The Peru Gazette

L-R Leah, Cathy & Molly Butts

By John T Ryan 

Peru is known as apple and dairy country, but for several weekends every summer, it can rightfully be called cow sorting and penning country. Enthusiasts from Eastern Canada, Eastern U.S., and, today, as far away as Brazil compete at Rob and Cathy Butts’ Cimarron Arena on the Mannix Road.

2024 marks the 26th year the Butts family has hosted the competition. Daughters Leah and Molly work with their parents and friends to make the event successful. There’s much more work involved than at the weekend competitions. The Butts pasture and feed 300 rapidly growing cows for several months each year. Every few weeks, they rotate them via truck between three pastures. 

One hundred twenty-five riders participated in hundreds of competitions this weekend. They, too, were accompanied by family members and friends. RVs and horse trailers lined every dirt road leading to the arena. Today is the fourth competition this year, with two more on the schedule. 

In team penning, three riders have 60 seconds to separate three same-numbered cattle from a herd of thirty and drive them into a small pen at the opposite end of the arena. In sorting, two or three riders attempt to sort ten cattle in numerical order and drive them through a gate and into an oversized pen. The action is fast-paced, with only a minute or two between events. 

Similar Ranch Sorting Team Penning Association events take place in Ontario, Nova Scotia, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, New Brunswick, California, New Jersey,  Ohio, Rhode Island and Virginia,