Gaileen Babcock and Indy Win the Barrel Racing at the 2011 WRA Finals

Gaileen Babcock and her horse Indy are the recent winners in the Ladies Barrel Racing at the 2011 Wildrose Rodeo Association Finals.  The finals were held in Barrhead, AB on September 15-18th.  Gaileen ended up with three go round wins and a second and third place win.  Gaileen also ended up first in the average.  She ended up with a total of 330 points (second place was Rebecca Paradis with 200 points).  For a complete look at all the results you can go to the WRA website here.  We recently had the chance to interview Gaileen, here’s what she had to say:

-What is the name of the horse you ran?

Possible Muffet aka Indy

-How old is he?

10

-How long have you been running barrels on him?

I have been riding Indy just over a year.

-What is the training background on this horse?

Dee Butterfield originally owned Indy, then my sister (Charissa Babcock) bought Indy from Dee at the end of his five year old year.  My sister seasoned him and won a lot of rodeos on him.  She then sold him to me and I started heading off of him as well as barrel racing.

-What is it you like best about Indy?

I love how Indy runs, that and his goofy personality.

-How did you feel your runs were at the WRA Finals?

I felt my runs were good.  I was especially happy with my run on Saturday night!

-How do you prepare for your runs (warm up etc.)?

I lope a lot of circles on Indy before my run to get him focused.

-What kind of saddle do you use?

I ride in a Dee Butterfield saddle

-What kind of pad do you use?

Wade pad

-What kind of bit do you use?

I use a long shank with a chain mouth piece designed by Dee Butterfield and Dave Elliot

-How do you keep your horses in shape?

Most of the time I take my horses on trail rides to keep them in shape if I’m not working with them on barrels in the arena.

-Are there any specific goals you have set for yourself and Indy this season?

My goals for Indy and I are to work on getting a perfect pattern consistently and to start roping off Indy at more rodeos.

-What lead you to be a barrel racer?

When my sister and I were kids my parents always took us to local gymkhanas.  My sister started rodeoing and naturally I wanted to do everything she did, so my parents started entering me in rodeos too.  I love getting to travel and compete with my mom and sister, it’s one of the things that makes rodeo so great.