Team penning event set at fairgrounds

DEL MAR — The excitement of the 2009 Teens Jeans & Dreams Team Penning Event comes to the Del Mar Race Fairgrounds Arena on Sept. 12.
Sponsorships and VIP dinner boxes are available with general admission $30 for adults and $15 for children under 12.
The evening begins at 5 p.m. with a special VIP sponsor cocktail reception and silent auction, with the main event beginning at 6 p.m. For more information and to register for this event, contact (858) 759-3298.
Tickets can be purchased by sending a check to P.O. Box 8202, Rancho Santa Re, CA 92067. The event is being hosted by the Friends of San Pasqual Academy. For more information, call (858) 759-3298.
Committee members include Lois Jones, Dagmar Helgager, Teri Summerhays, Kathy Lathrum, Carole Markstein, Heidi Hollen, Karen Ventura, Julie Krone, Carol Tager, Anne Mc Cabe, Marie Zarrabian, Joanie Spence, Marcy Gehrke, Patty Brutten, Jenn Marun, Gene Ventura, Tina Caldwell, Nicole Johnson, Bill Mc Nally, Connie Mc Nally, Lauren Greider, Ann Boon and Nina Williams.
A “Calcutta” will be conducted before the competition begins. This provides the opportunity to purchase a team that one feels will win the competition. Come cheer or bid on riders that are from other disciplines, which include dressage, hunter/jumper and saddleseat.
So what does a young rider need to be part of a team penning event? It’s harder than it sounds. First, you’ll need three riders and three horses to make a team. Penning horses have to be well-trained. Team penning horses will generally be of stock type, but any horse can pen.
Next, 30 head of cattle are released into the arena. Each cow is numbered 0 to 9 on its back, with three cows of each number. Riders start at one end of the arena. When the judge says the timer is ready, all three riders take off toward the herd at the opposite end of the arena. As they pass the start line, the announcer calls out a number, 0 to 9.
In team penning, the idea is to take three cows with the number called out by the announcer, then separate them from the rest of the herd and move them into a pen at the other end of the arena. The team then works to get all three cows with that number and bring them back to the pen within two and a half minutes. And they can’t let more than five cows of other numbers cross the start line or the team will be disqualified.
Any cows in the pen other than those with the called number have to be removed and sent back to the other side of the start line before time stops. A team can receive a time for penning only two cows, but any team penning three cows, even with a slower time, will be ahead of you. And if your team pens no cows in the allotted time, you’ll receive no score.
It’s as competitive as it sounds and a lot of fun to watch.