Team penning was started in California in the 1950s and reached this area of the country in the 1990s. Riders of all ages from youths to "seniors" and of all levels of experience compete. You'll see riders competing on horses of all breeds and disciplines from the backyard family horse, to the trained, cow-bred, Quarter Horse! Team penning is a family sport, aimed at having fun with friends and your horse! The competition pits thirty cattle against three riders to determine if the riders can pull the right three cows from the herd, push them down the arena, and put them in the pen faster than any of the other teams. Riders are successful when the cattle are penned. If the allotted time expires, or too many cattle cross the foul line, the result is a “no time”.

Three riders enter the arena. Bunched together at the other end of the arena are thirty cattle, numbered from 0 to 9, three of each number. The judge gives a number to the team when the first rider crosses the start line, and the clock is started. The team must cut the three cattle with that same number out of the herd, bring them down the arena and get them into a pen within an allotted time--usually ninety seconds. The fastest time with the most cattle wins. This has brought real western riding competition to the State of Maine.