Speed and Endurance is Key to Winning the Race
We thought with all the excitement of bringing some rodeo
action to the ranch this week, it would be an exciting time to take a closer
look at one of the most elite women rodeo sports established in 1948! Barrel Racing! The name says it all! It’s the
thrill of racing against time around three barrels and the best time wins.
Barrell racing was a way for women to enter the professional
rodeo atmosphere while the men were calf roping, steer wrestling, bull riding, and
bronc riding in the rodeo circuit! The first barrel race event ever to be held was said to be hosted in
Texas where a group of women got together and developed the Women’s
Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) to provide advancement opportunities for
women to compete competitively in rodeo. Barrel Racing to this day is still considered
the most popular sport among the WPRA.
Now that you have heard a little about how barrel racing
came to fruition, let me tell you more about the sport itself. Barrel Racing
is an individual event where it’s one horse and one rider going against time
once they cross the electric eye of the timer. The goal is to perform a
cloverleaf pattern around the barrels avoiding any disqualifications (running
past a barrel) or penalty from knocking over the barrels. It takes a lot of
technique and skill by both horse and rider. Horses are trained professionally
to take barrels properly, and every second counts. The closer the horse can
shave off time by leaning their shoulder into the barrel the better their run-time.
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| Barrel Racing (Werner22brigitte) 2014 |
There's all sorts of competition for all levels of
riders in barrel racing. I personally have competed at the local level while I was growing up and the thrill of chasing the cans, as they call it, still lives within me. The local level competitions are a great way to get started learning the sport prior to hitting up the nationally sanctioned shows by the National Barrel Horse Association and Better Barrel Races Association. Many barrel racers have competed at these levels before entering the rodeo circuit where the competition is stiff and extremely competitive. Barrel Racing at this level is co-sanctioned by both the WPRA and PRCA (Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association) which allows women to compete at any PRCA endorsed rodeos and the Wrangler National FinalRodeo, which is the season-ending championship held in Los Vegas.
riders in barrel racing. I personally have competed at the local level while I was growing up and the thrill of chasing the cans, as they call it, still lives within me. The local level competitions are a great way to get started learning the sport prior to hitting up the nationally sanctioned shows by the National Barrel Horse Association and Better Barrel Races Association. Many barrel racers have competed at these levels before entering the rodeo circuit where the competition is stiff and extremely competitive. Barrel Racing at this level is co-sanctioned by both the WPRA and PRCA (Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association) which allows women to compete at any PRCA endorsed rodeos and the Wrangler National FinalRodeo, which is the season-ending championship held in Los Vegas.
Sources:
http://prorodeo.com/prorodeo/wrangler-national-finals-rodeo
World Champion Barrel Racer (Wangler Network) 2017 Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJsYGkBQKtY
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