Performance
Events:
Barrel Racing
'07
Stampede Champion: Nancy
Hunter
"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.
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."
-ESPN.com-ProRodeo
-The first time one can find mention of the barrel racing event
at the Snake River Stampede is 1959.
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