3 minute read
The Secret Code of Taking Hold
BRONC REINS DEMYSTIFIED
By TERRI MASON
Photo by Billie Jean Duff
Not all bucking horses are equal. Some horses buck with their head high, while others are nearly rooting the ground with their nose, so naturally, some take more rein than others.
I called two-time (2016 & 2018) Canadian Saddle Bronc Champion, Clay Elliott to get the long and short of it, and he explained it in great detail — and also gave examples of bronc rein measurements in use on some of today’s top broncs.
Special thanks to Clay, and I hope you enjoy.
Clay Elliott spurring over his rein at Strathmore in 2016 on Calgary Stampede’s M-2 Mad Money, who takes X + 5, measuring your fist from the swells, and then you add the full width of your hand, plus your thumb. “Double D from C5 Rodeo and Mad Money from Calgary Stampede take X + 5,” said Elliott
Photo by Billie Jean Duff
HAS THE BRONC REIN EVOLVED?
“From when I first got involved, guys were using a heavier, tighter braided bronc rein. It would be about two to three inches in diameter and quite a tight braid. It’s quite a handful.
But things evolve, and now guys are going to a lot smaller rein with a looser braid. From when I first started the old school rein had some kind of a grass-type material. You could grip it really good, but it was coarse. Since they’ve evolved, it’s still a nylon or poly material, but it’s kind of stringy and really loose — it’s a bit more silky and smaller diameter. It’s a lot softer so that when you grab one of these reins, your hand really sinks into them.”
WHAT IS THE SIZE OF THE NEW BRONC REIN?
“Originally, the bronc rein went from a 12-strand braid up to a 60. Now, the spur guard is made of parachute cord and is about ¾ of an inch in diameter. It runs about 18 inches from the halter to where the handhold starts. The spur guard is braided into the bronc rein, which jumps to a 30 or 40-strand loose braid. It would probably be two to three inches in diameter, but when you grab it, it’ll go down to about an inch, or an inch and a half. My rein is quite small. It’s kind of squishy, and I feel like I can get a better grip.
Before the new reins, back in the day when they were very tight braided, anyone that stuck a finger in the braid … well, it’s not coming out. But now as the braids are looser and the material itself has gotten smaller; guys can put in a finger through it and it’s not as risky. Your finger(s) can come out if need be.
I’ve seen guys put their pointer finger and middle fingers through and braid their fingers through the rein. That’s crazy to me, and I wouldn’t recommend that to anybody.”
HOW DO YOU MEASURE A BRONC REIN?
“With the horse in the chute and the bronc rein attached to the halter, you pull your bronc rein up to the back of the swells. You pull it fairly snug, so your horse is still comfortable, but there’s tension on the rein. Then, the measurement depends on the bronc you drew.
When you are getting on a horse you’ve never seen before, generally, the stock contractor will tell you what those horses take; they usually know the stud and mare the bronc came out of too.”
How Some of the Greats Measure Up
1. Clay Elliott shows how a bronc rein is attached to the halter. You can also see the tightness of the spur guard braid and the looseness of the bronc rein itself.
Photo courtesy Clay Elliott
2. FIST: Just your fist against the swells with no thumb extended; you take hold at the end of the fist.
Photo courtesy Clay Elliott
3. SHORT AVERAGE: Get Smart of Northcott Macza is a Short Average; a fist with only your thumbnail barely pointing out.
Photo courtesy Clay Elliott
4. “X” OR AVERAGE: Tokyo Bubbles of Calgary Stampede and Bootilear of Duffy Rodeo is an X or Average; your fist against the swells with your thumb fully extended.
Photo courtesy Clay Elliott
5. *AVERAGE ON THE THROAT: Pedro of Vold Rodeo is an Average on the Throat. instead of attaching your bronc rein to the ring on the bottom of the halter, it is attached to the halter’s throat latch. To compare, On the Throat, a Fist is the same as an Average, and then you go from there. An X or Average measures out as X + 4; etc. *Note: Often, horses that began their career in Bareback use the Throat measurement, so the halter doesn’t affect their performance as much.
Photo courtesy Clay Elliott
6. X + 2: Spanish Pair of Kesler’s and Rubles of Big Stone Rodeo are both X + 2; that’s your fist against the back of the swells with your thumb extended, and then you add two fingers.
Photo courtesy Clay Elliott
7. X + 4: Stampede Warrior of Calgary Stampede, Evening Mist of Franklin Rodeo and High Valley of C5 Rodeo take X + 4; your fist from the back of the swells, with your thumb extended, and then you add four fingers.
Photo courtesy Clay Elliott
8. DOUBLE X OR DOUBLE AVERAGE: Lunatic Party of Outlaw Buckers takes a lot of rein. You make a fist with both hands with your thumbs extended. At the end of your hand furthest from the swells, that’s where you take hold.
Photo courtesy Clay Elliott
9. DOUBLE X AND A BRAID: Lunatic Fringe of Burch Rodeo; that horse takes a lot of rein as his head goes way down, so he’d be a Double X + the width of the bronc rein.
Photo courtesy Clay Elliott
