In barrel racing, are there any rules concerning unfair use of aids and the welfare of the horse?
[QUOTE=CustomDesign;7952736]
In barrel racing, are there any rules concerning unfair use of aids and the welfare of the horse?[/QUOTE]
Like in other disciplines?
[QUOTE=Gnalli;7755782]
I don’t understand the looking like you are gonna take flight and flapping either. None of my girls do that. As far as the constant use of the bat, it makes me FURIOUS. It does not do anything for the horse or your run. It distracts Skye and slows her down. This is the horse that when Jamie is turning, I holler DIG and that pony hunkers down hard!!
I agree that there are some truly bad riders out there running barrels. I would just hope that people have the chance to see good pretty runs too. Don’t expect pictures, because I am the WORST photographer that ever walked.[/QUOTE]
Wish we had more mothers like you!
I really hate the flapping and think that a lot of the riding is borderline abuse or just straight abuse, yet nobody bats an eye when they see a rider flapping their legs (with spurs on) and beating the crap out of their horse with their crop as they head home.
Thus far I have seen more barrel racers that can’t ride than those that can. I was going to run barrels with my Appaloosa mare, she had been trained to do it before I got her. I basically just had to sit there and hold on. However, I only took her to one show as I couldn’t stand watching other people abuse their horses.
[QUOTE=Draftmare;7955739]
Thus far I have seen more barrel racers that can’t ride than those that can. … However, I only took her to one show as I couldn’t stand watching other people abuse their horses.[/QUOTE]
While I realize that barrel racing gets a bad reputation because it is really easy to get into (no judge, no tack requirements, good availability), it gets really, really old to hear people complain about it.
There are bad riders in every sport. Period. That includes dressage, jumping, cutting, western pleasure, ranch horses, etc.
It’s not the horse’s fault their owner is an idiot. And it’s not the sport’s fault.
Who’s going to decide what is fair and what is not fair?
Is it fair to see a cross country jumper hanging on the reins? Maybe they should be DQ’ed.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Cross_gu%C3%A9.jpg
Is it fair to see a dressage horse so overbridled their nose is in their chest?
http://krysiakdressage.webs.com/news_hap_rollkur-sali.jpg
Is it fair to see a peanut roller in western pleasure, with all the horse’s weight on the front end?
http://oawcs.apha.com/images/slideshow-111412/2012/11/14/BF3H_PHJ5159-web.jpg?Status=Master&sfvrsn=0
Would you have to DQ a barrel racer if you see this?
http://navajopeople.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/BarrelRacing1823-jb.jpg
Again, I do not see how you would create “rules” that determine “abuse” for the welfare of the animal, and who would be the judge of that.
And once again: There are bad riders in every sport. But people particularly like to to harp on barrel racing.
[QUOTE=beau159;7957341]
While I realize that barrel racing gets a bad reputation because it is really easy to get into (no judge, no tack requirements, good availability), it gets really, really old to hear people complain about it.
Until something changes, people will continue to complain about it. If you don’t like hearing your sport talked about in such a negative way, promote change within it. There are very few people within the discipline currently that promote good riding.
There are bad riders in every sport. Period. That includes dressage, jumping, cutting, western pleasure, ranch horses, etc.
Who is arguing that there aren’t bad riders in all disciplines?
It’s not the horse’s fault their owner is an idiot.
Agree
And it’s not the sport’s fault.
Disagree
Who’s going to decide what is fair and what is not fair?
Is it fair to see a cross country jumper hanging on the reins? Maybe they should be DQ’ed.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Cross_gu%C3%A9.jpg
Is it fair to see a dressage horse so overbridled their nose is in their chest?
http://krysiakdressage.webs.com/news_hap_rollkur-sali.jpg
Is it fair to see a peanut roller in western pleasure, with all the horse’s weight on the front end?
http://oawcs.apha.com/images/slideshow-111412/2012/11/14/BF3H_PHJ5159-web.jpg?Status=Master&sfvrsn=0
Would you have to DQ a barrel racer if you see this?
http://navajopeople.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/BarrelRacing1823-jb.jpg
Again, I do not see how you would create “rules” that determine “abuse” for the welfare of the animal, and who would be the judge of that.
