Sorting Information

The following picture is one example of a typical sorting arena. In ranch sorting there are two pens of like size, generally from 40-60' in size, with a 12-14' gate in the center. Ten head of cattle are numbered 0-9 with an additional two "trash" cows that are not numbered. Two riders sort the cattle from one pen to the other in ascending numerical order. If any of the cattle go through the gate out of order, or come back through the gate after being sorted, the team is judged a no time. The time starts when the nose of the first horse crosses the gate and ends when the last cow has completely crossed the gate or time is up, whichever is first. Generally teams have from 60-90 seconds to complete the task. Teams are most often broke down into experience, with most associations offering youth, novice, amateur, and open classes. Ranch sorting is often referred to as feed lot or team sorting.

Thanks to Gary Fujioka of www.teampenningnorthwest.com for use of his picture.