As the recreational team roping industry continues to grow steadily, so does the roping school scene. More professional cowboys-looking to either avoid the road altogether or offset the rising fuel prices-are offering clinics.
One of the more recent trends is the roping camp, where students can spend an extended, intensive training session at a facility with some luxurious extras. This concept originated with David Isham and the National Ropers Supply Training Center in Decatur, Texas.
The facility has everything you'd expect, a big, nice covered arena, stalls, trailer hook-ups, cattle and bunkhouses in which to stay.
But when it comes right down to it, the real product they're selling is their expertise. Krece Harris is the NRS Training Center Events Director, a job that requires him to host clinics and share his roping expertise.
One student, Dr. Denee Thomas from San Antonio, had ridden horses most of her life, but came to roping later. As the Dean of Students at Dental Schools of San Antonio, she knows a little something about teaching.
"I can't say enough good things about them," she said. "I have been to two of Krece's clinics and I've also been to the Walt Woodard clinic. I have taken several private lessons with Krece and his staff. I had a great experience there. I am an educator and I'm aware that not everyone who is good at something is good at teaching something, but Krece is."
Harris's teaching philosophy is pretty simple and, he says, applicable to just about everyone who darkens the Training Center's doors.
"It doesn't matter who we're teaching, whether a true beginner comes in here or an advanced roper comes in here, you're always teaching fundamentals and basics," he said. "That's what everybody goes back to. Whenever you run into road blocks, you have to go back to the fundamentals and the basics. Number one, being able to ride position on your horse. We're probably more geared toward that than anything: how a person rides their horse. More and more we're seeing people who can pick up a rope and swing it, the problem is not being able to sit in the middle of the horse's back and still be able to swing their rope. Working hand in hand with Walt Woodard and Tyler Magnus like we have over the years, we're going to teach the fundamentally correct swing and past that we're going to teach the fundamental basics of horsemanship. That's what keeps this deal going in my opinion. We can break it down to the level of being a true beginning and that same method of teaching goes all the way to a pro-level roper."
Harris limits the clinic participants to 14-15 students at most. He can give four private lessons each day, however, most days it's just two. The beginner clinics are the most popular-usually selling out for the entire year by February.
"Private lessons are up and horse sales are up and clinics are up," Harris said. "As far as what's going on here, it's amazing to me with everybody carrying on about the economy, we haven't seen it yet."