And once again: There are bad riders in every sport. But people particularly like to to harp on barrel racing.[/QUOTE]
People “harp” on barrel racing more so than other disciplines for a reason. There are bad riders in every discipline, however almost every other discipline penalizes them. A rider than whacks the horse in the mouth over every jump in a hunter round is going to place below a rider who stays out of their horse’s way. A dressage rider that muscles his horse around is going to place below a rider who is working with, not against his horse. Every discipline still has their issues and their extremes, but there is far less incentive to continue to ride poorly in most, because you will generally not be rewarded for it.
If you don’t appreciate how people talk about barrel racing, do something about it. Currently there are very few clinics for the barrel crowd that promote good riding and horsemanship, start there. The sport has a bad rep largely because the attitude towards continued education (lessons, clinics, etc.) is so negative. That is going to have to change in order for the sport to be taken seriously and for those in it to improve as riders.
[QUOTE=beau159;7957341]
While I realize that barrel racing gets a bad reputation because it is really easy to get into (no judge, no tack requirements, good availability), it gets really, really old to hear people complain about it.
There are bad riders in every sport. Period. That includes dressage, jumping, cutting, western pleasure, ranch horses, etc.
It’s not the horse’s fault their owner is an idiot. And it’s not the sport’s fault.
Who’s going to decide what is fair and what is not fair?
Is it fair to see a cross country jumper hanging on the reins? Maybe they should be DQ’ed.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Cross_gu%C3%A9.jpg
Is it fair to see a dressage horse so overbridled their nose is in their chest?
http://krysiakdressage.webs.com/news_hap_rollkur-sali.jpg
Is it fair to see a peanut roller in western pleasure, with all the horse’s weight on the front end?
http://oawcs.apha.com/images/slideshow-111412/2012/11/14/BF3H_PHJ5159-web.jpg?Status=Master&sfvrsn=0
Would you have to DQ a barrel racer if you see this?
http://navajopeople.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/BarrelRacing1823-jb.jpg
Again, I do not see how you would create “rules” that determine “abuse” for the welfare of the animal, and who would be the judge of that.
And once again: There are bad riders in every sport. But people particularly like to to harp on barrel racing.[/QUOTE]
Was this your very long way of saying “no, there aren’t”?
I don’t think there’s a single person who would disagree with the statement “there are bad riders in every sport.” However, this thread is not about every sport. It is about barrel racing, hence my question about barrel racing. And it was a genuine question. I wasn’t complaining, I wasn’t harping.
There are of course ways to create rules that concern the welfare of the horse.
[QUOTE=beau159;7957341]
While I realize that barrel racing gets a bad reputation because it is really easy to get into (no judge, no tack requirements, good availability), it gets really, really old to hear people complain about it.
There are bad riders in every sport. Period. That includes dressage, jumping, cutting, western pleasure, ranch horses, etc.
It’s not the horse’s fault their owner is an idiot. And it’s not the sport’s fault.
Who’s going to decide what is fair and what is not fair?
Is it fair to see a cross country jumper hanging on the reins? Maybe they should be DQ’ed.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Cross_gu%C3%A9.jpg
Is it fair to see a dressage horse so overbridled their nose is in their chest?
http://krysiakdressage.webs.com/news_hap_rollkur-sali.jpg
Is it fair to see a peanut roller in western pleasure, with all the horse’s weight on the front end?
http://oawcs.apha.com/images/slideshow-111412/2012/11/14/BF3H_PHJ5159-web.jpg?Status=Master&sfvrsn=0
Would you have to DQ a barrel racer if you see this?
http://navajopeople.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/BarrelRacing1823-jb.jpg
Again, I do not see how you would create “rules” that determine “abuse” for the welfare of the animal, and who would be the judge of that.
And once again: There are bad riders in every sport. But people particularly like to to harp on barrel racing.[/QUOTE]
In the case of the dressage horse that type of riding has become illegal, and yes they will be DQ’d from competition if they are caught in the warmup ring using rollkur.
If I were the judge of barrel racing half of the competitors wouldn’t get to compete.
[QUOTE=CustomDesign;7958440]
Was this your very long way of saying “no, there aren’t”?[/QUOTE]
Correct, at this time, there are no rules on tack or horsemanship. Again, I am not sure how you would go about implementing them or how they should be implemented.
How do you know I’m not?
