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.

In barrel racing “rider and horse follow a cloverleaf pattern around three barrels” (Gary). There is an electronic eye that when a horse passes will start a timer and when the horse runs back across stops the timer. Just like in all other events there is a penalty for messing up in this event if you knock (tip a barrel over) a barrel you receive five second added onto your time. Often times a cowgirl will let go of the reins (pretty much the steering wheel of the horse) and reach down to grab the barrel and push it back into place, which is totally legal but if they push it too hard it will fall over and add five second to the time. The tighter the rider can turn the horse around the barrel the faster the time can be when they turn the third barrel they kick it into gear and run out as fast as they can. The 2015 barrel racing champion of the world “Callie duPerier was competing at her first NFR but competed like she’d been in Las Vegas many times. The 22-year-old from Boerne, Texas, arrived here first in the world, and that’s where she finished in world standings and average”

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.

I would say I am neither a jock, nor a puke. I Barrel race, which I consider a sport, and I can be very competitive at times, but it is definitely not a "Win at all costs" attitude. To me, if a barrel racer is trying to "win at all costs", they would likely be putting their horse or themselves in danger in order to attempt a faster run. A lot of barrel racers also get unreasonably close to the barrels to try and achieve a faster run, which usually only results in a barrel down and five seconds added to their time. Barrel racers kick and push our reins forward to pick up speed but it is nothing that endangers our horses health or our own health. I do have to say that i am rarely content watching a barrel race but not participating in it. It

You’re lining up now!” You turn and look at the whiteboard, and sure enough, a big 19 is spread across the top. Although it pains you to do it, you remove your heated, comfy layer of sweats, exposing your newly formed goosebumps, and head down to the pool. When you arrive at the table, a woman checks off your name and tells you to sit in the fourth chair down. It’s only been an hour, and the woman looks as though she has been working for three days straight. You don’t recognize either of the girls sitting next to you. It turns out that the girl to your right is from Watertown, and the girl to your left is from Cortland. You strike up a conversation with the girl from Watertown, and it turns out that you have a lot in common. Gradually, the line would inch forward, and you would be stuck sitting in someone else's chair, in which they had left a pool of water in, so you resort to sitting on the very edge of the chair. About two races before your own, your coach walks by, and starts talking to you, knowing that you are very nervous. “Don’t worry about it, you will do fine! Just remember, the faster you swim, the faster you’ll be able to dry off and get warm again.” You nod and laugh shyly and continue to anxiously wait for your race.

Thoroughbreds are great for jumping, racing, cross country, endurance, and they can be used for barrel racing but it’s usually a lot harder for them to do all the tight turns because of how big they

Now i'm a junior racer and have won nothing just yet. This summer we go to Colorado for IFCA means internal feedlot cowboy association. I love riding horses. My fastest time was 19.24 seconds. This is my second year being a junior. You have to be a bit faster now. Barrel racing is super fun. You go around three barrels they are in shape of a triangle depending on whether you are right or left handed that's which

When I glance towards him, I give him a reassuring nod and start to pick it up. My heart started pounding faster than It has ever pounded before. I could hear the crowd cheering and saying, “You can do it”, “Keep going”, or my favorite, “Go faster”. Zoey started to pull away from me second by second and I knew that If I just kept going faster I would win. Once I reached 200m to go I started sprinting for my life. Now everyone was cheering and yelling at me (in a good way) for me to finish. As I started to stare at the finish line my eyes started to water until, finally I passed the finish line. My heart was racing, my legs and arms were burning, and I felt like I was about to faint. I was so happy and a little light headed, but mostly happy. When everyone finished I congratulated and hugged my three friends, Zoey, Bella, and Sydney, who finished right after me.

In November 2015, I finally walked up to Keeneland for the first time in my life to finally see a live horse race. But it wasn’t just any race – it was the 2015 Breeder’s Cup Championships and American Pharaoh would go on to win the Grand Slam. It was an awesome day, meeting people from all over the country who seemed just as passionate about a sport as I was. It was that experience that led me to move to Lexington, KY two months ago with a desire to work in the Thoroughbred industry.

