Maverick if ya mean wrist cuffs, no they are seldom worn. I have made several pairs over the years but mostly its for the Cowboy Action shooting crowd. Here's the last pair I made a couple of years ago:
They really aren't that comfortable, particularly for a roping deal like this. You really need the wrist flexion to throw some of these shots. How this competition works is there are numerous shots. Each is worth a certain amount of points based on its degree of difficulty. A "turn over" shot (Johnny Blocker or a Del Viento) are the most difficult and are worth 12 points. These shots the loop turns over 180 degrees in mid air and then comes down on the target whether head or heels. Every miss is a point subtracted. The hoolihan shot that I favor because I throw it very well, is 9 points. If you throw a heel shot and only have one leg caught thats half the points of that shot. All these shots require a lot of flexion that the wrist cuffs would interfere with.
Here's a couple of pics of Nichole practicing a Del Viento. This loop is swung underhand and then thrown to the right of the target at about a 45 degree angle, as the loop is released there is a sharp outward flick of the wrist and rotation of the hand that causes the loop to turn over and then it is directed back down and onto the target. These pics were the weekend after the Pro Am when we were doing our Fall Works at the ranch. A storm the day before had scattered the cattle so we'd bring in a group and then wait till another group came down for water so we had some down time in between circles.
Swinging her loop. The swing is from the back forward and then around back again in an underhand motion. Her target is the right side of the sawhorse.
The release:
If you look close at the hondo which is the ring that the rope passes through to form the loop. Her's has a knot on it and the knot is pointing to the right, this loop has not turned over yet. When it does the knot on the hondo will be pointing to the left. Also noticed that she is still holding onto the rope with her right hand. After the loop has turned over and at the right moment (judgement call) she will tug on that to bring it back to the target. So in the next shot below you can see that the loop has flipped or "turned over" on its central axis 180 degrees. See that the knot on the hondo is now facing to her left. Thats my son in the blue shirt on the left. He's a past master at these very difficult shots (I'm lucky if I can get the loop to turn over let alone get it on the target) and he coaches Nichole.
Wanted to share something else with you guys. Yeti had been a major corporate sponsor of this event last couple of years. So lots of coolers were handed out as prizes as well as money. I'd told Jannine our goal was to at least get a Yeti. We didn't have to win but I wanted a Yeti. So day before the event we're setting up and I thought I'd go get checked in as a competitor. Came walking back from the office around the corner and told everyone we could go home now I had my Yeti:
They gave each competitor one when ya signed in. Next year I'm going for a bigger one!
Thanks Grogimus and Maverick. Sorry Grogimus no comparison in cutability, none at all.
Some beautiful work going on!
