The barrier system is what gives the calf its head start, and it comes two ways at a rodeo—an electronic eye, or the traditional rope setup. On the rope version, a neck rope runs from the calf back to the barrier stretched across the front of the box, and the two are held together by nothing more than a piece of butcher string.
You nod, the gate person turns the calf loose, and when the calf reaches the end of that rope the pin pulls and the barrier drops. The length of the start is set against the length of the box—commonly three feet under—and the measurements are posted on the side of the chute. Ask the official if you aren’t sure what you’re roping on.
Break the string before the calf pulls that pin and the barrier falls to the ground with 10 seconds added to your time. On runs decided by hundredths, that’s the whole run.
“99% of the time, a 10-second penalty is going to take you out of the money,” Sumpter said.
The good ones aren’t waiting on the barrier to pull. You want to be hitting it the same instant the calf pulls the pin—that timing is what scoring means, and at a rodeo the barrier pulls fast enough that the horse has to be trained for it, not just the roper.
Sumpter walks through the whole setup in the video below, including what it takes to build one at home: the bungee and pulley on the off side, how much tension it takes to make the barrier pull back, and why you want a flag on it. The barrier is one of a handful of rules that decide whether a fast run pays—the rest, including what makes a catch legal, are in our breakaway roping rules primer.
About Linsay Sumpter
Sumpter, of La Junta, Colorado, is the head rodeo coach at Otero Junior College. She also is the newly named Commissioner of the Women’s Rodeo World Championship.
“Rodeo was a genetic default of mine growing up,” Sumter explained. “My grandfather is Cotton Rosser. He’s a ProRodeo Hall of Fame stock contractor—one of the living legends in the business.”
Commissioner Notes: My Grandfather’s Granddaughter
Until she was 13 years old, Sumpter was a trick rider and carried flags on stages like NFR. When she transitioned to competing in high school rodeo, she qualified to the National High School Finals Rodeo. Sumpter also got her first taste of public speaking and defending the sport of rodeo when, at the age of 15, she stood in front of the California State Legislature and spoke on behalf of the agricultural industry regarding a harsh animal welfare bill. After high school, Sumpter attended California Polytechnic State University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree and competed at the College National Finals Rodeo.
From a family of rodeo royalty, Sumpter’s no-nonsense approach to coaching and competition shines through in her series on BreakawayRoping.com. On top of being an expert in breakaway horse training, Sumpter has flanked bulls, picked up broncs and day worked for a living, and that all-cowgirl attitude is what sets her apart from the pack.
About BreakawayRoping.com
BreakawayRoping.com offers courses on breakaway roping 101 as well as elite tuning with the likes of WPRA World Champion Hope Thompson, RFD-TV’s The American Champion Madison Outhier, jackpot standouts Josie Conner and Aspen Miller, and the King of the Cowboys, Trevor Brazile. It’s accessible on over 1,000 devices including iOS devices, Android devices, MACs, and PCs, so you can stream videos from the barn, event or comfort of your couch.
