Training Barrel Horses

Lesson 4: Competing with the Perfect Barrel Horse

Racing Against Time (and Winning!)

When you make your runs, keep your mind focused on what you’ve learned and what you’ve taught your horse. Think about, and feel, your relationship with your horse—and help remind him of it if he gets nervous or too excited. Do what you normally do—if you normally talk to him quietly and pet him, do it at competitions, too. It will help remind your horse that you’re doing the same thing you always do—just somewhere else.

An important but underestimated (and rarely discussed) aspect of successful competition is your mental preparation. Confidence in you and your horse is key—if you believe that you and your horse are a winning team, that you’re winners, you will be. It’s easy to become intimidated by other barrel racers if you allow yourself to be. Don’t let that happen. Focus on you and your horse, and the run you’re going to make.

Another great tip, straight from one of the books I’ve recommended for this course—Barrel Racing: Training the Wright Way—is to stop, relax, and close your eyes. Breathe deeply and imaging you and your horse making the perfect run. Imagine every detail of it. See you and your horse winning. The power of mental strength and discipline is incredible, so use it to your advantage.

As you compete at barrel racing, you’ll learn a lot of great tips and techniques from seasoned barrel racers. Keep your eyes and ears open, and keep an open mind. You never know what and from whom you might learn something valuable. Even if you see a barrel racer who you may think there’s nothing to learn from, you can always learn from others’ mistakes, too.

When you first get to an arena where you’re going to be competing, walk around inside it yourself—no horse. Check it to make sure it’s safe, that there are no objects in the arena where your horse could injure himself. Make sure the dirt seems good for your horse to get decent footing. Check to make sure the barrel markers (usually a ribbon) are secure in the ground, so that you know the barrels are in their correct place.

Also, check the area where you’re going to be riding your horse into the arena. If it’s an alleyway, make sure, again, that it’s safe. If it’s hard ground or concrete, you’ll know not to run your horse in from as far back as if it was dirt (if possible). Keep the length of time you run him on hard ground to a minimum.

Something else to be aware of is the announcer’s stand. Some rodeos have the announcer’s stand right over the entrance into the arena; if this is the case, prepare your horse. When you ride him in before competition (as we’re going to discuss shortly), he’ll at least know that the stand is up there. Granted, when the announcer is actually there and the loudness of his voice is reaching you, your horse may get spooked if he’s never encountered that before—but as long as you trust him and he trusts you, keep him calm and reassure him, then make your run. He’ll learn before long that there’s nothing to be afraid of, and it won’t faze him anymore.

Before you compete in an arena, if possible, ride your horse into it. Go there before all of the people are there, or other barrel racers, and ride your horse around the arena. Get him used to the type of dirt there, to get his footing. If a horse has been in an arena already, he’ll know what to expect in regards to his footing and the area.

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