The Ranch Roundup is a community event, and we couldn’t do it without the support of our generous partners. Please take an opportunity to thank the businesses below for their contributions.
Results are Posted
Sunday Draws
We have juggled the schedule for Sunday, September 25 in the small arena. The new order will be:
- Four-Man Branding
- Ladies/Mixed Roping
- Junior/Senior Roping
- Century Roping
The class order in the large arena will be unchanged:
- Line Sorting
- Ranch Horse
- Buckaroo Boxing
- Double Boxing
- Ranch Reining
Thank you, we are looking forward to another fun day!
🙂
Updated Draws
Substantial updates have been made to the Trail Challenge and Ranch Riding Draws:
With luck, we’ll only have minor adjustments from here on out.
🙂
Finishing Touches
Dear Friends,
Things are coming together nicely for this years’ Roundup, and I wanted to catch you up on some last minute changes.
We have been able to increase the sizes of the Ranchers’ Choice and Ladies/Mixed classes, so if you want to enter these popular classes, please have at it (enter here).
Patterns are available for every class that uses one. They are available on the Class Descriptions page or you can link directly here:
We also have preliminary class draws available. Please be aware that these are current only as of Tuesday, Sept 20 (to be updated Friday evening):
AND some additional reminders:
- The grounds will be open for camping from ten AM Friday, September 23 to 5 PM on Sunday, September 25.
- All youth must wear a helmet when mounted
- Please leave your dog(s) at home
Thanks and see you all SOON!
Changes to Working Ranch Horse Class
We have modified the description of our Working Cow Horse as follows:
Open to all riders and horses. NOTE: If you enter this class, you are not allowed to enter the Buckaroo Boxing. You may enter Double Boxing, but only if on a different horse.
Enter arena and execute pattern Working Cow Horse Pattern #11.
Upon receiving the cow, the rider shall hold the cow on the end of the arena for sufficient time to demonstrate the ability of the horse to control the cow at that end of the arena. When the contestant is satisfied that he has shown control of the cow, the contestant shall drive the cow through the corner and down the fence, making at least one turn each way on the fence. The first turn must be past the center marker.
After turning the cow on the fence, participants have the option to rope and stop the cow, with the stop being judged, or circle the cow in the middle of the arena in both directions. There is no point advantage to choosing either option.
The cow work in this class will follow AQHA Versatility Ranch Horse Amateur Cow Work rules. This is a judged event. Equipment to follow AQHA rules. Three (3) minute time limit after the cow enters the arena, with a warning for one minute remaining.
Heading into the Home Stretch
We are heading into the home stretch for the 2022 Ranch Roundup!
Please keep reading for updates and changes for 2022:
- Reminder that we have a new GAMES BUNDLE which is only $50 for youth. Includes Carrot Race, Keyhole Race and Dummy Roping.
- HEADS UP that our Ranch Sorting class will change to be a simple LINE SORTING. Highest score in shortest time wins. No more double octagon.
- The following classes could use a little love, so if you’ve been hesitating, um, please stop doing that and sign up today. If we don’t meet a minimum class size of 10, these classes will be cancelled: Ranch Horse, Buckaroo Boxing, Double Boxing
- Ladies/Mixed Roping is FULL, sorry. Please consider our Jr/Sr Roping class or Century Roping.
- Ranchers’s Choice has a wait list, ALTHOUGH we have reserved *some* draws for youth teams. Go ahead and ‘wait list’ your youth teams and I will slip you in.
- What!!?? Our new Trail Challenge class (formally Ranch Trail) will include some fun and different obstacles, including a mechanical cow flag. More on this soon.
- Double what!!? Our new Ranch Riding class combines elements from the AQHA class of the same name and Working Equitation.
- Looking for patterns? Click through and scroll down to the Description tab to get links to patterns for these classes: Ranch Riding, Ranch Reining, Ranch Horse, Buckaroo Boxing, Double Boxing.
- Important for team classes: If you have a TBD (you know who you are) that is not filled by September 17, we will fill the slot with a RANDOM draw from the class list.
- I have some youth who would like to enter Rancher’s Choice and also the Jr/Sr Roping and are looking for adult partners who would be willing to sponsor the entry fee. Don’t sit on your hands: CONTACT ME TO HELP OUT
- WOWZA! New benefit for youth: Youth Trail & Saddle Club members will be able to sign up FOR ANY CLASS at HALF THE REGULAR COST. Go ahead and sign up for a class and once the membership status is verified I will refund your card. Adult partners pay full price but T&SC youth are half off.
- BOOTS for BEER (or soda!): To benefit local kid riders! If you have some gently used boots in your closet, please bring them to the registration booth to donate in exchange for a drink ticket! All sizes (men’s, ladies, youth) appreciated.
Thank you,
Susan Bancroft and the Roundup Committee
Greetings from the Boss Mare
Dear Friends,
