear before time is called. If a calf backs in deep, but not past the front legs, the loop can be pulled back and down. This may be done from the ground.
2: If a roper dallies on a single high hock a 2 point penalty is given. If the heeler mishandles the calf dallied on a high hock it constitutes improper handling and may be further penalized or disqualified.
3: A deep rope can be pulled back by hand from a horse or from the ground. It will be counted as a zero point heel shot.

JUDGING

Two judges will score each run. Judges may confer with present Directors to resolve any questions. The Senior Director present will have the final say if an agreement cannot be reached on any point or question.

LOOP POINTS

Bonuses for long shots +1 - +6 pts at judge’s discretion (approximately one point for every ten feet of distance beyond a 10 ft standard distance; for example, a shot 40 feet from a calf gets 3 bonus points)
Bonus for figure-8-ing a front foot in the head loop +2

ROPE HANDLING BONUSES

Bonus for trapping front foot or feet after roping head +1
Bonus for trapping other hind foot after one heel is caught in loop +1
Bonus for trapping hind foot or feet with rope after calf has been roped deep +1
Bonus for trapping hind feet in head rope and taking calf down properly +2

Head shots:

Lazo Del Oro 40
Contra Viento 30
Crinolina 30
Del Viento 20
Rodado 20
Scoop 15
Houlihan 10
Backhand 10
Offside overhand 5
Overhand 5
Sidearm 5
Pick up front foot in figure eight +2

Heel shots:

Crinolina/Contra Viento hip 30
Del Viento 20
Johnny Blocker hip 20
Scoop hip 20
Backhand over hip 15
Backhand straight behind 15
Forehand over hip 15
Backhand hip 15
Houlihan Hip 15
Hip shot straight behind 15
Lazo Del Oro trap 15
Crinolina trap 10
Contra Viento trap 10
Del Viento trap 10
Rodado trap 10
Standard hip shot 10
Backhand flank trap 10
Scoop trap 10
Houlihan trap 10
Standard trap 5

PENALTIES

Improper handling (includes, but not limited to: choking, loping, dallying on high hock) -5 or DQ at judges discretion
Animal abuse (includes both horses and cattle) DQ
Losing the rodear -10
Herd scattering after calf is caught -10
Misses
Heading-2
Heeling -1

One heel -1 UNLESS THE ANIMAL IS TO BE TIED DOWN
TWO HEELS IN THE FINAL ROUND OF NOVICE -1
Lost rope -5
Rim fire DQ
Dismounting with rope on saddle DQ

This page last updated 3 April 2009.

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