Introduction to Rodeo Barrel Racing

Series Summary

Rodeo originally arose from the cattle herding practices in Spain, Mexico and the Western United States, and has since developed into a popular sporting event highlighting the skills of vaqueros and cowboys. Today, rodeo consists of several events designed to test the skill and speed of the athletes who participate. Timed rodeo events included barrel racing, steer wrestling, calf roping and team roping, and frequently mirror a real life cowboys tasks of capturing cattle for branding or medical treatment. A lasso, or rope loop is thrown over the calves head or heels and then secured. Rodeo contestants are scored on how accurate they capture the steer and how quickly they are able to complete their task.

Barrel racing is one of the premier rodeo events, and one which requires a lot of knowledge of how to control a horse's turns, accelerations, and approach. In this free video series, our expert will teach you about barrel racing training with step-by-step instructions and tips. From looking for a barrel racing horse to putting on a saddle, this horse riding clinic has it all. You'll learn how to complete a barrel racing pattern, how to stop a horse, how to back up a horse, and how to move a horse laterally, among many other maneuvers. If you're interested in barrel racing, this video training will teach you what to do and what not to do to succeed at the rodeo.

Video Transcript

"Hi, my name is Holly Heidemann and on behalf of Expert Village, today we're here to introduce you to the sport of barrel racing. Barrel racing is a timed event where one runs around three barrels in a particular direction. You either make one run, or one turn to the right and two turns to the left or you can start out with the left barrel and make a first turn to the left and then two subsequent turns to the right. It's a clover leaf pattern that we'll be demonstrating today and in barrel racing there are many different ways that you can compete. Some people compete in rodeos which is strictly the fastest time wins and sometimes it's a one, two, or three day rodeo where people are competing in different sanctioned events for prizes and for money and, and sometimes at the end of the year there's a finals. That's one way that you can run. Another way that you can compete in barrel racing is to compete in weekend jackpots, or gymkhanas. Those are normally run either as a straight time, where the fastest time wins, or there's something called a three, or a four, or a five D. A lot of people are confused about the divisions and how that work is that the first division is always the fastest time of either the day or the weekend depending on how the barrel races run. And then the second division is normally a half a second slower. So if the fast time of the weekend was a fifteen flat, fifteen seconds, then then second division - the 2-D - would be a fifteen point five. Then the third division - the 3-D - is normally one full second past the 1-D time so if the fast time was a fifteen flat, then the 3-D would be a sixteen flat. The 4-D, in a 4-D would be another second added to that so the 4-D would be a seventeen flat. Now there's things called 5-D's, and those make it a little more interesting. The 4-D then is a second and a half past the fastest time which would make that a sixteen point five and then the 5-D then becomes what the 4-D was which would make that a seventeen flat run. Those get really confusing for beginners, but that's just a brief explanation of the divisions. The other way that you can compete is there are lots of local family clubs and Buchanan and things that you can run in and those are a nice way to start out because they're a little less stressful, you're usually running for money and points and prizes and ribbons and things like that and that's a really nice way to get started as a family in this sport."