We are looking forward to a great Carmel Valley Ranch Roundup this year! By the time we get to September, we are hoping this stubborn heat will be past us and we be enjoying a cooler fall.
We wanted to let you know of some changes for our event this year. As you know the Roundup is a wonderful community gathering, where folks from all over central California (and further) come to spend a fun weekend with family, friends and horses. Over the past 14 years, with your enthusiasm and input, we have been able to fine-tune the show to make it better match our goals while honoring the wonderful ranching heritage that we have here in Carmel Valley.
One fun addition, that is long overdue, is the addition of kids games to our Saturday schedule. We are happy to announce that we will have two arena games, Carrot Race and Keyhole Race available, plus Dummy Roping for youth on the grass (don’t worry, there is also an adult division).
Another change that we hope will make the weekend more fun is our changes to both the Trail and Ranch Riding classes. We have even renamed the trail class to Trail Challenge. The biggest difference for the Trail class is that the goes are timed, which should make it really fun – highest score with the shortest time wins. In the Ranch Riding class you’ll find we have combined elements from AQHA Ranch Riding classes and Working Equitation just to keep you on your toes.
We are happy to announce our judges and officials for the weekend: Mike Lund (Atascadero, CA) will be judging Cutting, Ranch Riding, Ranch Horse, Buckaroo Boxing, Double Boxing, and Ranch Reining. Laurie Petkus (Santa Cruz CA) will be judging the Trail Challenge. Ray Berta will be judging Old Style Reata Roping. Andy Barrington (King City, CA) will be officiating all of the Ropings as well as the Penning and the Sorting. Bill Kaufman (Salinas, CA) will be officiating Rancher’s Choice and the Games.
Finally, as you may or may not know, September is a tough month to arrange cattle for an event such as ours. Cattle are hard to find at any price and are generally large for our purposes. The other thing that happens, because we are going at it full tilt for two days, the poor cows can get run ragged. We have been aware of this and are trying to find a remedy. What we have come up with, which we hope you will agree is a good solution, is that we are planning to order a fresh load of cows for each day – Saturday and Sunday. The cattle will be fresh and better for every event, and they will go home in better shape too.
Essentially doubling our cattle cost has required that we take a hard look to figure out how to pay for that extra load of cows. We have tried to keep our cost per entry for each class at a modest, incremental increase over last year, even with other expenses going up. The biggest change will be to paybacks, where we have decided to cut the basic payback amount from $20 per entry to $10 per entry. We have also decided to drop paybacks entirely from some classes, and to limit paybacks to classes that meet a minimum number of entries threshold. For more information on paybacks please look at this page (click on Awards/Paybacks): https://roundup.trailandsaddle.club/rules/
We hope you will agree that these changes will help us ensure that the Roundup can continue for years to come. Looking forward to seeing you all next month!
Thank you,
Susan Bancroft and the Roundup Committee
Changes to Ranch Riding Class
We are ‘rolling our own’ for the Ranch Riding pattern this year and hope you will find it fun!
Changes to Trail Class
We have modified the description of our Trail Challenge Class (previously called Ranch Trail) as follows:
This class is not an AQHA Ranch Trail class, but a class that has been modified for the Carmel Valley Ranch Roundup.
This is a judged class where the highest score with the lowest time wins. Eye appeal will be factored into the score and the horse/rider team that most resembles a real life working ranch horse pair with position and control will have an advantage. This class contains a course of obstacles that is designed to show a horse’s willingness, confidence, and ability to perform several tasks that might be asked of him in the course of a normal day’s ranch work. It will include navigating obstacles such as crossing a bridge, performing gait transitions, roping a dummy, or handling a ranch-type item. This class follows AQHA equipment rules, with the following addition- Horses of any age may be shown two-handed in a hackamore or snaffle.
NOTE that the class is now timed!
Click here to enter
2022 Judges
We are pleased to announce judges for this year’s event:

Mike LundAtascadero, CA
Saturday, Small Arena: Ranch Cutting, Large Arena: Ranch Riding
Sunday, Large Arena: Working Ranch Horse, Double Boxing, Buckaroo Boxing, Ranch Reining

Laurie PetkusSanta Cruz, CA
Saturday, Large Arena: Trail Challenge

Ray BertaCarmel Valley, CA
Saturday, Small Arena: Old-Style Reata Roping
Andy BarringtonKing City, CA
Saturday, Large Arena: Three-Man Ranch Penning, Two-Man Ranch Sorting
Sunday, Small Arena: Four-Man Calf Branding, Junior/Senior Roping, Leslie Dorrance Roping, Century Roping
Bill KaufmanCarmel Valley, CA
Saturday, Large Arena: Games
Saturday, Small Arena: Rancher’s Choice