101 Camping Out Ideas & Activities

TRICKS WITH A LASSO

In the movies you've often seen cowboys lasso steers and wild horses. Their lassos have a loop at one end. The South American gauchos use a bola, a thong or cord which has balls of stone or iron attached to one end instead of a loop.

Handling a lasso correctly is a lot of fun. To make one, first get a rope about 3/8 of an inch thick and 25 feet long. Make an eyelet or noose at one end. This loop should not have a diameter of more than 11/2 inches. Fasten the loop with wire. To reinforce the loop itself, use either leather or another piece of wire. Examples of nooses are shown in Fig. 1.

The Basic Position At the beginning, practice in a level, not too grassy clearing. Hold the lasso in the basic position, as shown in Fig. 2, using the first two fingers of both hands to grasp the circle you have made. The palm of your left hand should face your body, while the palm of your right hand faces outward. Hold your hands about 24 inches apart.

With a quick swing, throw the sling into a horizontal position, as in Fig. 3, and then start the circling, as shown in Fig. 4. The Top

Fig. 4 is called the top. When you twirl the end of the rope, the loop should turn in a full circle. Be sure to turn the rope in a counterclockwise direction. Start the circling by moving your hand a few times in a circle which corresponds to that of the loop. Then, reduce the circling of your hand as much as possible to allow you to turn the rope that much faster. The Hoop

Another figure, the hoop, is shown in Figs. 6 and 7. Lay the loop out on the ground in a circle with a diameter of about 5 feet. Now start to turn, changing the rope from one hand to the other in front of you and behind you. You have to practice changing hands this way, but it is not too difficult to get the loop circling easily and regularly. This switching of hands results in the loop en­ circling you. When you are in the center and the loop is going around fast enough, suddenly raise the hand holding the rope and bring it above your head. Using only this hand, turn the rope faster than before. While the loop is swinging around, you will be able to bend down, kneel, and get into various other positions. Jumping into the Lasso

Here's a lasso stunt that calls for some practice. Make the top as in Fig. 4, forming a large loop. Then jump into the loop (Fig. 5) and at the same time bring your hand with the rope over your head.

The Standing Hoop Once you have formed the top, you can gradually go into the standing hoop, shown in Fig. 7. A clever artist with the lasso can turn this into a rolling ring by letting the loop graze the ground and roll along. You have to walk along beside the ring to keep it in motion.

Throwing the lasso

Throwing the Lasso When you have become proficient with your lasso, you can begin to throw it. For this purpose you need a long rope. Hold the loop in your hand, leaving the long end of the rope neatly coiled at your feet so that it can uncoil without difficulty when you throw it. Put one foot on the loose end. Then throw the loop at the target the way you would throw a life preserver. (A good practice target is a heavy tree limb, about 9 to 12 feet high and without any branches.) After the throw, let the rope run lightly through your hand so that as soon as the loop is around the target you can pull it tight.

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