Personal Narrative: Barrel Racing

Barrel racing is one of the most unique events at a rodeo. It takes a lot of time and effort to get your horse and yourself to learn the barrel pattern and know how to correctly go around the barrels. Once you start to race you’ll never want to stop it’s probably one of the most funnest and competitive things you can do. During barrel racing there are a few things you should know that will help to a successful run. Might want to have a wonderful trainer that will always be there to help, need know the gear needed for this event, and might not know but need to regular exercises with your horse everyday.

Lisa Lockhart a professional barrel racer said, “Our horses are our teammates, our soulmates. It’s a team effort. You can’t do it without so many people behind you. People in the National Little Britches Rodeo Association takes care of each other. I compete in five events and Ribbon Roping was the only one I did well in this year. I came home with four shiny buckles and a spiffy set of spurs. I also learned that you cannot succeed in rodeo without your family or the horses that you love and care about with you.

Barrel racing is a timed event in rodeos where a rider and horse try to complete a clover leaf pattern in the fastest time. It takes skills from the rider and the horse to make a good run. It takes good athletic ability from the horse and good horsemanship from the rider to take a horse safely through the barrels. The judges set up the barrels in a triangle in the center of the arena. There is normally a flagger in the ring that waves a flag when you start and waves it again when you cross the finish line. There is a person that starts and stops the timer when that flag is waved.

We finally got three practice laps so we could feel what the track was like to ride. Next we immediately started trials meaning we raced to get the best 14 riders to continue to the main event that night. I was in two classes The 250 and the 450 so I had two chances to make the main event. 250 trials was the most difficult because there were 28 riders, and only 14 could go on. Now nobody really tried on trials it was just a chance to be good enough to make it to the next round. I was 7th out of the 28 so I ended up getting 7th gate pick for the main event. The 450 class had its pros and cons. There were usually less riders, but I rode a 250, a bike almost half the size, but racing against harder competition can only make your better. There were only 20 of us in the 450 trials, and I gave to the best of my ability to get the best gate pick I could get and ended up being

Some people think of them as animals. Some people think of them as objects. Some people think of them as friends. Then there are the few who think of them as family. Horses have always been like family to humans, except sometimes closer. There are many benefits to owning or being around horses. They come in many different colors. There is a multitude of breeds, also. Additionally, they have a long history with humans. Horses have unique behaviors. Showing horses has been the past-time or even career of many people. Furthermore, caring for horses can be a handful, but is definitely rewarding. Finally, riding horses is not just a hobby or a sport, but an action of your heart. Horses are wondrous creatures that have lived with man or

This year I will be the best barrel racer in Kansas. The dictionary defines it as “a rodeo event done by a horse and a rider competing on a pattern around

I have been in the world of rodeo since the day I was born. My father and sister have always been involved, along with other members of my family: such as my uncles, aunts, and cousins. I guess you could say that rodeo is a family affair, so indubitably I also fell into suit and began my own rodeo career. I have had successful and not so successful intervals throughout the course of my rodeo pursuits; either way each and every one of them have been memorable in their own right. I started competing at the age of ten on a horse that my family called Dewey. Dewey was a sorrel gelding that my father roped off of and I ran barrels on. He was the type of horse that was lazy and only moved by force; we were alike in this way. We had constant success as a duo, I wouldn’t have traded him for

Lots of people think barrel racing is easy. Well they are wrong barrel racing if hard, if a person doesn't know how to ride or know what they are doing. A Lot of people think when they first started to do barrels they think they can just sit and turn the barrels, well that's not true there's more to it. Barrel racing more completed than to new people learning to barrel race, to actually become a barrel racer it takes guts, strength, and lots of patience.

As some people say, “No hour of life is wasted spent in a saddle”. For most people that is true, barrel racing is a fabulous way to make a stronger bond between the rider and their horse. Barrel Racing was invented in 1948. This sport was believed to start in Texas. It was invented by WPRA. WPRA stands for Women's Professional Rodeo Association. Many people get confused because before WPRA was called WPRA it was called GRA. GRA means Girls Rodeo Association.

To be a highly skilled barrel racer it takes far more than just agility, strength, and trust from both the horse and its rider. As with any sport there will be ups and downs, I have seen that with my daughter and all of the injuries she has sustained. Every aspect of this sport requires that each rider establishes an unquestionable bond and has intense level of trust with the horse to be ridden. Without that bond and high degree of trust between both horse and rider there will not be any success attained. From the amount time that each rider puts into extended practices, maintenance, and travel for this sport there are great lessons to be learned. Lessons that will last a lifetime and maybe even lessons that will be passed down to the next generation of Barrel Racer. From all that I have learned and witnessed with observing this sport in the end all horse riders will say the same thing. That all of the pain and suffering is worth it, basically because each person simply gets to do something they love, enjoy, and something they have fun doing. To me that is what sports are all about. Whether it is riding a horse everyday for a year straight or putting on shoulder pads and a helmet on the gridiron, if you are doing something you love there is nothing greater in this

I was frantically mowing through the pile of life jackets trying to find one that fit me. I reacher for a red one with gray fringing the edge and swung it around my shoulders. To my surprise it fit! My younger cousin came strolling over over looked at the life jacket I had on and came rushing over. His name is Zane, he had bright red hair that was naturally curly, and stood no taller than my chest. He pointed at the life jacket I was wearing and stated that it was his. I reluctantly took it off and gave it to him. Once again I was jacketless. I picked up a yellow, black, and red one but it was to big. I picked up an all red one, to SMALL!! Suddenly my Uncle Mark is by me

Some people think that people do barrel racing to push their horses and look the best while doing.Some people wear spurs and they have romells or a whip to make their horse go faster but the whip hurts the horse really bad.Some people think that people do barrel racing to prove that their horse is the best and that they got the fastest horse too.

I went to my first NASCAR race on September 18th, 2016 in Joliet, Illinois. It was hot and it was a blast up there.

Honestly, although barrel racing looks easy, it is actually exceptionally hard. The work you put in is totally worth it, the thrill of taking off, feeling the power of your horse as you spin, not one, not two, but three barrels. Easily the best part is hearing the crowd cheer you home! It is definitely not a sport for the weak of faith or heart. The sport is full of adrenaline junkies, tough horses, and even tougher competition. I tried it for the first time when I was only 6, and loved it instantly! You should definitely try it if you have a passion for horses, a love of competition, and a need for

As I sat in my desk browsing through my mind of topics for my I-Search paper, horses immediately came to my mind. Ever since I was a little girl I was fond of barrel racing. I always told my mom I was going to barrel race one day and well now I barrel race. I thought, “What makes barrel horses become gate sour?” I also thought, “Why do certain people label barrel racing as abusive and cruel?” These two questions I have asked myself many times, so now is the perfect time to find the true answer. That is what I set out to find.