Looking for Roping Instructor in Washington, DC area

[nate-eagle]

I’ve been cast in a play with a local community theater for a character who practices roping on stage and dramatically ropes and yanks over a chair at one point. I am trying to find an instructor within driving distance (generously defined!) of Washington, DC who I could pay for one or two lessons to show me the basics: my understanding is that it helps a lot to get a foundation from someone knowledgable.

Someone who has experience teaching kids would be ideal, since I’m a complete beginner and would appreciate someone with patience!

Does anyone have any suggestions for where I could look to find someone like that? Thanks in advance for any tips or advice anyone is able to provide!

[Bluey]

There are roping clubs all over, find some near you.
Ask any reining or cutting barn, they may have or know someone that can teach you.
Are there any rodeos around or not too far?
There are some rodeo associations South of there, don’t know how close they may be to you, that can help you.
Check with local trail riding groups, they may have some old cowboy around that may be able to help or find you help.

[Janet]

The young woman who looks after my horses when I go away is a cutter. When I have asked her in the past, she said that there are very few Western trainers in the area (we are both in Prince William County, about 40 miles west of Washington DC).

When I Googled “roping” near Washington DC I got this site - https://www.equinenow.com/ropingvirginialessons.htm
which has 6 listings, but only one is less than 50 miles from DC: Miran Farm in Aldie (40 miles).

[Foxglove]

You might look on YouTube. When I was a kid, my ma (from Wyo) taught us kids how to rope --and used to rope us for fun (FYI it hurts!). I was too small to actually build and cast a loop, but I did recall the basics when I switched to ranch riding and decided to add roping to my skill set.

I got a used rope (look for “soft” on the tail end, most are labeled). Then look on YouTube for basic instruction. I think it took me about two weeks to master building a lope. However, casting and roping my mounting block seemed easier than the whole loop building part. Once you have your loop correct, a single swing around your head and point your finger at the object should get you there --as long as the object is stationery —the rapid swinging and casting a small loop is for moving targets, I am told.

Roping a mounting block (or stationery dummy) will get me by in Ranch Horse Trail this year. At 70+ I am too old to take up roping a real cow, even with a break-away (I think).

[nate-eagle]

I really appreciate everyone who’s taken the time to reply to this; I know it’s kind of a strange request.

It does look like it’s going to be a real challenge to find someone for in-person instruction, though I haven’t given up yet. Youtube, as @Foxglove suggests, is the fallback, and there are definitely some good instructional videos. I appreciate being told that building a loop is going to take more time than casting and roping. For the part, I’m just supposed to be roping a chair and some bed posts, so it’s very low on the scale of challenge where that’s concerned. But even building the loop and setting things up seems to involve a lot of knowledge and practice. There seems to be at least one good video that focuses on this part, though: https://youtu.be/KzJ1V72sCa0?si=EKZcM53Oc1NwPmHm

[Foxglove]

I watched the video you posted. Seems to be a good one. One thing the instructor skipped that was tough for me was the TAIL of your rope, points AWAY from your body. I kept having my rope coiling weird, until the cow owner [who lets me practice boxing and cutting on his herd] watched me and told me to always make sure my rope TAIL pointed away from my body before I started coiling.

Now I seem to have it right most of the time.

But having said that, the YouTube roping video series I found most useful, skipped a step too. When you create your loop by moving the hondo back (toward your body), the second time you add a loop, you have to ROLL it backwards with your wrist. Hard to explain but WATCH closely as the YouTuber adds his second coil to make his loop bigger. I think eventually he does refer to the “roll” but not in the first time. I think that’s the hardest part! Once you have your loop the right size (boot to shoulder), then all that’s left is one swing and a cast.

Anyway, the 5 videos (each about 4 min long) I watched and found most useful were by DRUSTEW –

Here’s a link to the first one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reHJLSaO1yA&t=40s

Oh, my buddy, a woman who works in WYO seasonally as a cow person, can roll her loop over her palm without dropping the loop. I can’t. It sure looks cool though.

[BrownDerby]

There are some helpful books out there too. Western Horseman published a few.

You can practice in your backyard with a 50 ft extension cord. How to coil your rope and form a loop are almost more important than roping itself, as far as credibility is concerned. Good luck, have fun…

[Aces_N_Eights]

@Foxglove

Anyway, the 5 videos (each about 4 min long) I watched and found most useful were by DRUSTEW –

Here’s a link to the first one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reHJLSaO1yA&t=40s

Agree with @Foxglove , he has the best videos really breaking down on how to make a loop, swing and delivery.
I sent those to someone on here a couple years looking for basic instruction to get by showing at local ranch shows.

Roping is a lot like golf, seems simple, very technical but can get in your head lol
But considering what you want to do, you can get the basics down. You’re not trying to rope live cattle in a short amount of time.

[Wamelohe]

If you’re able to drive a couple hours, you can find some great in-person options. I learned how to rope at Rock Branch Cattle Company, just south of Charlottesville. Also Randy and Rose Brown are in the Stuarts Draft area.

[nate-eagle]

Thanks for the continued tips! I’m watching through these videos, and every bit of added perspective from people’s own experiences helps me have more context for piecing things together. I do have a bit of good news: someone reached out to me on Facebook who has played this role before who taught himself the basics via Youtube and has offered to get together with me and show me as much as he knows. He certainly disavows the kind of practical expertise that a lot of you have, but I still think it’s a major step up from only working from videos.

@BrownDerby

How to coil your rope and form a loop are almost more important than roping itself, as far as credibility is concerned.

