Today, barrel racing is part of most rodeos and it has some rules. The sandy arena has barrels in the distance around 90 feet from each other in a triangle in the middle of the arena. The race horse and the rider attempt to complete the course around the barrels in the fastest time. There are all age categories; girls or boys. It takes athletic ability and good horsemanship to win the race.
One of my most favorite parts of the show was the junior barrel racing. People were waiting on the tribunal to cheer for their family. Moms, dads, family, siblings and friends were there to support them.
When the rodeo can start, the kids line up and are ready for their racing adventure. Horse and rider were saddled in a true western outfit, chaps, hats, and western saddles . Everything in the rodeo was western style. The most popular racers were Quarter Horses, Paints and Appaloosas. As you can guess, there were girls that were really interested in barrel racing. The barrel racing was originally an event for woman. When they give the signal, the show starts. Everyone was impressed by a 12 year old girl riding her horse. Racing through barrels with so much confidence and desire to win. It was impressive to see them galloping down the alleyway crossing right and left, creating patterns.
It was a bit of a surprise to watch them having no fear and putting everything into it. They invested a lot of their energy to practise and they wanted to win.
The atmosphere caused every one of us to have a cheery mood.
We were all admiring how these girls can ride horses very well at such a young age. It looked like they were born on horses. These kids responded quickly to every course they had.
We all had a great time and took lots of pictures of a really unique opportunity to see the true rodeo barrel racing.
Along the way back home everyone was talking about the rodeo experience and discussed what their favorite part of the rodeo was.