Old-Timers’ Contests : Rodeo Cowboy, 66, Shows He Still Knows the Ropes

At 66, Dr. Robert K. West is looking over his shoulder at the younger competition. But the upstarts who have him worried aren’t 37-year-old medical residents, but 60-year-old rodeo cowboys.

These men have joined West in the 60-and-over division of the National Old Timers’ Rodeo Assn. and it’s because of them that the semi-retired family practitioner practices overtime as a calf roper and team roper.

Roping evolved from the techniques used by early cowboys to immobilize cattle that needed doctoring, West said. In competition, a calf roper must lasso a running calf, throw it to the ground and tie three of its legs together in the shortest possible time. In team roping, one cowboy ropes a steer’s horns while his partner ropes the hind feet. The cowboys’ horses back away from each other until the steer is held immobile.

Born and raised in Great Falls, Mont., West worked on ranches as a boy and became enamored of ranch life. After college and serving with the Marines at Okinawa and Iwo Jima during World War II, he was torn between his dream of ranching and the desire to go to medical school.

‘Best of Both Worlds’

The decision was taken out of his hands by the family banker, who told him that he’d better study now and ranch later. “Good advice, ‘cause I’ve had the best of both worlds since then,” West said.

In 1952, after receiving his M.D. from the University of Minnesota, West returned to Montana to set up a general practice in Cut Bank--population 4,500--and to serve as a consultant to the Blackfoot Indian Hospital. He also took up roping, learning his craft from veteran ropers.

Already in his 30s when he began entering rodeos, West was practically over the hill in a sport where many of the contestants are in their teens.

“You’re still pretty active in your 30s and 40s, but as you get on into your 50s, it’s hard to compete with these younger fellows in the calf roping,” he admitted.

NOTRA was founded in 1979 to provide a venue for cowboys over 40 who want to continue competing. Its 2,000 members are divided into three age groups--40 to 50, 50 to 60, and 60 and over--allowing each cowboy to be matched against his peers. The 50 Old Timers’ rodeos held annually include all of the traditional rodeo events: roping, rough stock events (saddle bronc, bareback, bull riding and steer wrestling) and women’s barrel racing. This year, West expects to rope at about 15 NOTRA rodeos throughout the Western United States.

Stiff Competition

And the competition he will face has forced him to reassess his skills. “There are some fellows that have turned 60 this year that are still awful good ropers,” he said. “They’ve toughened up our age group. We used to be able to win if we roped one in 12, 13 or 14 seconds and now often there’s 10s and 11s.”

West believes that roping is an ideal event for competitors in their 60s and beyond because it lacks the intense physical demands of the rough stock events.

“You still see some fellows that are in their 80s roping,” he said. “Obviously, they’ve slowed up, but some of them can win every once in a while.”

Because roping is relatively easy on the body, he believes that any associated health benefits must come primarily from preparation rather than from actual competition. In his opinion, jumping off a horse and wrestling a 200-pound calf to the ground just isn’t sufficient.

“Why, it’s a good little exercise,” West conceded. “But I think you need more than that.”

Exercise Routine

West jumps rope 500 times each morning and gets an additional workout for his arms, back and legs by shoeing his five horses. He also practices indoors with a roping dummy. “You get quite a bit of exercise roping a dummy steer 20, 30, 50 times,” he said.

Perhaps it is this regimen that allows West to continue competing against the “younger fellows.” In addition to his membership in NOTRA, West belongs to the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Assn. and enters several of its rodeos each year. In these events, which are open to cowboys of all ages, he must routinely rope against men 40 years his junior.

For West, one of the continued attractions of roping is that because no two calves are alike, no two ropers compete under identical conditions. At any given contest, West said, “some of the calves are bigger than others, some run harder than others and some kick more when you do catch them and try to tie their legs together.”

It is this element of chance that works to compensate for age differences, helping West remain competitive with the younger men.

“On any day, I could beat ‘em.”