Team Penning & Branding Event

• Entry Fees:
  • Team Penning: $48 per team (three person team; individuals may enter twice; one team member change required)
  • Family Team Penning: $24 per team (four person team; individuals may enter twice; one team member change required)
  • Open Team Branding: $48 per team (three person team; individuals may enter twice; one team member change required; same two ropers cannot rope together in same event)
  • Century Branding: $33 per team (three person team; individuals may enter twice; one team member change required; same two ropers cannot rope together in same event)
  • 4 on 2 Branding: $48 per team (four person team; individuals may enter twice; two team member changes required)
• Contestants must be residents of Klickitat County
• How to Enter: online or by mail - SEE BELOW
• Entry Forms Deadline: July 11, 2025

TEAM PENNING & BRANDING EVENT ENTRY RULES

• All team members must be listed for each team and full entry fee submitted with entry form. Failure to list all team members or to pay full entry fee will result in the team ineligible to compete.
• Team Penning & Branding event is open to KLICKITAT COUNTY RESIDENTS only. Participants must have been county residents at least 90 days prior to fair. If participants are college students whose parents are Klickitat County residents, they may participate as county residents the same year following their college graduation. A current local driver’s license is used to determine residency. A signed release form is required.
• There are no substitutions of team members with the exception of injury, illness or natural disaster. In cases that qualify for substitution, they are at the discretion of the grievance committee and need approval prior to competing.
• In all roping events, physically challenged and participants 50 years and older may tie hard and fast.
• Cattle for finals at all events are chosen on basis of best cattle. The choosing of these cattle is the decision of the chairperson and committee.
• Order of the go for the finals shall be the reverse of the placing in the go-rounds by the qualifying teams (longest time will go first). The number of teams that advance to the finals are two (2) more teams than would qualify for the payoff. Twenty teams and under: four teams advance to the finals. Twenty-one teams and over: 20% of the teams advance to the finals.
• Payoff is based on the last team placing will receive their entry fee amount according to a standard payoff.
• Payouts are not split and will be available at fair office following the rodeo performance on Sunday.
• Sanctioned events are governed by rules/bylaws of Klickitat County Fair and Jack Davenport Memorial Penning & Branding Committees with Chairman present.

• All contestants must wear a western hat, ASTM/SEI helmet or no hat, and a short or long-sleeved shirt with cuffs down and buttoned. In the event a contestant has a mishap during the event or a button or snap is torn off or broken, this is not to be considered an infraction. Failure to wear western attire will result in disqualification. For safety reasons, western boots must be worn at all events.

AWARDS

• There must be three (3) entries for award qualification. Type of award is determined by the award committee.

ENTRIES, RESULTS AND CONTEST INFORMATION

• Entries, results or additional contest information will be posted online as they become available. The Program is posted at the fair office and/or near starting gate. Results are posted the day following competition by 1pm online and at the fair office.

GRIEVANCES

1. A cowbell is hung on the fence for the team to ring.
2. When someone is flagged out, the Judge will communicate with the Announcer to determine why the team was flagged out. The Announcer will inform the Team and the spectators.
3. If you do not agree with the call, ring the bell to assemble the Grievance Committee.
4. A fee of $20 must be paid before the Committee will assemble.
5. All grievances must be filed before leaving the pen.

1. Within a 90-second time limit, a team must cut out from the herd and pen three cattle with the assigned (same) legible identity number. A warning must be given the team working the cattle at 30 seconds prior to the final time being called. In the event the warning is not given, a rerun may be given at the request of the team. If the team requests and is granted a rerun, the cattle are settled and a rerun is given immediately using the same numbered cattle with a 45 second penalty.

2. A team will consist of three riders. If a rider dismounts, falls off or the horse falls, time continues. If a team member is obviously injured or a horse is injured, the judge or a team member can stop the penning and a no-time is called. The rider on the ground may catch his horse and continue to pen or can stand on the sideline while the other team members pen. He/she may not pen on foot. A no-time will also be called if a non-team member interferes with the loose horse.

3. A team may call time with only one or two assigned cattle penned. However, teams penning three cattle place higher than two, and two higher than one, regardless of time.

4. All cattle are bunched on the cattle side of the start line before time begins. The flag person will raise the flag to signal when the arena is ready. Once a team member crosses the start line, the team is immediately given their cattle penning number by the announcer. Riders are committed once they enter the arena. Any delay means disqualification.

