Hello and welcome to my Barrel Racing experiences

I have been barrel racing for quite a while now, 10 yrs or more, but I got a late start on it in life. When I started playing around at a local gymkhana where I boarded my horses, I really found it to be very exilerating. The horse I started out with I really believe that they did these types of horse games on him, which is how I was able to get so confident.
Since moving to my home in New River, AZ, I have been fortunate to meet John and Kathryn Deegan, who have been so inspirational in teaching me horsemanship and being so encouraging, they truly are wonderful people. They initially encouraged me to go to a Connie Combs Clinic back in Nov. 2003. It was so great and I learned so much as a novice Barrel racer. At that time I was riding Missy or Skips Miss Moon. She would have been 8 yrs old at the time. Since that first clinic I have attended 2 additional clinics with Connie, but on my current horse, and in Sept of 2008 I was able to go to Charmayne James' Clinic in Colorado Springs, CO. WOW!!! I had picked up a barrel racing book in 2006 by Western Horsemen-Charmayne James on Barrel Racing-which was in debth on haw she trains and runs her horses. It taught me so much and I really started working Skippy according to her ways of training. After attending the clinic, my confidence level escalated to a new high. We got better and better through that season of Oct 2008 to Feb 2009 and our times went from being in the middle of the 4D to being in the mid 3D-Hey today I would be estatic about that. I accomplished most all of the goals I set for us and was improving all the time. Then a slight accident happened where Skippy got hurt in the trailer when the brakes locked up. He fell and as he tried to get back up, kept hitting his hip and back on the devider of the trailer. I thought it was minor and continued to ride him but later found out it was very bruised. I gave him time off for a few months, sought my Vets advise but we have not as of yet been able to get back into the groove we were in before.


Fast forward to today, Aug. 2011, I have Skippy. Born at my home Jan 2001, trained by John Deegan as a 2 yr old, he is 16.1h and about 1200lbs he has been a great horse, but I suck at being a trainer. It's not that I suck, I do not have the experience. This barrel racing thing is very tricky. I have found that my horse is much smarter than I and sometimes you have to trust your horse. There are many things that you can't put into a book or a DVD and unless you have the ability to ride many different horses and can ride everyday, you miss out on some teachings that are so important.
No excuse, but I have a fulltime job, and I ride as often as I can. Keep in mind that I have a family also, and they depend on me for responsibilites at home. Luckily my family is supportive of my passion, and they tolerate late meals of finding their own, as the kids are now grown so it gives me more freedom.
So here are my notes about the runs I make good or bad. If you have any suggestions, I am open to hear them and try something new.
There is a song that I love and I listen to it to give me motivation called The Climb-this is my way of moving that mountain and sometimes your gonna have to lose. It ain't about how fast I get there, but I will have learned along the way by going my speed!

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Well it is now late July 2012 and I am finally posting something on my blog. In June of this year, I noticed there were a couple of barrel race series coming up. A Saddle series in Chino Valley, Buckle series in Buckeye and another Buckle in Phoenix. I decided to venture out of my comfort and hauled up to Chino Valley on the 9th of June to see how we did on different ground. We placed 6th in the 4D with 20.834 with the fastest time being 18.595. I was surprised with how well Skippy did and all the times were somewhat slower than I expected. The next Friday 06/15/12, we tried out Buckeye. I have to say I love to run at the large arena at Buckeye. The ground is always good. On this first night of their buckle series, I think everyone was surprised at how many entered. There were 78 that first night! Skippy and I ran a 19.413, tied for 20th place in 3D. I haven't ran in the 3D in 3 years. I was soo excited. We were doing consistently better and our confidence was building. After going on vacation, I found there to be a buckle series starting up at Horse Lovers Park on 07/06/12. This was soooo much closer to me than the others and was less costly all around. Our first night at HLP, we ran a 20.484. Although I took 1st in the 5D and won $$ and points, I was not happy with our run. But, that's what happens when you don't ride for 2 weeks and then just go for it. So, I was fortunate to have won my money back and a little more. We did so much better on 07/13/12, I had worked on Skippy to get his butt engaged during the week when I practiced and I rode him in competition just like I did in practice. This has always been my goal. Well it really paid off. We ran 19.467 and placed 2nd in the 4D. I was very proud! This is what my runs should look like each time. On 07/20/2012-I had same strategy in mind but the timer had other ideas. We had to run a 2nd time, which turned out okay, as out time was another 19.4?? and we placed 2nd in 4D again. I will try to post video of some to the recent runs I have had once I can down load to my computer.
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