Ron Hognestad
Ron Hognestad
Heeler
Ron Hognestad is 75 years young and still heeling in team roping events, jackpots, and practices in Arizona and in Texas. A California native, he has been roping since he was a child. “My parents had a roping arena in Sebastopol outside of Santa Rosa. I started as a kid and have been roping my entire life.” Ron has been a member of the 40+ Team Roping Championships for the last three years since he and his wife made the move to Texas. “I have been doing this a long time and I just enjoy roping and meeting other ropers around Texas. There are so many opportunities to rope and the people are great, so it makes it really enjoyable.”
Three horses help Ron in the arena - Mo, Dually, and Patch. “I like to head, but I heel most of the time. My horses are great to ride and I feel very fortunate to have variety because I heel on two of them and head on one.” Preparation in both fitness and nutrition is important to supporting their health. Ron supplements his feeding regimen with BioMane and Equinety to keep his geldings in top shape. Equipment also plays a key role in his success and he prefers to use Rattler Ropes GT4 Heeling Rope with Best Ever Pads for his horses. “The main thing I do before I head to a roping is to make sure that my horse and I are tuned up. It’s not fair to you or your partner if you aren’t prepared, so I like to make sure that the horse is legged up, my gear is in order, and that I am ready to rope to the best of my ability.”
Roping success followed Ron from his time competing on the West Coast into two back-to-back National Finals Rodeo qualifications in the heading. “Years ago I qualified for the NFR heading for John Paboojian. We traveled to Oklahoma for the NFR in 1971 and 1972 and started off either 12th or 13th in the world standings. It was a great experience and I was lucky enough to have a great horse named Charlie with me.” Ron also placed in the #10.5 at the World Series a few years ago. Today he says, “I just enjoy the sport. I have pretty much done as much as I can do so I am happy to be able to compete and ride as often as I do at 75 years old.”