TEAM PENNING HOSTS NATIONAL FINALS

Edited Press Release

The National Finals of the United States Team Penning Association (USTPA) will be held in Amarillo, Texas on October 28 to November 3, 2007 at the Tri-State Fair & Rodeo Grounds. The USTPA National Finals will be the largest and richest penning of the 2007 team penning and ranch sorting season, with hundreds of thousands of dollars in prizes. Last year’s awards topped $400,000.

Top team penning riders and trainers attend USTPA’s National Finals annually, as do rank-and-file USTPA members. All must qualify for this invitational event by attending USTPA shows. The National Finals is considered a major social event in the team penning community, with a dinner on Thursday hosted by the Coors Cowboy Club.

Competitors at the National Finals will include team penning’s first family, the four Lesh brothers, Jared (ranked #1 in USTPA winnings) Jordan, (ranked #2) Joel (ranked #3) and Jamin (ranked #6). Other tops riders, including Louie Saggione, Dustin Johnson, Reece Stanfill, John May, Sharon Kuebker, Troy Hayden and USTPA president Tom Bross are also expected.

Winnings in the top-tier of team penning and ranch sorting competition can be considerable. Not including saddles and other prizes, USTPA’s top ten riders this season have winnings ranging from $8000 up to $33,000 in USTPA shows alone.

Team penning is a timed, cattle-working event where teams of three riders work to cut three cattle out of a herd and drive them into a pen. Ranch sorting is a timed event in which two riders push cattle through an exit gate in numbered order.