About . . . . . . . .

Cascade Team Penning Association was formed in 1990 by a group of team penners who wanted to promote the sport of team penning in the Northwest. Since 1990, CTPA has had over 1,000 members, with an active membership in 2007-08 of approximately 250 from the States of Washington and California, as well as Oregon.

In 1997, CTPA formed a Rating Committee and adopted a rating system for its members consisting of numbers from 1-6 with 1-2 being the beginning or limited ability riders, 3-4 being more proficient and 5-6 riders being the professional and more competitive penners.

Penning:

Open (w/12 Incentive)
No. 13
No. 11 (consisting of only one no. 5 or 6)
No. 8 (w/6 incentive)
Novice (w/3 incentive and no rider rated above a no. 2)

Sorting

Open
No. 9
No. 6
No. 3
Masters
Newbie

So far, the rating system seems to be working well for the Novice riders, as well as the Pro riders. United States Team Penning Association has used the CTPA rating criteria to set up its own rating system. However, USTPA is rating on a "national level" and CTPA rates on a "regional level." Because of some serious discrepancies in the ratings, especially in the Novice division, CTPA members voted in 2002 not to cosanction its events with USTPA in order to give its novice and amateur riders a more level playing field.

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Last Updated March 25, 2008 by D. Stevens