No checkered flag here, but the dirt in barrel racing hasbeen telling its own championship stories since 1948. If only the dirt couldtalk! The bond between the rider and horse is critical to successful barrel racing.The horse’s athleticism and mental condition and the rider’s horsemanshipskills are put to the test through a clover leaf pattern — at high speeds. Justhow GFG likes it. FAST! The course consists of barrels placed in a triangle inthe middle of an arena. Time is of the essence. The winner can be determined byone-thousandths of a second. Barrel racing is the oldest women’s sportsassociation in the country and the only one governed entirely by women — it’scalled the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA). The rider races intothe arena as the timer starts and ends after racing to the finish line. Tightturns, explosiveness, communication — no overturned barrels. The team that putsup the best time wins it all. It’s chaos and beautiful at the same time. It’spoetry in motion.