5. To call for time after the cattle are penned, one rider must stand in the gate and raise a hand for the flag. The flag will drop when the nose of the first horse enters the gate and the rider calls for time. If the rider does not get his/her horse stopped by the time the horse’s tail is even with the barrier, a penalty of 15 seconds is assessed by the judge. When a run has been completed, before a rider enters the pen to remove the cattle, the rider must be at a complete stop and be signaled by the judge to enter; if not, the team will receive a 15- second penalty. In the event that any unpenned cattle are on the pen side of the arena when time is called, time will continue until they are removed and all team members are on the pen side of the arena. If an animal escapes from the pen after time is called, but before wrong-numbered cattle are on the cattle side of the start/foul line, the team is given a no-time.

6. A team calling for time with any wrong-numbered cattle in the pen is judged a no-time. If a wrong-numbered animal is penned with the correct numbers, the cattle must all be removed from the pen to be separated and the correct numbers then returned and penned.

7. As each new team begins a run, there must be 15 to 30 head (at the chairperson’s discretion) of cattle in the arena. If there should be more or less than three identical numbers within any herd, the team drawing that number must be given a rerun at the end of the total go-round. If, for any reason, a team does not show after the order of go has been drawn, their cattle number is drawn to avoid changing the order of go for the other contestants.

8. Contact with cattle by hands, hats, ropes, bats, romal reins, tapaderos stirrups or any other equipment or apparatus is a disqualification. Teams exhibiting unnecessary roughness are judged a no-time. No ropes are allowed in the arena.

9. Once committed to the cattle, the team is completely responsible for its animals; it is the judge’s decision if in his/her opinion, there is an injured or unsuitable animal in their number cattle. The number is pulled and the team is given a new number. Once cattle are worked, no excuses are accepted.

10. If an animal leaves the arena, either over or through the wall barrier, the team can either be disqualified for unnecessary roughness; can be given a time on their remaining cattle; or be given a rerun based on the judge’s decision. If a rerun is given, it must be given at the end of the total go-round. If more than one rerun is given in any go-round, they are taken in order of occurrence.

11. If more than four head of cattle are brought across the start/foul line, the run will be judged a no-time.

12. More cattle than are needed are brought back for Penning Finals.

13. All team members must cross the foul line, unless on a lead-line.

14. The judge’s call is final when the last member of the team leaves the pen.

All Open Penning and entry rules apply to Family Penning with following changes:

• Two of teams’ four members must be 13 years or younger as of August 1 of the current year
• There is a two-minute time limit
• Team members do not have to be related
• There are six (6) cattle in the arena. Team can pen any three (3) not necessarily numbered the same. Foul line is the same as the Open Penning.
• All team members must cross the foul line, unless on a lead-line.

1. Team members include two ropers and one ground man who must rope and brand one head of cattle within a two (2) minute time limit.

2. The flag person will raise the flag to signal when the arena is ready.

3. Upon crossing the start line, the team is told the number of the animal to be roped and the designated branding area. Time starts when any member of the team crosses the start line.

4. Designated branding area is at the judge’s discretion; disqualification occurs when brand is placed in an undesignated area.

5. The header is allowed as many loops as needed within the time limit. There are two (2) legal head catches: half head and around the neck. Horn catches are illegal and the loop must be released from the roper's hand to be a legal catch. Calf must be headed first and then heeled.

6. The heeler is allowed as many loops as needed within the time limit. Loop must be released from the roper's hand to be a legal catch.

7. The team is disqualified if either header or heeler lose contact with the rope.

8. The ground person may be called out to: (a) Release animal if wrong animal is roped, (b) remove the rope if illegal head catch is made, or (c) help roper rebuild loop to continue roping.

9. Each time ground person is called out, roper cannot rope animal until the ground person has returned to the circle.

10. Ground person is released by the judge after animal is roped, rope is tight and horses are faced.

11. Iron cannot leave circle until all feet are secure; if feet become unsecured, iron must be returned to the circle before securing the feet again.

All team branding and entry rules apply to the century branding with the following changes:

• The ropers must be 50 years of age or older; ground person, any age.
• There is a two and a half (2.5) minute time limit

All the team branding rules apply to the 4 on 2 Branding with the following changes:

• Two out of the four team members must be youth 16 years or younger, women, or any participant 65 years and older in age
• The team must rope and legally brand two calves within a 3.5 minute time limit
• Only two calves is in the arena. Upon crossing the starting line the team is told the designated area to brand. The team may choose either calf to rope first; however, the designated area to brand applies to both calves.
• After the first calf has been branded, the ropers and ground person must alternate positions to rope the second calf
• The brander must return the branding iron to the judge’s circle before the next calf can be roped
• Ground team is released by the judge after animal is roped; rope is tight and horses are faced
• Each time a ground person is released from the judge’s circle, both are. Each time a ground person is called back to the circle, both are.

Print & Mail Entry Form Option