After five rounds of team roping action at the 2016 National Finals Rodeo, this year is proving to be as exciting and suspenseful as we all thought it would be. The 2016 team roping field is a well rounded mix of veterans and fresh faces competing under the bright lights.

One team in particular that is catching everyone’s attention is Levi Simpson and Jeremy Buhler. If you didn’t know these Canadians before, you do now. They came out guns blazing in Round 1 winning on their first steer they ever ran in the Thomas and Mack. They also are the first all Canadian team to ever qualify in NFR team roping history. They cinched their second round win last night splitting it with Kaleb Driggers and Junior Nogueira with a 4.00. The pay out ended up at $23,481 a man. If you can believe it, this was Junior Nogueira’s first round win on his 25th steer at the NFR.

We caught up with Levi and Jeremy after the rodeo. This road to the NFR has been a long time coming. They both rope outstanding and have more than earned their place here. Levi won the Canadian Finals Championship in 2011 and 2014. Jeremy started roping later than most do in the sport, and at 17-18 years old he was a #4 heeler. What a testament to hard work pays off. 2009 was a turning point in Jeremy’s career when he won $109,000 at the World Series Finale in Las Vegas when he was in college. What made it even more special was it was with fellow Canadian Classic team member and his brother, Clint Buhler. Needless to say Las Vegas has been good to Jeremy. We asked Jeremy how the NFR compared to that once in a lifetime win:

“It was different then because I was so broke and it was so special because it was with my brother. We had grinded so hard in the practice pen to get to that point and to get some luck at that deal and win that amount of money was life changing. This is special because it is every little kid’s dream. We have practiced so hard and it feels great to be here.”

Jeremy has been getting a lot of limelight and is frequently accompanied with the #FearTheBeard tagline for obvious reasons. Major league baseball has Dallas Keuchel, the NBA has James Harden, and now team roping has Jeremy Buhler! But what hasn’t been as talked about and should be is his horsemanship, there is a lot more to Jeremy than just the beard. He trains and owns great horses. He has ridden his dunn gelding Rick James all five rounds and also owns a great bay horse he calls “Fabbio”, who he rode all summer. He is also very involved with the Canadian rope horse futurities, rode and trained this year’s Northland’s Canadian Rope Horse Futurity Champion “Alabama Twix”. Safe to say this NFR isn’t the last time you will hear the name, Jeremy Buhler. He’s just getting started.

We don’t want to neglect his partner Levi Simpson, he doesn’t officially have a hashtag yet, but he definitely has a baby face….this could start a trend. Levi is your all around family man. He and his wife, Rebecca, have a 10 month old daughter named Annie, and while time apart and a year on the road was a grind, the finals has proved it was worth it. We asked Levi what his favorite part of the South Point stage was:

“Most of the time I like the interview and talking, the first time I was on Flint’s stage I was nervous. I haven’t been that nervous in a long time, but he didn’t give us too hard of a time. Last night was fun because we were able to keep Annie awake the whole time. She played with bull rider’s Scottie Knapp’s little girl who is just a couple months older and it was fun.”

Levi and Jeremy have won $66,058 so far at the halfway point and are 7th in the average.  Junior has won $51, 250 and is second in the average. We are proud of the Classic team and are excited for the next 5 rounds!

Seven Months after devastating fire, Classic and Rattler Ropes are back producing

After nearly seven months of rebuilding what was left of the rope factory burnt to ashes, Classic and Rattler ropes took rope orders from retail partners for the first time on Monday, June 20.

On Nov. 30, 2015 at 4:00 a.m. a fire started and destroyed the 70,000-square-foot rope manufacturing facility despite the efforts of nearly 50 firefighters. The fire goes on record as being one of the largest in Hood County’s history and thankfully there were no injuries. While the ashes were still smoldering, plans were implemented for the rebuilding process. All 74 employees of the facility were promised no loss in wages, and the mass clean up began. After a thorough investigation of what started fire, the Hood County Fire Marshall deemed the results inconclusive.

By January of 2016, string and fiber production commenced in the only structure on the property that did not burn and shortly after, the fabrication team began working on the production of the first and only ones of its kind rope machines. At the end of March, down from the count of eight, two machines were fully operational and prototypes were developed and tested by a select group of professional ropers. Even through this devastating castrophe, Equibrand is very thankful for the support of the consumers, retailers, professionals, and industry partners.

