18/04/2026
New to the sport? What are the rules? What is the aim of the sport?
Well we have all of your who, what, when, where and why covered! ⬇️
Cattle handling
Cattle handling is the practice of managing, moving and treating cattle, focusing on using low-stress, behavioural-based techniques to improve animal welfare, safety, and efficiency. It involves understanding cattle instincts, such as their herd mentality and flight zone, to guide them calmly, reducing the risks of injury to both the animals and handlers.
Low-stress cattle handling relies on understanding animal behaviour specifically using the “flight zone” (personal space) and “point of balance” (at the shoulder) to guide movement. Effective techniques include moving in triangles, working on the side of the animal, removing pressure when they comply, and keeping handlers visible to reduce panic.
Team Penning
Team Penning tasks three riders with cutting out three specific cattle from a group of thirty head and driving them down the arena away from the herd and guiding them into a 16′ x 24′ pen. This is a fast paced event that requires coordination between riders and their horses.
The ideal team penning arena is 200' x 100' in length. Locating the pen line and start/foul line is up to the co-ordinator. The line positions are referenced as a percentage of the arena's length.
30 head of cattle marked with coloured collars (or numbers) ,in sets of 3, (ie 3red, 3blue etc) are at the “mob" end of the arena. Teams (3 riders) attempt to cut out the assigned cattle from the mob and gather them in the "pen" at the opposite end of the arena within a 2 minute time limit.
Ranch Arena Sorting
Like team penning, the origin of ranch sorting began on the ranch. This challenge tests a rider, or team of riders, ability to separate and move cattle from one pen to another in a specific order.
The size and scope of the ranch sorting arena depends on the purpose of the sorting pens. Practice pens do no likely require holding pens for the stock, while competitive sorting pens often do. Additionally, the size and shape of these pens may vary.
Teams (3 riders) attempt to sort cattle in numerical order from the mob through a gate to the other end of the arena.
Any other questions? Please let us know, we are happy to help!
