Lambert finds quick success in ranching event, performs in World Finals

June 21, 2021 | 12:08 am

Updated June 20, 2021 | 9:56 pm

Lee Lambert

Lee Lambert has been around horses his entire life. What he is new to, however, is a sport called Team Sorting, a ranching event that has landed him quick success.

What started as a new adventure during the pandemic, led him to the Ranch Sorting National Championship (RSNC) less than a year later, competing against some of the top sorters in the entire world.

“I have ridden horses since I was three years old. Where we are from, ten miles south of Owensboro, there was not a lot to do with horses around here,” Lambert said. “Most run barrels in this area. During the pandemic, the one thing that didn’t get put on hold was that — people still rode. I got into sorting; I have only been doing this for less than a year.”

Team sorting requires riders to move numbered cows, in order, from one pen to the next. Competition usually works with teams of two riders on horseback racing the clock. 

Throughout the course of a year, Lambert has experienced success at competitions in Muhlenberg County, Bowling Green, and Galatia, Illinois. He has his horse Stanley to thank for many accolades.

Lambert earned a spot in the RSNC World Finals XIV 2021 in Fort Worth Texas this past week at the Will Rogers Memorial Complex, a feat beyond his wildest dreams.

“I was considered a rookie, but I was eligible to go and wanted to make the trip,” he said. “We got down there and I was unsure of what the expectations would be. I was confident that I had a really good horse, but the classes we ran in were not entry-level — we ran with the big boys. There are only two classes higher, but seven classes lower.” 

After being partnered with Peggy Schwarz from South Florida, Lambert’s team had a great start. In a preliminary round, the duo qualified for the top eight. 

“They brought back the top forty after that, and we set the fastest time,” Lambert said. “We were sitting in the number one position in the world until the last four went and we got bumped to third place by a very small margin. This put us into the world finals,” Lambert said. 

Lambert was thankful for the partner he was assigned, a seasoned competitor he considered a good draw to ride with. He said Schwarz added a level of experience to their team. 

“If you do low-level, you get low-level partners. If you go higher level, you will get a better partner,” he said. “I started entering completely open shows at first. Lately, I have been entering and getting checks in every show.”

Spectators and competitors alike found it hard to believe that last fall was the first time Lambert had ever tried the event. 

“I went to the pay window to get my check and I think the lady thought I was lying to her — it’s pretty unimaginable,” Lambert said. “I was at the show Wednesday night, starting the main event for the World Finals, it’s the largest show they’ve carried in Fort Worth. It blows my mind — I haven’t been in this long enough to even aspire to do something like this,” Lambert said. 

What surprised Lambert was how many people he already knew at the world finals. 

“The forty or fifty people I consistently run into in our area were the biggest players in Fort Worth — I didn’t expect to see so many people I knew,” he said. “The ones I compete with back at home are actually the big players in the world standings. One guy I competed against three weeks ago got inducted into the hall of fame this week.”

Lambert made it into the world finals on Tuesday, humbled by the chance to work harder each competition and climb the standings. 

“East coast to west coast, it was the best people in the world,” Lambert said. “I went in because I wanted the experience of attending. I did not have any inclination of what I would be satisfied with. The fact that we were even there was unimaginable.”

Lambert gives all the credit to his horse; the part of competition he says he enjoys most is watching him do what he does. 

“You cannot do it without a horse that has that ability,” he said. “With it being 100 to 103 degrees every day, I worried that he was not acclimated to the temperature. Failure is not an option to that horse, though. He may have a bigger heart than me.”

Stanley, whose registered name is “What’s New, Smarty Cat?” came from Jackson Performance Horses in Galatia, Illinois. Lambert said Stanley lives and breathes what he does, a rare find that no amount of money could replace. 

“You can take the bridle off him and he will still chase cows until his heart explodes,” Lambert said. “He wants to do it and I just want to let him do it. That’s where we got, ‘Go Stanley, Go!’ I take him in here and let him do what he loves to do.”

Their team placed 7th, a finish that Lambert calls impossible without his support system and many people who helped him along the way. 

“I’d like to give special thanks to Elaine Jackson who adopted me as team Jackson this weekend — I owe it all to her as far as performance and ability,” he said. “I’d also like to thank Shane and Amy Lambert who got into this at the same time as me.

“Mike Cherry helped me learn a lot of basic ropes while my wife tells me the when, where, and how of scheduling. I get emotional thinking about all this.” 

As far as the experience, Lambert has learned many life lessons already. 

“I didn’t belong there. I have the knowledge of horses, but it’s such a mental sport — you have a split second on every cow to make a decision,” Lambert said. “It’s critical to stay in the moment and make the best decision every time.”

June 21, 2021 | 12:08 am

Share this Article

Other articles you may like