Team Penning Competition Held at Fred Grand Arena

Steve Tellam at the Ramona Team Penning Competition.

by Joe Naiman

March Madness found its way to Ramona’s Fred Grand Arena recently, but it was the March Madness Team Penning Competition that had fans cheering, not the annual hoops faceoff.

More than 150 teams competed March 5-6 in seven divisions in the competition sanctioned by the World Championship Team Penning Association. The event, which included a $2,500 sponsorship by the Valley View Casino, was a real success, said promoter Greg Wald.

March 5 was the birthday of the late Ramona rodeo cowboy Casey Tibbs, and more than 100 people shared a birthday cake in honor of Tibbs’ birthday.

Cathy Liles at the Ramona Team Penning Competition.

“That went pretty quick,” Wald said.

In addition to Valley View, other sponsors were Horsehead Ranch, Southwest Trailers, Ramona RV, Elston Hay and Grain, Kahoots Feed, horse trainer Cathy Liles, and Dennis and Karen Robinson of Robinson Electric. The herd settling was handled by members of the Ramona Trails Association, and the food was prepared and served by the Warner Springs FFA.

Liles, who lives in Ramona, was a collector as well as a donor. Liles, Doug Snell of Temecula, and Stevinson’s Carl Turner won the open division with an average (aggregate) of 1:58.50 on nine head. Each member of the team won $636 for winning the average, along with an additional $120 for winning the short go with a time of 28.78 seconds. A total of 40 teams competed in the open division.

Sherri Songer and Steve Tellam. Photos Courtesy of Joanne Vaughn

Snell also was a winner in the mixed division, along with Katie Barnes of Ramona and Laura Burch of Temecula. The three team penners won that division with an average of 2:02.71 on nine head. Each member of the team won $532 for their first-place position in the average, $144 for winning the short go with a time of 30.94 seconds, and $144 for winning the second go with a time of 22.48 seconds. The mixed division included 40 teams and consisted of one open penner, one limited (intermediate) penner, and one novice penner.

Barnes also was a double winner, teaming with Dustin Walters of Ramona and Dom McLean of La Cresta to win the limited division with a time of 2:27.74 on nine head. Each member of the winning team received $314 for winning the average (there was no payout for the short go in the limited division). The limited division included 22 teams.

Murrieta’s Ann Kiggens, Temecula’s Kim Druissi, and Murrieta’s Ken Renck won the novice division average with a time of 1:47.45 on nine head. They each earned $449 for winning the average, $123 for winning the short go with a time of 34.80 seconds, $44 for placing third in the first go with a time of 39.18 seconds, and $44 for placing third in the second go with a time of 33.47 seconds. The team was one of 32 in the novice division.

Two junior divisions also were included in the March Madness event. Brian Pearson and Colton Mitchell, both of San Juan Capistrano, and Mike Heim of San Diego won the juniors 16 and under division with an average of 1:12.03 on six head. Those three team members also won both go-rounds. Meghan Willis of Lakeside, Tony Crook of Escondido, and Brandy Bemoll of Hemet won the juniors 12 and under division with a time of 2:07.35 on three head in two go-rounds.

The two-man ranch sorting competition was won by Tim Roberts of Arizona and Todd Richter of Wisconsin, who sorted all 30 head.

“The weather held up pretty good for us both days, even though it rained pretty hard (March 4),” Wald said. “We still had a real good turnout.”