Photo by Bill Petzold • A rider and his horse close in on a cow during Wednesday’s team sorting practice session at The Orchard Auction and Stable in Vassar. Owners Deb and Gary Wright hope to bring 60 riders for a competition at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Tuscola County Fair in front of the grandstand.
By Bill Petzold
Editor
CARO — The Orchard Auction and Arena and friends are bringing a brand new attraction to this year’s Tuscola County Fair: Team sorting.
With roots in the Wild West, team sorting — also known as ranch sorting — is an exciting equestrian sport that relies on teamwork between humans and horses.
“It’s derived originally from out west, when cowboys would sort cows out of a feed lot — sick cows or cows that are ready to be sent for slaughter,” said Gary Wright, who co-owns the Orchard with his wife Deb. “Now it’s evolved into a competition.”
Ten cows wearing numbered vests wait in one pen as two-person teams on horseback take turns trying to herd them — one at a time and in the correct numerical order — into the other pen. The time limit is one minute.
The Orchard has a computerized system that generates a random number of the animal a team must begin with, and the announcer says the number as the team’s minute begins. The arena features two large circular pens arranged in a sort of “figure-8” configuration with a narrow gate between them. Say the announcer calls out “8” as the round begins. Riders must round up 8 first, then 9, then 10, then 1 through 7 in order as fast as they can.
Once the riders know the number, one rider races to separate the first cow from the herd while the other “minds the fence” between the two pens, making sure no cow enters out of turn. Once the first cow is on its way into the scoring pen, the second rider races into the pen to find the next cow in numeric order and the first rider takes their place at the opening between the two pens, making sure cows don’t slip through.
“We are aiming at 60 people competing at the fair,” Deb Wright said. “They’re going to come from all over the state: east side, west side, and up north. I think it’s going to be a good show.
“We started out just borrowing cattle from the neighbor and feeding them. … So now we own 50 head of cattle. It’s just really growing; it’s an awesome sport.”
The Orchard, located at the corner of Vassar Road and M-46 in Vassar at the former site of Miller’s Orchard, features both an indoor and outdoor arena, so riders can compete all year round (gwhorsesandtack.com). In addition to Wednesday and Saturday night practice sessions for riders of all skill levels, the Orchard hosts competitive events on certain Sunday afternoons during which results are tallied and standings are kept. The posted arena record for sorting all 10 cows in order was just over 31 seconds – and Deb Wright said that mark already has been bested.
Deb said that the events draw riders of all ages and skill levels. At the fair, 11-year-old Shaylee will be the youngest competitor, (”She’s an expert sorter,” Deb said) while 76-year-old R.J. will be the oldest. And while riders say the sport is fun — even addicting — Deb said that the horses enjoy it too.
“My horse loves to sort — he loves to sort,” she said. “Some horses just really get into it and they think it’s so much fun. You get some horses that don’t want to play, but most of the horses once they get used to it, they’re like, ‘Oh yeah! This is good!’ ”
Deb explained that while Wednesday’s sort included a number of young and tentative beginner sorters, the show at the fair will feature the group’s strongest riders and sorters who will dazzle the crowd with their skill and speed.
Like most sports, communication is a major key to success.
“We talk to each other,” said rider Cricket Nelson. “As I come out (of the gate), I’m looking for my cow. I should know where my cow is before I leave the gate, and then I’m looking for the next cow in line to tell my partner where their cow is, so we’re communicating back and forth.”
“As long as you communicate you have a better ride, and we’re always talking to each other. A lot of times when you’re at the gate and you’re yelling, they’ll stop. Actually I think a lot of it is we get so excited we just have to yell,” Nelson said, laughing. “I’ve been riding my whole life, and I’ve been doing this as long as they’ve been doing it here, except for the seven months I spent in a cast after I came off out here and broke my leg in five places.
“It’s like a big family here. Those of us that ride, we have a place to ride all winter long.”
The team sorting competition is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday in front of the grandstand at the Tuscola County Fairgrounds. For information about The Orchard Auction and Stable, 5966 West Sanilac Road (M-46), call (989) 823-3352 or visit gwhorsesandtack.com or the business Facebook page.
Bill Petzold is the editor of the Tuscola County Advertiser. He can be reached at petzold@tcadvertiser.com.