Separating cattle into pens for branding, doctoring, or transport are tasks familiar to the cowboy. This common ranch work evolved into the increasingly popular sport of Ranch Sorting. Two riders must cut out the correct cattle and drive them to a second pen while keeping the wrong numbered cattle back. This must be done as quickly as possible and in the correct order.
The two pens are 50 to 60 feet long and have a 12 to 16 foot opening to allow movement between them. Both pens are the same size and sorting can be done from either pen to the other.
The rules are simple but the natural herding instinct of cattle makes the task difficult. Eleven numbered calves are gathered at the end of one of the pens. They must be moved by the team of two riders one at a time from one pen to the other in numerical order, starting with a random number called by the judge. The clock starts when one of the riders crosses the gap between the two pens and the fastest time wins. The team is disqualified If an out of order calf gets into the second pen.
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