© 2007 - Old California Reata Roping & Stock Horse Contest. All rights reserved.
4th Annual
Zeb Burroughs takes home awards at 2007 show!
Santa Margarita Ranch, Santa Margarita, CA.
A reata is more than a rawhide rope - it exemplifies history and embodies a way of life...
Joe Mora, author and illustrator of the great book Californios writes about the California vaquero, "They were not the rough-and-ready type of roper, riding up close and slapping the loop on any old way to get the job done. They were what you might call the 'artist' type. They took pride in the way they cast their loops, like top-notch golfers or tennis champs showing top form."
"These reatas...were truly works of art. A good reata is a very tricky thing to make, and few people have any idea of the knowledge and artistry employed in producing a top string. They are braided with various numbers of strands, four, six, or eight... The eight-strand rope is preferred for ease of manipulation and, if braided by an expert, can be a thing of sheer beauty."
From the first cowboy, the American vaquero, who roped and rode the ranges of Alta California in 1769, to legendary horseman and reata ropers such as Bill Dorance, we continue to make an attempt to preserve and protect the the heritage of Old California.
Zeb Burroughs (center), winner of the Stock Horse Class 2007 pictured with Jeff McKee (left) and Ryan and RC Cope of Cope Saddlery (right), sponsors of the buckle
Beautiful silver conchos donated by Bill Reynolds of Old Cowdogs for Fancy Head Shot & Fancy Heel Shot
Zeb Burroughs (center) was also the overall Reata Roping winner and took home another buckle donated by Tom Paul Schneider of Finest Cowboy Engraving as well as a concho from Old Cowdogs. Jeff McKee (left), Aaron & Ethan Lazanoff (right)
Cope Saddlery donated the beautiful Stock Horse Champion buckle for the second year in a row