Roping Barriers

I’d like to make one thing clear. Because a majority of the teams have gone out, the battle is now about day-money. Meaning, there are 13 teams trying to be 3.0 and two teams trying to stay in the roping.
Last night I heard the commentators say, “A broken barrier now is the same as a miss,” and I initially questioned, “WHAT??? are they talking about?” No way is a barrier the same as a miss. If the majority of teams had a broken barrier instead of a miss they’d still be in the hunt. However, keeping in context with the way the Team Roping event has played out I can see that they meant a barrier and a miss at this point are the same because in either case you won’t win anything in the round (on that particular steer). Still, not to be misconstrued, when all is said and done a barrier is far more beneficial than a miss in terms of average pay outs.
Barriers play a big role in one-headers. You’ve got to be riding the barrier to win. If you’re not on the barrier, more than likely you’ll be a hair late and out of the money. If you’re too much on the barrier you could be as little as a hair-early and out of the money. In both cases you’re usually not going to win. Bottom line, when it’s about fast, it’s about riding that barrier. You also have to be able to reach, but reaching makes your team very vulnerable. Jojo, for instance, throws a bomb every time. Sometimes it hits, sometimes it doesn’t and when he succeeds his percentage of good runs is still marginal depending on all the long-handle variables that add up against him and his heeler (Randon Adams). Nevertheless, it’s a good idea to have a long shot in your playbook, but remember just because a guy has a hell-of-a-reach doesn’t guarantee a fast run. A long throw generally instigates a longer handle making it hard to be consistent EVEN when you’re a master of your craft. I.e. the sword you live by can also take you out.

The Lion