One of the hardest habits to break as a heeler is clamping down on your dally. It usually happens when the steer is hitting fast or when you short-arm your slack. You grab too close to your coils, the rope locks up and suddenly you’re fighting your dally instead of finishing your run smooth. Here’s how to clean it up.
The Fix:
Get caught up.
If you’re reaching and catching on the tip of your rope, you’re already behind. Ride to a spot where you can deliver a full loop and finish clean. The more caught up you are, the easier it is to dally without panic.
Grab slack farther down.
Don’t clamp right at your coils. If you grab your rope closer to the honda, you give yourself room to slide and come up smooth. Clamping too close leaves no margin—you’re pulling that first coil out and asking for trouble.
Let it roll.
Smooth dallying is about letting the rope slide before you commit. The rope should move through your hand in rhythm with the jerk. Think “slide, then stick,” not “clamp and rip.”
Drill on the Smarty.
Heel the dummy, then practice holding one coil, two coils, three coils, and dallying from each. This teaches you to let the rope run through your hand and builds muscle memory for different scenarios.
The best heelers aren’t muscling their dallies—they’re smooth. If you’ll ride to your spot, grab slack in the right place and trust yourself to let the rope roll, you’ll dally cleaner, faster, and with a lot less wrecks.
—TRJ—
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