Barrel Racing
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.
This event was originally made for women. When barrel racing first started the pattern fluctuated between a figure eight pattern and the clover leaf that is used today. It is said that in 1948 barrel racing started in Texas and was created by the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association or the WPRA. They first started out as the Girls Rodeo Association but in 1981 it was changed to the WPRA.
Barrel racing hasn’t changed must since 1948. But it takes a lot of skill to make the turns around the barrels. The rider has to rate their horses speed at the right moment to make it into the turn in a fluid motion that will save them time. The rider has to make either one right turn and two left turns or one left turn and two right turns. Normally the rider goes into the first barrel from an angle to the left and makes a right turn. Then they go to the barrel that is directly across from the first barrel, making a horizontal line with the starting line. At this barrel they would make a left turn when they came in from the right side. After that they head towards the last barrel that would be at the top of the triangle from the starting line. They will come in from the right again and make a left turn. After this, they let their reins loose and they let the horse go back over that line as fast as it can.
There are divisions in barrel racing so that all of the riders have a fair chance. The divisions
This event was originally made for women. When barrel racing first started the pattern fluctuated between a figure eight pattern and the clover leaf that is used today. It is said that in 1948 barrel racing started in Texas and was created by the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association or the WPRA. They first started out as the Girls Rodeo Association but in 1981 it was changed to the WPRA.
Barrel racing hasn’t changed must since 1948. But it takes a lot of skill to make the turns around the barrels. The rider has to rate their horses speed at the right moment to make it into the turn in a fluid motion that will save them time. The rider has to make either one right turn and two left turns or one left turn and two right turns. Normally the rider goes into the first barrel from an angle to the left and makes a right turn. Then they go to the barrel that is directly across from the first barrel, making a horizontal line with the starting line. At this barrel they would make a left turn when they came in from the right side. After that they head towards the last barrel that would be at the top of the triangle from the starting line. They will come in from the right again and make a left turn. After this, they let their reins loose and they let the horse go back over that line as fast as it can.
There are divisions in barrel racing so that all of the riders have a fair chance. The divisions