Barrel Racing Facts
Barrel racing is a sport when there is a horse and a rider racing against the clock. According to the Mahalo website " barrels are set up in a triangle and the team will follow a cloverleaf pattern around them" for a time. Barrel racing was the one sport in rodeo made just for women. As an amature men can only particapate but, professionaly, only women can compete. The biggest barrel racing event is the NFR, or national finals rodeo held in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Thomas and Mack center. The NFR is where the top 15 barrel racers come to compete for ten days. The lubbockonline website says "53-year-old Mary Walker of Ennis, Texas, won the season title in her first NFR". This is one sport where you are never to old to make it. Some people like Charmayne James have been in the Thomas and Mack center since they were fourteen, and other such as Mary Walker started as a rookie at fifty three. What ever the age is as long as you have the drive and determination you can always succeed.
Barrel racing is like any other sport, with out the right equipment you would have a much harder time competing. Just like you are to make sure you have a good bat for baseball, you want to make sure you have a good fitting saddle for ridding. With out a proper fitting saddle it can hurt your horse. Told by barrelracingtips.com "A poor fitting saddle prevents a horse from fully utilizing their body" which can prevent a good run. With most sports you have to listen to a team mate or a coach and horse back ridding is no different. Even though horses can't physically talk they still do communicate with us. You have to use your body language to help them understand what you want. Clinton Anderson from ridemagazine.com said "Unlike humans, horses communicate almost exclusively by body language." and people have to learn how to understand it. Other things you need to be aware of for ridding is the dress code. The Mahalo website says "A western style dress code is encouraged including a cowboy hat, long sleeved shirt, boots and jeans. A rider may be assessed a fine if they lose their hat during a run at a National, World, or Super Show that has been sanctioned by the National Barrel Horse Association." and most of the time if you are not dressed at a sanctioned show you can be fined too. Barrel races includes all different entry class such as peewee class, youth class, open class, senior class, and jackpot class. For each class there are different age groups, different entry fees, and of course different pay outs. Barrel racing is based on a 4-D system, which is the when the fastest time wins and is the 1D first. Next comes the 2D first who is a half a second behind the 1D runner and so on and so forth. Barrel racing is a fast pace and high energy sport that I'm proud to be part of.
Barrel racing is like any other sport, with out the right equipment you would have a much harder time competing. Just like you are to make sure you have a good bat for baseball, you want to make sure you have a good fitting saddle for ridding. With out a proper fitting saddle it can hurt your horse. Told by barrelracingtips.com "A poor fitting saddle prevents a horse from fully utilizing their body" which can prevent a good run. With most sports you have to listen to a team mate or a coach and horse back ridding is no different. Even though horses can't physically talk they still do communicate with us. You have to use your body language to help them understand what you want. Clinton Anderson from ridemagazine.com said "Unlike humans, horses communicate almost exclusively by body language." and people have to learn how to understand it. Other things you need to be aware of for ridding is the dress code. The Mahalo website says "A western style dress code is encouraged including a cowboy hat, long sleeved shirt, boots and jeans. A rider may be assessed a fine if they lose their hat during a run at a National, World, or Super Show that has been sanctioned by the National Barrel Horse Association." and most of the time if you are not dressed at a sanctioned show you can be fined too. Barrel races includes all different entry class such as peewee class, youth class, open class, senior class, and jackpot class. For each class there are different age groups, different entry fees, and of course different pay outs. Barrel racing is based on a 4-D system, which is the when the fastest time wins and is the 1D first. Next comes the 2D first who is a half a second behind the 1D runner and so on and so forth. Barrel racing is a fast pace and high energy sport that I'm proud to be part of.