Team ropers like to discuss their event in marriage terms. They speak of trust, confidence, support and commitment through good times and bad.

World-class team ropers spend days, sometimes weeks, even months together, side-by-side in the cab of a pickup truck, going long miles from rodeo to rodeo.

Compatibility becomes just as important as having the skill to handle a rope.

Like all marriages, some work, some do not.

"I spend more time with Allen than I do my wife,'' said Travis Tryan, a team roper from Billings. Tryan is roping with Allen Bach this year.

So far, the Tryan-Bach union has been very successful.

The two, despite the disparity in ages, are third in the PRCA world team roping heading and heeling standings, respectively.

Tryan is third among the headers with $86,796. He trails brother Clay Tryan, the world standings leader, by $8,725.