[QUOTE=Angelico;7957418]
There are very few people within the discipline currently that promote good riding. [/QUOTE]
I disagree with you on that. Every barrel clinic I have been to, every video critique I have received, etc is all BASED on making sure you are riding your horse well. The rider has just as much to do with your run as the horse. It you are kicking him excessively, or whipping the crud out of him, or flopping around like a chicken, the horse is not going to run well.
I get that, but do explain how if we add a judge to barrel racing, how will the
“rules” decdie if you kicked your horse too hard?
Or if you whipped him too hard?
Or whipped one too many times?
Or lost your center of balance and got behind coming out of the turn, and bounced really hard?
And on that topic, how do you incorporate a judged score into a TIMED event?
Plus I remember you not being a fan of Fallon Taylor and saying you didn’t like how she rode (although you would never specifically say anything about her riding in her videos, or what she was specifically doing “wrong”), when I personally think she rides just fine. Yes she is an aggressive rider, but she doesn’t kick excessively and she doesn’t even use a whip on BabyFlo. Sure, she might get off balance once in a while, but she’s had a brain injury for goodness sake. I’d be surprised if that DIDN’T affect her balance.
When there is so much discrepancy on those who disagree on a good rider or a bad rider … how are you going to create a baseline?
[QUOTE=Angelico;7957418]
Currently there are very few clinics for the barrel crowd that promote good riding and horsemanship, start there. The sport has a bad rep largely because the attitude towards continued education (lessons, clinics, etc.) is so negative. That is going to have to change in order for the sport to be taken seriously and for those in it to improve as riders. [/QUOTE]
I don’t know what corner of the country you are from or what people you hang around, but this entire paragraph is completely FALSE from what I have experienced.
In my neck of the woods, you’d better put your money on a spot for a clinic ASAP because they fill up immediately.
And every single clinic I have been too, the clinician has made it a point to talk about horsemanship and how to effectively ride your horse.
And we are constantly getting together to ride with friends to help each other along, and video critiquing each other, and trying to be better riders.
One of the local barns in town has a fun show and the barrel racing is judged on how you ride; not your time.
Again, I don’t know where you live or what your experiences have been, but it couldn’t be farther from the truth with where I am.
And you are proving the POINT of my post with your responses. You are clumping the nation and it’s sterotypes together, especially so in your last paragraph.
[QUOTE=beau159;7959618]
Correct, at this time, there are no rules on tack or horsemanship. Again, I am not sure how you would go about implementing them or how they should be implemented.
How do you know I’m not?
It’s hard to believe you are when your response to people questioning barrel racing is “but other disciplines are bad too!”
I disagree with you on that. Every barrel clinic I have been to, every video critique I have received, etc is all BASED on making sure you are riding your horse well. The rider has just as much to do with your run as the horse. It you are kicking him excessively, or whipping the crud out of him, or flopping around like a chicken, the horse is not going to run well.
You must have some better clinics wherever you are, the barrel racing clinics I’ve witnessed are based on: selling gimmicks (“special” bits, saddles, etc.), creating “headset” by artificial means, and trying to “fix” a problem the “horse” has while totally overlooking the reason why the horse actually has that problem in the first place (it’s always a rider that leans, doesn’t look where they are going, and rides completely backwards).
I agree with you 100% that riding like a floppy chicken will hinder a horse, too bad more people don’t share our sentiments.
I get that, but do explain how if we add a judge to barrel racing, how will the
“rules” decdie if you kicked your horse too hard?
Or if you whipped him too hard?
Or whipped one too many times?
Or lost your center of balance and got behind coming out of the turn, and bounced really hard?
I wasn’t necessarily advocating for adding a “judge” to barrel racing. Jumpers are timed, but the majority of riders go through the hunters and the equitation before really getting into the jumper divisions. I honestly don’t think the barrel racing world would ever implement something like that though, as defensive and opposed to any form of criticism (constructive or otherwise) as they are. I absolutely believe that your discipline would benefit greatly from penalizing someone for losing their center of balance and bouncing on their horse’s back.
And on that topic, how do you incorporate a judged score into a TIMED event?
Look up the USET Equitation Final.
