Lasso Tricks

Flat Loop

• The flat loop trick involves spinning the lasso in a circular horizontal loop. Beginners often learn this trick first because it is the easiest of all lasso tricks, and it is a strong foundation for learning other tricks. The flat loop is a foundational lasso trick for other tricks like the merry-go-round, spoke jumping and the wedding ring. Merry-go-round tricks involve spinning a flat loop around your body. Spoke jumping involves stepping in a flat loop with one or both feet. The wedding ring involves spinning a flat loop and passing it over your head.

Vertical Loop

• The vertical loop is similar to the flat loop except that instead of spinning a loop horizontally, you spin it vertically. The vertical loop is the foundational trick for the Texas skip, where you spin the rope vertically from side to side and jump through the loop each time the loop approaches.

Butterfly

• The butterfly looks similar to the Texas skip. You spin a loop vertically, passing it from side to side. However, you spin a smaller loop for the butterfly, and you do not jump through the loop. The butterfly is a foundational trick for the zigzag, arm bounce, reverse butterfly and the ocean wave. A zigzag is similar to the butterfly, but you keep the rope stationary. The arm bounce involves pulling a butterfly loop down the length of your arm and bouncing it back out; it looks like you're punching through the middle of the loop. The reverse butterfly is the same as the butterfly except you spin the loop counter-clockwise. The ocean wave is like a butterfly but you pass the rope behind your back as well in front of you.

Catches

• If you've learned some of the foundational tricks, you may want to learn how to perform catches with a lasso because people will immediately want to know if you can catch cattle -- a valuable function as opposed to a fancy trick. Three kinds of catches include the thrown loop catch, flat loop catch and the ocean wave catch. The thrown loop catch requires you to hold the loop and toss it to catch your target. The flat loop catch requires you to spin the lasso in a flat loop like the merry-go-round and toss it to catch your target. The ocean wave catch requires you to do an ocean wave from the reverse butterfly and toss the loop to catch the target.