On the traditional working ranch it was necessary on countless occasions to separate and hold an animal from the rest of the herd. To accomplish this, the cowboy had to develop a roping technique that would give him an advantage over a running steer ten times his own weight. Steer roping, therefore, was an essential skill required of the traditional cowboy. With the changing character of the cattle industry, however, steer roping has become a less-used ranch skill and in fact may become a lost art. As the bone-and-sinew steer of earlier decades gave way to improved beef animals, there became too much at stake to treat an increasingly valuable animal so roughly. Thins as steer roping was discarded as nonessential on the range, it became, in some quarters, less acceptable as a rodeo event.
The object of this contest was to rope the running steer, dismount, throw the steer on its side, if it had not already fallen, or at least ensure that the animal did not regain its feet; so that its four legs could be tied together (hog-tied) and the steer rendered helpless, ready for branding or inspection. Close cooperation between man and horse was essential; the horse had to bring the fleeting steer to a crashing halt and then maintain tension on the rope while the cowboy secured the steer's legs. Needless to say a well-trained roping and cutting horse was highly valued.
In this picture is Duncan S. McIntosh, winner, with the time of two minutes and ten seconds, of the steer roping contest at the Territorial Exhibition in Regina in 1896. Note the respectable size of the steer, the cowboy's still-white shirt, and the horse, "Sox", holding the proper tension on the rope. McIntosh was manager of the GIengarry Ranch ("the 44") in the foothills west of Claresholm.
