Team penning

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Team penning is a western equestrian sport that evolved from the common ranch work of separating cattle into pens for branding, doctoring, or transport.

Today it is a fast-paced and exciting event that gives a team of three riders on horseback from 60 to 75 seconds (depending on the class or the sanctioning of the event) to separate three same-numbered cattle from a herd of 30, and put them into a 16' x 24' pen through a 10' opening, at the opposite end of the arena.

The sport features 30 head of cattle, typically yearling beef cattle (mature cows or bulls are not allowed), with numbers affixed to their back, three each of each number 1 through 0. A run starts once the line judge has dropped his flag as the lead rider's horse crosses the foul line. At that time, the announcer gives out a randomly drawn number, such as "Your number is seven". The riders then know that they must cut out the three head of cattle that are wearing the number "7" and push them to the opposite end of the arena, and put them into the pen, and call for time.

Teamwork is the key with all three riders working in harmony to cut out the correct cattle and drive them to the pen while keeping the wrong numbered cattle back.

The history of the sport is thought to date back to 1942 when brothers Ray and Joe Yanez, along with Canadian cowboy Bill Schwindt were sorting steers from a herd of cattle on a Ventura County, California ranch. During a lunch break the trio reportedly came upon the idea of organizing what were routine cowboy chores into a competitive sport, one in which cowboys could showcase their horsemanship.^[1]

The first organized competition is thought to have taken place at the Ventura County Fair in August of 1949.^[1]

The sport is widely promoted as the fastest growing western horse sport in the United States, Canada, and Europe.^{[citation needed]}

The primary team penning (and its sister discipline, Ranch Sorting), is the United States Team Penning Association (USTPA), headquartered in Ft. Worth, Texas. There are an estimated 93,000 active team penners in North America.

A related sport, popular throughout Australia, is campdrafting.