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Barrel Racing Essay

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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This event was originally made for women.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 …show more content…

The fastest time gets a half of a second added onto it to make the 2D division. Then the fastest 1D time gets a whole second added to it to make the 3D division. The 4D division is one and a half seconds added to the fastest time of the whole event.
There are some rules in barrel racing. Number one is the fastest time wins. The rider and horse aren’t judged on anything but that. If the rider and horse run past a barrel and get out of the pattern, they get a “no time” score or they get disqualified. If the racer or her horse knocks a barrel over, they get a five second penalty which normally gives them a time that is to slow to win or place. There is a sixty second time limit to complete the course. The barrels have to be fifty five gallons, they have to be metal, and they have to be at least two colors. Most competitions also require the rider to wear a long sleeve western shirt that is tucked in, western cut pants or jeans, a western hat, and western boots. The contestant has to be dressed like this one hour before the event.
There is also special tack that is used for barrel racing. Bits are one thing. There isn’t any rule that says what type of bit you have to use but there are bits that are more common to riders than others. The type of bit used is determined by the riders based on the horses needs. Bits with longer shanks cause the horse to stop faster and bits with shorter shanks are used for more lateral work. Other things are put on the bit like curb

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