Penning Positions

First on the new subforum! Yay!

Anyway, how do you all like to set up your riders for team penning? I know everyone has differant ways fo doing it. Here's my favorite:

I have someone going down and cutting out cows, driving them up to the line where someone awaits to herd them towards another person who will drive them into the pen and hold them in while the other two are constantly working. It's like a cycle. By the time the gatekeeper has the cow(s) in the pen the rest are ready to be thrown in if they haven't been herded in already. Sometimes I even get lucky and get all three in one sweep and its easy to get them in :)

We used to set up the 3 positions as Position 1 = gate keeper, Position 2 = turnback rider, Position 3 = cut rider.

Position 1 always stayed on top while #2 and 3 rotated. When #3 brought out his number and handed off to #1, #2 was looking for his number and #3 became the hold back rider.

On the 3rd cow, we all worked towards penning. We could clock in the high 20's/low 30's in the larger arenas when the penning gods were smiling.

With the majority of the teams I ride with we play 1,2,3. Typically 1 is first in herd, 2 is at herd looking for their cow, and 3 turns back for 1 as they pull their cow. As 1 is coming out 2 is already going in. 3 turns back for 2. 1 drops cow as soon as it is committed to going toward pen and will immediately be back at herd to take over 3's position. As 2 comes out with cow, 3 is already heading in. As 3 comes out all riders head for pen together, taking the third cow, closest to hole side takes hole, closest to wing takes that and rider on outside will sweep cattle into pen as a group.
If it is a quiet herd of cattle we may have two or three riders go in at the same time, either splitting herd left right or left right center for safety.
This is what I have been taught by some of the top penners from Canada and USA.