I am the oldest of four daughters and can say that I am very proud of my three younger sisters and all of their accomplishments. I especially feel proud to be writing this post on my sister Bailey, who just won 1st place in the Ladies Barrel Racing at the 2011 Swift Current, SK CCA Rodeo this past weekend. Bailey is competing in her last year of the Juniors and has recently started entering the Ladies Barrel Racing. Swift Current was Bailey’s first 1st place win in the ladies barrels. Bailey and Black Jack clocked in a time of 17.94 seconds. Bailey also placed 4th in the Ladies Barrels in Kelliher, SK and was 2nd in the Junior Barrels on her other horse Nike. Her and Nike also placed 3rd in the Juniors at Onion Lake. Here is what she had to say:
-What is the name of your horse? Black Jack
-How old is he? 10 years old
-How long have you been running barrels on him? I’ve only been running barrels on him for about a year now, but my older sister Shayna started him on barrels and ran him some a few years before. He has also been my dad’s rope horse for about 5 years now.
-What is it you like best about Black Jack? He will always go out and give it his all. Black Jack is a very easy going horse. He is a great all around horse, besides my dad roping off of him, I use him in high school rodeo for barrels, poles, goats, and breakaway.
-What is your riding style for this particular horse? I have to really ride him hard, check at each barrel, and push him around the barrels. I have to make sure I really ride him to the barrels hard to keep him from tipping.
-Could you briefly describe your run at Swift Current? He came in nice, ran hard to first and turned it really nice. I just kept riding hard to make sure I got around each barrel and he did the rest.
-What kind of saddle do you use? It’s a handmade one that I won from a barrel series.
-What kind of pad do you use? 5 Star
-What kind of bit do you use in him? An Ed Wright port bit.
-Is there any special shoes you use? What kind? Just normal shoes on all four.
-Does he get any special feed? What kind? He gets rolled oats with XTN and mostly grass hay.
-How do you keep your horses in shape with all the traveling? I ride them almost everyday but they will get a few days off here and there. I try to long trot them lots. I don’t do too much barrel work, if I do it’s just working on nice wide pockets. With Black Jack its about the same, Dad will also practice roping on him so he gets worked on that end of the arena too.
-What lead you to be a barrel racer? My dad rodeoed and still does rodeo so I grew up around the environment. Shayna helped me out lots and still does. I started out by jackpotting, then we started to rodeo.
-What is it you like best about barrel racing and going to rodeos? I like barrel racing because I like seeing how my horses improve and how you can improve as a rider from different horses. I also love the rodeo people. You get so many opportunities with rodeo and get to go to many places.
-What, if anything, have horses taught you about life outside the arena? It would be to never give up, even though there are bumps in the road you have to keep trying and things will come your way.
-If you were to share a piece of advice or tip what would it be? For you to always keep working hard at what you want to do, to never stop trying and you will sooner or later get to where you want to be.
I’d like to thank my Dad for hauling me to all the rodeos and for all the help. Also thanks to Shayna, and everyone that has helped me throughout the years and gave me tips. I would also like to thank my mom and two younger sisters Hallie and Hannah for supporting me. Most of all I would like to thank my horses that have helped me grow throughout the years, especially Black Jack, Nike and Five.
Watch Bailey and Black Jack’s winning run at Swift Current:
Here is Bailey and Black Jack’s 4th place win at Kelliher:
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