Barrel Racing

A Fun Equine Sport

Horses were an integral part of history. They were used in wars, ranches and as a means of transportation. It was essential for people to have better coordination with the horse. The better the control of the horse the higher the chances of succeeding in life. So a number of equine sports were developed to test the skills of a horse rider. Racing, dressage and barrel racing are different forms of equine sports that tests the speed and balance of the rider and the horse. The invention of cars has not diminished the interest in these sports.

While a standard horse race tested speed and Dressage tested the balance, Barrel racing tested both speed as well as balance of the rider with the horse. Barrel racing is a sport participated exclusively by cowgirls. Barrel racing is a rodeo event where cowgirls compete with each other and the clock. 

Like dressage and unlike races, barrel racing involves one rider entering at a time into the arena. Three barrels are placed in the arena at different locations. The task of the rider is to enter the arena riding on horses, circle the barrels in cloverleaf fashion and exit the arena from where they had entered. The important factor is – speed. The aim is to rip through the course without knocking over the barrels. Whoever completes the race with the fastest time without knocking over the barrels wins the race. 

Brushing or knocking over the barrel would cost the participant 5 seconds penalty that would be added to the time. A stopwatch is used to register time to a hundredth fraction of a second. The winning time varies, depending on the size of the arena. Normally a time of 13-14 seconds is a winning time.

The National Barrel Horse Association as well as hundreds of organizations holds barrel races. Championship money runs in to hundreds of thousand dollars.