Project Letter

Mr. Nadziejko and my English 102 class,


I plan to do my project on local barrel racers. Barrel racing is a western equestrian sport done around the world. It is usually performed at rodeos and at barrel races. In barrel racing the horse and rider run a clover leaf pattern around 3 barrels at break-neck speeds and the fastest time wins, usually around 15-16 second times.

Most horse shows and rodeos in the area have barrel racing classes; there are also specific shows that are just barrel racing. You can find barrel racers at fairgrounds, private and public arenas, and just about anywhere you have horses.

Barrel horses can be any breed, but the majority of barrel horses are quarter horses, because they have a powerful hind end, letting them turn fast, and they are the fastest horse for short sprints. Barrel Racers train and practice all year. The majority of shows are held in the summer, but there are jackpots held all year round. There is no age limit on horse or rider. Riders sometimes start as young as 3 or 4 and continue on well into their senior years. Horses are usually started under saddle when they are 2 and started on barrels when they are around 3. Many horses race well into their teens and some even into their twenties.

Barrel racers are a group of horse people, so they also have many of the morals and backgrounds as many horse people, but are also different in several ways. Horse people are generally obsessed with their horses, fun loving, and they are also generally conservative in their morals. Horse people are also very traditional, some traditions going back to the time of the cowboys. Barrel Racers are different from many western riders, such as cutters for example, because they like to stand out from everyone else, leading to lots of colors, rhinestones, and styles in both their tack and outfits. They also are also as a general group more willing to spend money on horses, trucks, trailers, tack, and clothing just because it’s pretty or in style. Horse people and barrel racers are both tight-knit groups and sometimes it’s sometimes very difficult to get accepted into the group, but once you’re in you are just like family and they will do anything and everything to help you out.

There is specific terminology for the sport, such as a “pocket”, which is the space you give between the horse and the barrel when you’re coming into it to make sure you get the tightest turn you can. I have been accepted as a barrel racer and as a trainer, so I have unlimited access to barrel races, practices, and even trainers. Barrel racing is safe for observers and it is legal, so unless I choose to run a horse, I will be one-hundred percent safe. Riders do take a chance of getting hurt, but that is just a part of this sport and handling horses, which I do on a daily basis. There are associations, such as the National Barrel Horse Association (NBHA), that have rules, regulations, and shows, so there are credible sources for barrel racing.



Heidi Burmester