Plus I remember you not being a fan of Fallon Taylor and saying you didn’t like how she rode (although you would never specifically say anything about her riding in her videos, or what she was specifically doing “wrong”), when I personally think she rides just fine. Yes she is an aggressive rider, but she doesn’t kick excessively and she doesn’t even use a whip on BabyFlo. Sure, she might get off balance once in a while, but she’s had a brain injury for goodness sake. I’d be surprised if that DIDN’T affect her balance.
Why would you knowingly say something that is incorrect? I explained to you why I disliked Taylor’s riding EVERY time you asked. I’ll go back and find my exact posts as to why I do not like her riding and post them at the bottom just for you. 
When there is so much discrepancy on those who disagree on a good rider or a bad rider … how are you going to create a baseline?
There really isn’t that much discrepancy though, at least not for the rest of us. I think everyone here can and will agree that good riders across all disciplines are very similar.
I don’t know what corner of the country you are from or what people you hang around, but this entire paragraph is completely FALSE from what I have experienced.
I’m currently in Hot Springs, Arkansas for the winter meet at Oaklawn but I am from Texas and I try to base there, though I end up in other states from time to time.
In my neck of the woods, you’d better put your money on a spot for a clinic ASAP because they fill up immediately.
And every single clinic I have been too, the clinician has made it a point to talk about horsemanship and how to effectively ride your horse.
Yep, every barrel racing clinic I’ve seen has a clinician that talks about “horsemanship” and how to effectively ride your horse while riding a poorly turned out horse ineffectively.
And we are constantly getting together to ride with friends to help each other along, and video critiquing each other, and trying to be better riders.
Good! That is a positive thing for you, your friends, your horses, and your sport.
One of the local barns in town has a fun show and the barrel racing is judged on how you ride; not your time.
Very good for that barn, wish there were more like it.
Again, I don’t know where you live or what your experiences have been, but it couldn’t be farther from the truth with where I am.
Again, Texas, no shortage of barrel racing there.
And you are proving the POINT of my post with your responses. You are clumping the nation and it’s sterotypes together, especially so in your last paragraph.[/QUOTE]
Yes I am clumping the “nation” together because the nation is being its stereotype. When you are hard pressed to see a handful of decent rides out of over a thousand entries at a high level event, the problem isn’t the people that criticize the sport, it’s the people within it. If the barrel crowd doesn’t like their reputation, they are going to have to do something to change it. If they don’t want to change, that’s fine, they simply won’t receive much respect from other parts of the horse world.
In regards to your little fib above where you claimed that I failed to explain just why I disliked Fallon Taylor’s riding, here are a few of my responses from the aforementioned thread that you obviously didn’t bother to read the first time:
We could start by disqualifying any horse that is bleeding, either on the mouth or the sides, and banning wire headstalls, making hackamore nose pieces only legal in leather or sheepskin, and disqualifying riders that raise welts on a horse.
See, that wasn’t hard. Or extreme.
[QUOTE=Angelico;7959777]
In regards to your little fib above where you claimed that I failed to explain just why I disliked Fallon Taylor’s riding, here are a few of my responses from the aforementioned thread that you obviously didn’t bother to read the first time: [/QUOTE]
I should have clarified. I very specifically (in that thread) asked you to tell me what you saw in her videos that I specifically posted for you, but I did not see a response from you regarding the videos.
It’s is one thing to critique a photo, which is a split second in time. Yes, you can get valuable information from it but it doesn’t tell you the whole story. I said this on the other thread and posted example pictures, because everyone can get caught in a “bad pose” in a photo.
It’s a complete different story to critique a video, and I think, it tells a much truer story.
And that’s about all I’ll say on that, because of course that’s already been hashed out plenty in the other thread.
[QUOTE=Angelico;7959777]
It’s hard to believe you are when your response to people questioning barrel racing is “but other disciplines are bad too!”[/QUOTE]
While I am somewhat still of a newbie to COTH, but I bet if I went on the Eventing board and started a post about how the riding is so poor in Eventing, you don’t think I would get the same response from the Eventers?
In all reality, Western is a little outnumbered on COTH.
[QUOTE=tinah;7959865]We could start by disqualifying any horse that is bleeding, either on the mouth or the sides, and banning wire headstalls, making hackamore nose pieces only legal in leather or sheepskin, and disqualifying riders that raise welts on a horse.
See, that wasn’t hard. Or extreme.[/QUOTE]
So when you are at a barrel race with a thousand entries, are you going to examine each and every horse after they run to see if there is a welt on them or any blood anywhere?