The physics lab, with its windows shuttered and lights off, only the blue light from the projector illuminating the room, seemed like a better place to take a nap than repair cars and learn how to drive them on a Monday morning at 8:00 AM. However, the footage from the professional go-karting racing circuit playing on the screen left me both exhilarated and terrified, and most definitely not drowsy. Minutes later, our group of fourteen boarded the bus that would take us to the indoor racing center of Denver, where amateurs and pros alike trained for racing season, Unser Racing.

Before I knew it the Starter pointed his gun high and fired. Across the starting line from both sides I felt runners storming off, as did I. I wanted to take a smart approach as I planned I would. The first mile quickly came up and I was advancing my place further to put myself into a positive position to finish. A mile and a half into the race overall I felt relaxed  and was still moving up passing runners. Next the second mile came up and I was starting to struggle as were some runners close by. Additionally hills were to come in the next mile and a half and I wasn’t looking forward to it, but I knew If I stopped then slowed down, I wouldn’t satisfy myself. Eventually I made it through the hills along with other struggling runners. The last part of the race came and as soon as I made it to where I had about 400m left, overall I gave it all I had in the moment so that I finished in excellent standing with myself. As I gave it all I could I passed a few runners in the process and as a few passed by as well. Finally, after several minutes of trying to catch my breath I finally

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

The weather is perfect for racing: not too hot, not too humid, not too windy. I dash down the twisted trails in the woods, trying not to stumble on the gnarled roots protruding from the dirt. My spikes puncture the soft earth with every stride, and my legs repeatedly pound on the ground, soreness surging through them. As sweat trickles down my face and dirt smears across my aching calves, I ascend a steep hill, trying to bring forth the strength I have accumulated throughout endless hours of practice. Now that I am nearing the final two hundred meters, I must force my body to begin sprinting. Breathing heavily, I dart for the imminent finish line, trying to beat the uninterrupted tick of the timer. Even though the crowd surrounds all around me, I can barely hear their animated cheers, because all I can focus on is crossing the line before the girl next to me. I can feel adrenaline surging through my body, and I widen my stride to cap off the remaining distance. When I glance at my Garmin watch, a new personal best time flashes across the screen. I realize that all of the gruelling work I have put in is worth the final result: happiness. (Snapshot Lead)

The two plan on racing at the Belmont track in town, but they must do it at night to avoid any other people or horses and they must also not wake anyone in their homes. The stallion is agitated in the barn and makes a ruckus as they try to load him into the trailer so they decide that it is necessary to bring Napoleon with to calm him down. Once Napoleon is in the trailer, the black stallion follows him with ease and the two drive off and reach Belmont by two in the morning. Once there, an old friend of Henry’s, Jake, let’s them in with the keys he has from being a security guard for the track. Once Jake sees the horse, he too believes that it will be better than Henry’s horse ever was. Jake and Alec lead the stallion down to the track and wait for Henry to bring the saddle and bridle. Once saddled, Alec mounts the horse and Henry instructs him to help the stallion adjust by walking him around the track. The horse becomes less agitated and it is time for the two to race. Jake and Henry time each lap, as the horse and rider form into one blur running around the track. Alec struggles to hold onto the reins from how fast the stallion is going and he eventually has to let go and grasp onto the horse’s mane. Gradually, Alec gets the black stallion to slow and Henry and Jake find Alec extremely fatigued with his hands ripped up from how hard the reins had dug in. Jake believes the horse will win, but Alec must gain control of him otherwise he will fight the other horses before he even reaches the track. Henry and Alec leave Belmont and make it back to the barn where they clean the stallion and head to bed. Hours later, Alec wakes and finds that he in fact did not dream what had happened because he sees his torn hands and a ripped shirt draped over his

Once you buy a racehorse and join the thrilling world of horseracing, you’ll have to face two different outcomes: one, you’ll end up making a fortune or two, you’ll end up losing a huge amount of money in an