Ken Bray, CEO of Equibrand, said, “We are humbled by the outpouring of support from our customers and industry partners. We understand our responsibility is to exceed expectation.”

On Monday, June 20, 2016 the first rope orders to retail partners were made for the first time since the fire. Quantities and selection of only Heats and GT4’s were limited at time of purchase. The machines are running day and night to get production back up and crews are working tirelessly to get the remaining machines built to get stock back in every rope. This is just the first phase of the Firestorm.

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Equibrand is a holding company for several premium branded products in the western performances equestrian industry.

Contact:

Hannah Haugen, Public Relations Coordinator

800-654-7864 ext. 4143

hhaugen@equibrand.com

Early morning November 30, 2015 a fire broke out at Classic Rope, Rattler Rope and Classic Equine manufacturing facility on Highway 51 in Granbury, Texas. The fire spread rapidly despite the hard fought efforts of more than 50 firefighters. The flames burned throughout the day, and the fire was not extinguished until some 12 hours later.

Control of the blaze was complicated by manufacturing materials involved in the burn, including high quantities of nylon, polyester, and other flammables which produced intense heat and resisted normal firefighting practices.

There were no injuries associated with the blaze, but by the evening, the 70,000 square foot location that produced ropes, string, and saddle pads for over 29 years and employed over 80 employees was reduced to smoldering rubble. The cause of the fire which appeared to have started at or near a maintenance building is unknown.

News of the fire spread quickly across the country throughout the day, sending shock waves to both retailers and consumers. The facility was the epicenter for rope production, turning out 1,800 to 2,000 Classic and Rattler Ropes daily, which accounts for at least 50% of the market for team ropers and calf ropers around the world.

The facility housed all the fiber production used in the manufacturing of ropes and piggin’ strings as well as served as the production nucleus for all Classic Equine saddle pad production, as well as other Classic Equine products.

Equibrands’s CEO, Ken Bray weighed in on the destruction and what it means.

“First, we are the most thankful that no one was injured and no one was in the building at the time the fire started. Second, the outpouring and demonstrated support from the entire western industry has been overwhelming. Local businesses and friends have come forward to offer aid in everything from clean-up services, breakfast for employees, to warehouse space and office equipment. We are grateful to be a part of such a supportive community.”

Bray explained that an action plan for rebuilding was in place even before the flames had died out. Thanks to a solid crises management plan, the continued care and financial support for employees will be in place throughout the rebuilding process.

“At Equibrand, we are like family, and taking care of our people is very important to us. The focus now, is on taking care of our dealers and our customers. The building and its contents can be replaced, but what’s most important is getting things back up and running as soon as possible to service those retailers that depend on our products and to keep our customers supplied with the products they depend on.”

Classic Equine saddle pad production is anticipated to be up and running by the end of January. Plans are being finalized, custom tools are being fabricated, and our skilled team with unwavering leadership are laying the ground work for a new state of the art rope facility. We are rebuilding to be better and stronger than ever.

“Our products are the trade tools of the sport, from the weekend roper to our professional team of ambassadors that make a living with them, we want them to know this team is working tirelessly to regroup, restore, and rebuild in an effort to meet their product demands as soon as possible.”

 

 

Fall  weather has graced us with its presence again, and it is prime time to get the horses legged up and the ropes broke in for all the awesome ropings coming up in the sport of team roping. The USTRC Finals in Oklahoma City are the last weekend in October and the World Series of Team Roping Finals are in December at the South Point during the National Finals Rodeo.

Ropers of all competitive levels get the chance to rope for hundreds of thousands of dollars…literally.

With all these things considered, we went to our rope guru to find out what is the most popular right now and who is winning with it. Some know him as the “rope god,” some know him as the man behind the brand, and some know him as George McQuain.

What is the top seller at Classic Rope?

George: The Heat is the top seller overall. Jake Barnes, Junior, Brady Minor, and Colby Lovell frequently use it.

The Spydr would be a close second. This rope is used by Luke Brown and also sometimes by Colby Lovell and Jake Barnes.

The Heat and Spydr are popular among both headers and heelers. The GT4 would round out the top 3, and is predominately used by heelers like Kollin VonAhn, but it’s not uncommon to see them as head ropes.

Best of luck to all you ropers during this busy season and remember SUCCESS IS IN YOUR HANDS.