| USTPA History (USTPA) began as a dream in 1993, when a group of
enthusiastic team penners met in Fort Worth, Texas with the idea of promoting
penning as a national sport. Their goal was two-fold: to standardize methods and
rules and to attract and educate more people to and about the sport. In
September of that year, 53 penners from across the U.S. met to officially
charter the new association. Some were professionals in the horse and cattle
industries, while others were legal professionals, business owners, and regular
"walk'n around" folks who had one thing in common--a keen interest in penning
and a desire to see it take its place as a serious competitive sport. Now, we
can boast a membership of more than 6,000 team penners in 3,500 households, the
largest and only national not-for-profit team penning organization in the world.
No organization in the equine industry and no sport as grown as quickly as team
penning.
In September of 1993, fifty-three penners from across the
U.S. met to officially charter the new association. Some were professionals in
the horse and cattle industries, while others were legal professionals, business
owners, and regular “walkin’ around” folks who had one thing in common--a keen
interest in penning and a desire to see it take its place as a serious
competitive sport.
The first elected president was Marie Scovel of
California. She and her executive board helped guide the association through its
first steps to national organization so that by the end of the 1993-94 season,
the association had more than a thousand members nationwide.
The end of the season marked another “first”in
penning--the USTPA U.S. Finals, the only national finals for which competitors
must earn high point ratings to qualify. Conducted at the world-famous Lazy E
Arena in Guthrie, Oklahoma, the event set a new standard for USTPA-sanctioned
events.
A continuing challenge in any sport is balancing the
relative inexperience of competitors in one place with the greater experience of
those somewhere else. USTPA answers this in two ways. One is the establishment
of regions, wherein penners are more likely to face others with similar
background. In addition, penners are rated according to skill level and
experience. At the end of the second season, president Lonnie Lloyd of Texas
facilitated increasing the number of regions from four to eight--giving penners
even more chances to earn points. Divisions of competition include was
Open, Amateur, and Novice. And already, the sport is evolving into a second
exciting event, team sorting. As the sport has always attracted many
people from outside the traditional equestrian fields, this move was greeted
with much approval, and has already succeeded in attracting many more penners.
Under the leadership of president Dick Rosell of
Pennsylvania, USTPA grew to 3,000 members who competed regionally for points in
pennings produced by sanctioned promoters. The 1995-96 season culminated with
the top thirty point earners in each division of each region coming together for
the third U.S. Finals. More than 400 penners met for the second time in Wichita
Falls, Texas, for the largest team penning ever. It all came together under the
auspices of Steve Robert of Louisiana, who served as Finals chair for the second
year in a row. At the Finals, USTPA paid out $120,000 and awarded $50,000 in
merchandise.
Larry Kling of Idaho took over the presidency in 1997.
With membership well on its way to 5,000 and sixty-plus shows already on the
calendar, USTPA had another record-breaking year. The Finals in Wichita Falls
once again were a great success with over 600 teams competing in the national
competition.
In 1998 USTPA had several changes, including moving our
national office to Wichita Falls, Texas and operating without an executive
director. Under the leadership of President Byron Underwood; Dick Rozell, Finals
Chairman; Mark Toby, Promotions; Steve Robert, Treasurer; Glenn Drown,
Vice-President, and several more of our directors, we were able to make 1998 a
banner year for USTPA. The 1998 National Finals event held in Wichita Falls, TX
was the Super Bowl of Team Penning with a record 918 teams competing for the
National Title. This was tremendous success!! USTPA’s membership continues to
grow with over 5,000 members, representing 28 states including Canada. We had
over 70 sanctioned pennings held throughout the nine regions during 1998.
USTPA got a jump start in 1999 by following the “Super
Bowl of Team Penning” the 1998 USTPA Finals. Already for 1999 under the
leadership of President Mark Toby we are projecting the largest added money to
our finals in our history. We have started publishing our own national magazine
under the direction of Mark and Connie Toby. This is a monthly publication and
already has met with great success. We have signed two new corporate sponsors
for 1999, Wrangler and Montana Pride. Throughout the United States and Canada,
we have over 75 sanctioned pennings scheduled.
The USTPA is a National Team Penning Association formed to
educate and promote team penning. It is not the cows that make penning, not
horses, not numbers, gates or pens, but it is the interaction between people,
and most importantly, family that makes penning work both in the arena and out.
The camaraderie that we share before the first foul line is crossed and after
the dust has settled on the last ride is what has made this Association and team
penning what it is today.
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