Come pull the Dummy for me

Honey, will you come pull the Dummy for me ? This is what I hear from James from time to time. Someone asked me on day one what dummy I was pulling around the pasture? No, I wasn't pulling my husband...Sometimes its just as easy to practice at home on the dummy as it is to go practice with a few other team ropers.
A few Christmas's ago, the girls and I went in together and bought this Roping Dummy from the NRS roping supply catalog.  He liked it of coarse, but it was easier to get his old one out of the barn. After a couple of years he decided he would try putting it on skids at the height of a roping steer and see if it would stay upright while pulling it with a truck, lawn mower, or 4-wheeler. So he came up with this...

 All ya have to do is hook it to the tail gait with a rope... Saddle up

    And find someone to ride around the open pasture pulling this dummy, while someone ropes it. It wouldn't work for a heeler, but James is a header...

I really have the easy part because I can stay under the air conditioner or heater, listen to the radio, and play on the phone. I just watch in the side and rear view mirrors as as soon as he nods, I go. When I see him rope the steer, I stop. Its that easy!

 I'm sure the neighbors think its weird and properly scratch their head wondering what the heck they are seeing, but it really helps.

 And at the next Team roping event...Practice makes perfect!