WELCOME Barrel racing FANS

What is Barrel racing?

Barrel racing has no judges, which means the event has no subjective points of view. Time is the determining factor.

Barrel racing is graceful and simplistic — one woman, three barrels, a horse and the ever-present stopwatch. The horse is ridden as quickly as possible around a cloverleaf course of three barrels. At the end of the performance, after all of the racers have finished their runs, the clock is the one and only judge.

Ride quickly and win. Hesitate and lose.

Not only have the best of the sport spent countless hours practicing and honing their skill, but they also have invested many dollars in the purchase and maintenance of the talented horses they ride. A proven barrel racing horse can cost $50,000. For the professional barrel racer, this is indeed a small price to pay.

In barrel racing, the rider must take her horse around the pattern in the fastest time possible. But watch out as a tipped barrel results in a five-second penalty. Not only must the horse be swift, but it also must be intelligent enough to avoid tipping the barrels, an infraction that adds five penalty seconds to the time and kills any chance for victory.

The horse also must be able to withstand the long roads a cowgirl must travel to reach the next rodeo. If a horse is fast, competitive and reacts calmly to the demands of travel, chances are good that horse can stop the clock as quickly or quicker than the animal in the next trailer.

Because so many barrel racers have finely tuned their skill, the sport is timed to the hundredth of a second. When the racer enters the arena, an electronic eye starts the clock. The clock is stopped the instant the horse completes the pattern.

Barrel racing at its core has changed little from the days when cowgirls raced for minimal, if any, prize money and support. And though the prizes and exposure are greater now than ever, the ultimate goal remains essentially the same as in the past: stop the clock as quickly as possible.

Barrel racing provides colorful contrast to the rugged action in most rodeo competitions. What began as a friendly challenge of horsemanship skills between cowgirls has evolved into a multimillion dollar sport in which members of the Women's Professional Rodeo Association compete.

As in other events, horse and rider cooperation is vital to success. The three barrels are run in a cloverleaf pattern, requiring quick turns at a high speed to win. Times are so fast that they are measured in hundredths of a second.

The three-barrel pattern may be run to the left or the right, but if the horse deviates in any other way, the rider is disqualified. Knocking over barrels adds five seconds per barrel to the rider's time. Winning times at RODEOHOUSTON are generally in the 16- to 17-second range.

Although several rodeo events originated from some skill or task utilized on ranches and cattle drives of the Old West, bull riding was certainly not one of them. It has perhaps been the most popular event at rodeos throughout the country and has even inspired "bull riding only" events.

This event is a match between man and animal with the bull rider using a flat-braided loose rope pulled tight (but not tied) around the bull, behind its shoulders, that is held fast by the riding hand. Although the cowboy isn't required to spur, many of them move their feet, scrambling to keep contact with the bull. Often it is the bull who provides the majority of the action by spinning, turning and kicking, making it more difficult to ride.

The cowboy must stay on the bull for eight seconds, using only one hand. The rider cannot touch himself or the bull with his free hand during the ride, and he cannot hit the ground before the eight-second buzzer or he is disqualified. As in all roughstock events, the bulls' bucking efforts account for half the rider's score.

What is the Camas Stump Race?

The Camas Prairie Stump Race is one of five competition game events approved for specialty shows by the Appaloosa Horse Club. The race was inspired by the games played by the Nez Perce exhibiting their riding skills. The Stump Race is a barrel race but differs from other barrel races in that two horses race against each other on identical circuits opposite the start-finish line. The riders start beside each other going opposite directions and the first horse and rider back across the line wins the race. The races continue until all but the last is eliminated.