This really resonates with me and what my goals are when presenting a skill on stage. I don’t think it’s essential (or possible) to really master many things quickly enough for a play, but caring enough about details can make a big difference.

[nate-eagle]

@Wamelohe

If you’re able to drive a couple hours, you can find some great in-person options. I learned how to rope at Rock Branch Cattle Company, just south of Charlottesville. Also Randy and Rose Brown are in the Stuarts Draft area.

My parents-in-law live in Charlottesville and I’d definitely be willing to drive to Rock Branch Cattle Company if they’d be open to some newbie instruction.

[jvanrens]

Good luck with your quest! I couldn’t throw a rope to save my life, but like anything, good instruction is key. I just never took advantage of the opportunities I had back in the day.

[risuenaVT]

If you’re on facebook, it might be worth joining a group like Maryland Horse Network and asking about roping instructors (I’m sure there’s a similar group for Virginia too). And searching through posts there, I discovered 3 Clovers Ranch out in Hagerstown (definitely a hike from DC) that seems to have regular roping practices as well as hosting a ‘Little Loopers Dummy Roping’ series for kids. So even if they’re too far for you to travel, maybe they’d have suggestions of people closer to DC?

In my search it also seemed like there might be a couple of barns in northern Montgomery county or Howard county that might have someone who can give roping instruction. But definitely more out towards Hagerstown or up into Pennsylvania.

[hallie2]

summerwind farm in Damascus md is reining, but they might know roping people.

[nate-eagle]

Just wanted to add another thanks to everyone who’s offered advice here and also to offer an update:

I’m finding learning the level of roping I need for this level more attainable than I thought. The videos that @Foxglove linked to (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reHJLSaO1yA&t=40s) are extremely effective at teaching how to handle a rope, build the coils, build the loop, swing the rope, and then think about the basics of laying it over your target.

I can hit a post from a farther distance, now, than is going to be possible on stage and basically always get it. The more difficult task called for in the stage directions is to hit a chair and yank it back toward me. I can’t stand much more than six feet away, which means the tip of the loop itself isn’t far from the chair. I can now get the chair far more times than I miss and I’m hoping I can approach 100% in a week or two.

One small question: when I swing the rope, following the motion shown in the video, I first flip over my hand as I bring the lasso counter-clockwise in front of me, ending thumb down and pinkie up and can have the loop essentially flip over me, as shown. But then when I bring it around to the other side, it seems like the rope wants to kinda kink up a little bit (it’s hard to describe) as if it were remembering the two coils it’s made of, rather than staying nicely open in a single, large loop. (I can try to take a picture or video if that doesn’t make any sense.)

This doesn’t seem to really effect my ability to loop something – when I swing the loop it stays open and seems to be open enough to lay over the target, but it also doesn’t seem quite like what seemed to be shown in the video.

Just curious if anyone recognizes an error in what I’m describing that I could fix, or if it’s just the property of having a pretty hard rope (it’s “hard med” according to the label at the tail… I ordered it used before I got the advice about looking for soft).

[endlessclimb]

Can you soften the rope up by treating it to some brutality - like drive over it with your car about 20 times on gravel?

I haven’t roped anything in a long time but i do remember it takes awhile to break in a rope!

[Aces_N_Eights]

@nate-eagle

One small question: when I swing the rope, following the motion shown in the video, I first flip over my hand as I bring the lasso counter-clockwise in front of me, ending thumb down and pinkie up and can have the loop essentially flip over me, as shown. But then when I bring it around to the other side, it seems like the rope wants to kinda kink up a little bit (it’s hard to describe) as if it were remembering the two coils it’s made of, rather than staying nicely open in a single, large loop. (I can try to take a picture or video if that doesn’t make any sense.)

I see this quite a bit in beginner ropers. Very common. Without watching you, I bet you are using your wrist rather than the correct position coming from how you use your shoulder and your elbow.
If you get your elbow up behind your ear, it creates that position of thumb down, pinky up.(think of making an upside down pistol) your wrist shouldn’t do anything. Your swing comes from the shoulder and elbow. Using your wrist to swing cause your rope to figure eight or kink up.

Also by using your shoulder and elbow you have more power to throw. I see a lot begginers, especially women for some reason, swing with their loop too in front of them. Get your shoulder and elbow behind you.
When you throw a baseball overhand, you can’t really throw it if your arm is in front of you. But if you get your arm behind you using your shoulder and elbow you have power to throw the ball.
I hope that all makes sense.

[Bluey]

One way to avoid flicking from the wrist is to think on the back of the swing that you are wiping your brow, if right handed with the back of your hand over your right brow as you pass with your swing around and to the front, that lifts your elbow.

Is easier to see what is going on in person, maybe you can post a video roping the chair?

Is easier to be correct roping something a bit lower than higher, especially if you are not very tall.
Some start with an upturned bucket on the ground or on a hay bale.

[jvanrens]

I’ve never roped anything in my life, but have to agree, the ropes I’ve seen used for actual roping are a lot easier to handle than a fresh out of the bag rope.

[Aces_N_Eights]

Thats because the lay doesn’t match how you rope, in my opinion. Because I have a bad shoulder, I rope with an XS, S or even MS depending on the brand of rope. If it’s too stiff- I can’t swing it, i don’t have the power and it’ll figure 8, kink up regardless if it’s broke in or not. That’s why most begginers get along with an old, raggy rope that’s past it’s prime.

There’s is a little break in on a new rope, you go rope something to stretch it it’s first time and it may get drug in the dirt to knock some of the wax off if it has too much. But it should feel good when you swing it in the store before buying.