Who is going to be a “judge” to do the examination?
How will they be certified or get a judge’s card?
Will they be volunteers or will they be paid? Who will pay them? Add it into the entry fees? Make it an office fee?
Etc.
Ideas are fantastic, but implementing the ideas and figuring out the details are what is complicated.
Heck, the WPRA has been trying to figure it out for years on how to implement drug testing for barrel racing to ensure that illegal substances are not being used.
Wire headstall? Never heard of that. Do you mean cable tie downs (bonnet) like these?
http://www.lwbits.com/images/201.jpg
So would you DQ Sherry Cervi for using a tie down like this one? (really hard to tell in the photo, but it may be a chain that is wrapped in plastic where it contacts the head??)
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll266/Rodeo_Babe__93/SherryCerviandGeorge_zps867ae449.jpg
On the hackamore topic, I very often (especially in the winter) ride my horse in a rope noseband Little S hackamore.
http://www.tackroominc.com/images/964%20Little%20S%20Horse%20Hackamore.jpg
I don’t find it “harsh” at all, as long as its used correctly … just like any other bit. So while I can agree to make bare wire tie-downs, bonnets, or hackamores illegal, I don’t agree to make rope illegal.
[QUOTE=beau159;7961303]
I should have clarified. I very specifically (in that thread) asked you to tell me what you saw in her videos that I specifically posted for you, but I did not see a response from you regarding the videos.
Like I told you on that thread, go watch some of her videos. Her “training” videos are the worst. She rides totally backwards.
It’s is one thing to critique a photo, which is a split second in time. Yes, you can get valuable information from it but it doesn’t tell you the whole story. I said this on the other thread and posted example pictures, because everyone can get caught in a “bad pose” in a photo.
And like I said, go watch some of those golden videos of her, if you can stomach them (I barely could). She has her own channel on YouTube. Like I explained to you before, watch her lower leg totally leave the building around every barrel, it’s amazing she hasn’t gotten seriously hurt doing that.
It’s a complete different story to critique a video, and I think, it tells a much truer story.
And that’s about all I’ll say on that, because of course that’s already been hashed out plenty in the other thread.
While I am somewhat still of a newbie to COTH, but I bet if I went on the Eventing board and started a post about how the riding is so poor in Eventing, you don’t think I would get the same response from the Eventers?
Go research a few threads on the Eventing forum, if someone ever mentions another sport the other posters quickly nip that in the bud and refocus back on their specific discipline. They know that in order to change something in eventing, they need to focus on the problem(s) within it, not the problems in other corners of the horse world.
In all reality, Western is a little outnumbered on COTH.
Why should that matter?
So when you are at a barrel race with a thousand entries, are you going to examine each and every horse after they run to see if there is a welt on them or any blood anywhere?
Go to a rated dressage show if you get the chance and ask the meet the bit checker. They can answer that question for you.
Who is going to be a “judge” to do the examination?
How will they be certified or get a judge’s card?
Will they be volunteers or will they be paid? Who will pay them? Add it into the entry fees? Make it an office fee?
Etc.
Ideas are fantastic, but implementing the ideas and figuring out the details are what is complicated.
Heck, the WPRA has been trying to figure it out for years on how to implement drug testing for barrel racing to ensure that illegal substances are not being used.
Wire headstall? Never heard of that. Do you mean cable tie downs (bonnet) like these?
http://www.lwbits.com/images/201.jpg
So would you DQ Sherry Cervi for using a tie down like this one? (really hard to tell in the photo, but it may be a chain that is wrapped in plastic where it contacts the head??)
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll266/Rodeo_Babe__93/SherryCerviandGeorge_zps867ae449.jpg
Yes.
On the hackamore topic, I very often (especially in the winter) ride my horse in a rope noseband Little S hackamore.
http://www.tackroominc.com/images/964%20Little%20S%20Horse%20Hackamore.jpg
I don’t find it “harsh” at all, as long as its used correctly … just like any other bit. So while I can agree to make bare wire tie-downs, bonnets, or hackamores illegal, I don’t agree to make rope illegal.[/QUOTE]
You say some things that I really agree with, and I really think you are knowledgable, but then there are times I just don’t think you quite get it.
