My project was a dummy roping calf made out of PVC pipe. Dummy calves are used to practice roping skills, and are used by beginners and professionals.

Inspirations

In the rodeo, my favorite event is calf wrestling. Being able to successfully rope a calf is a very impressive skill. I recently became a casual roper just for fun, but I didn’t have anything good to practice on. I decided that having a dummy in my backyard with a cool aesthetic would be fun and a good way to practice my skills.

Brainstorming

I didn’t know much about roping calves, so I had to look at some on the internet. I learned that they were ridiculously expensive, and I knew I could make one for cheaper. I saw some for sale that were made of PVC, but most were just standard and basic in terms of aesthetic appeal. I decided that I would use PVC pipe, and splatter it with paint to add some flair to it.

Materials purchased

For this project, I already had my rope, but I needed everything else. I bought the head for the dummy from a saddlery shop online. At Home Depot, I bought 20 feet of PVC pipe, about 15 couplers, and two cans of spray paint: one black and one gold. I also bought wheels to mount it on.

Process

The actual construction of the piece went pretty smoothly. I measured out the right lengths of PVC pipe, cut it, and assembled it all together in the shape I wanted using the couplers. I attached the head using a drill, and made sure everything fit tightly. I decided to paint the whole thing black, and then use the gold paint to create splatter marks randomly all over it. This fulfilled my goal aesthetic of refined, but still unfinished and not perfect.

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