I have been very fortunate to have learnt from  some amazing horsemen and women throughout my Barrel Racing Career. 

Glenn Campin continues to be my mentor to this day and for that I am very grateful.

 

Barrel Racing is a “TIMED” Event with straight lines & fast turns with the clock telling the story.  

It is a unique event in the Equine World – requiring maximum control and balance, all at full speed.  Because of this we need to train our horses in such a way that accommodates this so that we can have immediate response at speed.

I personally like to ride with 95% body and leg cues and only 5 % hands – my hands are only there to guide not micro-manage!

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All winning runs have several points that are the same: 

• Straight lines both between the barrels and RIDING STRAIGHT INTO THE LAST STRIDE GOING INTO A BARREL

• Rate

• Increase of speed on the turn

• Leaving the barrel straight

• Speed

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I like to give my horses plenty of soft, easy riding outside the arena, but I am always mindful that everything is balanced.  I encourage my horses to stop, back up and settle.  I do plenty of straight lines and I will break my horse down to do simple lead changes as opposed to mechanical flying lead changes.

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I personally don’t like to over drill the pattern – instead all my exercises and drills pertain to a part of the pattern so I can be teaching them everything they need for Competititon Day without getting them bored and looking for short cuts.

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Barrel Racing is such a competitive event and I enjoy passing on my knowledge of the system that has worked for me, helping build a strong partnership between horse and rider, to allow you to reach full potential and in doing so gain your own Competitive Edge.