SLS- What does it mean for your roping success??
First let me start by saying we are going to expand on this over time and it is fully discussed in our training video that is in production. To start out I am going to use the example of sighting in a gun. I hope that most of us good, love for our country, fellow man, and God ,cowboys/girls, have been taught to sight one in. If not, you will learn a couple lessons here we hope. Let us start by getting a couple things leveled out, as what we will be discussing latter is highly debated, opinionated, and theorized on. When sighting in a gun: You will NOT get good groupings with different weight bullets, powder amounts, and distances. To obtain good grouping you must match all rounds. Exact same powder measurement and bullet weight and shoot from same distance. To Rope Consistently: You Must use the same loop size, Same spoke size, Same amount of Slack. You Must also rope from the same distance with this build. Both of these above can be varied and compensated for once you have a set criteria from which to work, or a base line. So as you can see, many similarities. However in whatever we do that we would expect similar results, it would seem common sense to start with the same ingredients. Cooking, Science, etc… Without getting into a whole lesson on how position, the effects, and how to adjust your set up accordingly. We will talk about that perfect heading position. 45 degrees off the steer at 6ft width and slightly back. The Free Throw of loops for the header, not rodeo runs, reaching etc. I will say this, if you cannot perfect this loop first, you will never be consistent with your winnings or growth as a roper. Let’s breakdown the loop build. Remember that you will hear more opinions on “ spoke lengths “ than you can shake a stick at. Recently I watched a video on spoke lengths on the heel side that mainly was just a bunch of mumbo jumbo. Let me ask this? If a person can confuse you enough,,,they must know what they are talking about right???? HECK NO! We will use mathematics and science to break things down into a repeatable result for you here at RopeSmart. The Acronym we use in our Schools is, SLS . We teach this and it is key to remember and check your SLS every run. We find the initial change in SLS can feel funny, but after 20 loops, a person cannot usually remember how they used to build their SLS. So with no further ado, SLS stands for: S- Spoke measurement is always first. Spoke controls the coverage of the right horn, and how fast a loop opens. This is the distance between the hondo/knot and the hand on the rope. L- Loop size. Achieve the same loop build every time. The loop needs to be large enough to catch all normal horn sizes. S- Slack. The amount of rope between your hands before you start your swing and what you have left after feeding. Controls the distance the loop flies before the spoke kicks and loop opens. Thus once you perfect on distance, you can start to perfect dropping coils to accommodate for longer reaches.
For starters we use the following measurements. You will want to take your rope apart, lay it out one straight piece, and measure back from the knot. Then wrap that spot with 2 to 3 layers of electrical tape. You can also try to mark with a permanent marker. From the knot measure 27 inches and mark it. Then from knot 140 inches and mark it, and finally 197 inches. Put your rope back together now. Build your loop up and match the first two pieces of tape in your right hand at the thumb. This will set your spoke and loop size. Next put the last mark at your left thumb. This will set your slack. This is for a roper that is feeding their rope. If you’re not feeding the rope yet feel free to contact us for the correct measurements. Know when you approach your dummy and rebuild your loop for the first time, remember change your position to the dummy not your build. We want to know that sweet spot, perfect it, and replicate it on horseback. On the RopeSmart ground dummy, the Smart ONE, you stand behind the dummy, take one big step back the side step until you can align the pole to the base of the right horn. This will put you at the sweet spot. On horseback using the SWITCH sled trainer, you can position yourself according to the arrows on the back. Now you should have a good base to start from. Perfect your SLS every time and be a more consistent and successful roper. Feel free to contact us with questions or suggestions for future newsletter tips. If you would like to set up a RopeSmart roping school email us at support@ropesmart.com
