NFR: Whitfield still man to beat

Thursday, Dec. 4, 2003 | 1:36 a.m.

In 2003, the PC Police forced the name change of calf roping to tie-down roping. What didn't change was the legendary figure who continued to dominate the event.

Fred Whitfield.

The six-time world title-holder became the third cowboy in Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association history to bust the $2 million mark in career earnings in June at the ProRodeo Tour Finale at the MGM Grand.

He did it with his usual flair, raising his hands to the roof to thank his legion of fans from all over the world.

Being quick and accurate with a rope are the important characteristics of tie-down roping, a timed event in which the cowboy leaves a three-sided fenced area -- next to a chute holding a calf -- atop a horse.

The calf gets the head start, and the cowboy is assessed a 10-second penalty if he darts after the calf before the calf reaches its designated head-start length.

As soon as the cowboy throws his loop and catches the calf, his horse is trained to halt. The cowboy dismounts, jets to the calf and throws (flanks) it to the ground. If the calf is not standing when the cowboy approaches it, he must allow it to do so before proceeding.

After being flanked, the calf must have any three of its legs tied together by a pigging string -- a short, looped rope he clenches in his teeth after he dismounts his horse.

During all that, the horse is gently retreating, taking up any slack in the rope that was used to initially catch the calf but not dragging the animal.

When the roper completes tying the calf, he tosses both hands into the air to stop the clock. The cowboy then remounts his horse, rides forward to create slack and waits six seconds.

If the calf kicks free, the competitor receives no time. Last year, Whitfield averaged 8.8 seconds while completing all of the above in his 10 attempts, which earned him $85,782 to boost his year's earnings to $237,638.