On the riding front, equitation is subjective and cannot realistically be enforced but humane treatment of horses can - h/j its 3 hits with a crop, more than that the steward can pull you, the using the quirt? over/under? all the way home whether or not it is actually abusive (that’s a whole other discussion) appears as excessive to many people and does not do the sport’s reputation any good. Having a form of steward who can pull for excessive use of whip (x no of hits allowed), and spotcheck for inhumane tack/bits/spurs (xyz types allowed per rule book) would be feasible I think?
[QUOTE=beau159;7961303]
So when you are at a barrel race with a thousand entries, are you going to examine each and every horse after they run to see if there is a welt on them or any blood anywhere?
Who is going to be a “judge” to do the examination?
How will they be certified or get a judge’s card?
Will they be volunteers or will they be paid? Who will pay them? Add it into the entry fees? Make it an office fee?
Etc.[/QUOTE]
Before I started jumping, I did barrel racing and pole bending. While I never made it to any sort of national competition, I did plenty of local competitions. I distinctly remember that there were on what we could wear. Obviously, I don’t know if that’s still the case, but if barrel racing could find someone to make sure we were all wearing long sleeve shirts that were tucked in, etc., then surely the sport could find someone to check for illegal tack and bleeding horses.
[QUOTE=beau159;7961303]
So when you are at a barrel race with a thousand entries, are you going to examine each and every horse after they run to see if there is a welt on them or any blood anywhere?
Who is going to be a “judge” to do the examination?
How will they be certified or get a judge’s card?
Will they be volunteers or will they be paid? Who will pay them? Add it into the entry fees? Make it an office fee?
Etc.[/QUOTE]
“We want to do better for the horses, but it’s too hard.”- tl;dnr version of your post
Hire a couple stewards (or vets, surely if their are thousands of horses running an event, a vet or two will be present). Have the horses have a mandatory check, say,20 min post run. We’re not asking for a full trot up here, just a cursory look over. If you bruised or bloodied your horse, you’re out. If you did it accidentally, sorry, you’re still out. Tons of other disciplines do vet checks (and bit checks, etc.). Why is it so “complicated” for barrel racers?
There are rules in some organization as to what is allowed.
I think most of you need to actually go to a barrel race and watch the warmup. You will see a good number of riders with very solid legs and seats. You will see most riding at a long trot. Yes there are some bad riders but as has been noted you see bad riders in all disciplines.
A funny story to show that barrel racing on a good horse is not as easy as it looks.
I have a good friend who did college rodeo. She bought a seasoned Appendix who had some bad habits and was blown up. She did a lot of slow work with him, and afterwards, won some nice checks on him. After college, she continued to run him and usually always at least made back her entrance fees.
I have another friend who has dabbled in a lot of disciplines. She had recently done horsemanship IHSA in college. She did quite well and brought home a halter bred, all-rounder that she wanted to work on with barrels. She worked with my friend with the Appendix. Often she would tell her how she needed to sit back and sit on her pockets going around the barrels. The IHSA rider said that she was not going to change her equitation running barrels. She didn’t agree with that philosophy. It wasn’t necessary. So she threw the ISHA rider on the Appendix, and down she went on the first barrel…
Edit to Add: I’m not saying from this that you should look like an airborne chicken on your horse. But you need to ride defensively and have a secure sit, especially going the speeds these horses go around a barrel. Sitting like a horsemanship rider is just going to inject you in seconds.
[QUOTE=CaitlinandTheBay;7968626]
“We want to do better for the horses, but it’s too hard.”- tl;dnr version of your post
Hire a couple stewards (or vets, surely if their are thousands of horses running an event, a vet or two will be present). Have the horses have a mandatory check, say,20 min post run. We’re not asking for a full trot up here, just a cursory look over. If you bruised or bloodied your horse, you’re out. If you did it accidentally, sorry, you’re still out. Tons of other disciplines do vet checks (and bit checks, etc.). Why is it so “complicated” for barrel racers?[/QUOTE]
No, not saying “it’s too hard” but bringing up valid discussion points that would need to be considered before implementing such rules.
What if the horse bruised itself in the horse trailer on the way to the barrel race? What would be the protocol to determine what was already there and what was inflicted during a run?
[QUOTE=Satirical;7977997]
A funny story to show that barrel racing on a good horse is not as easy as it looks.
I have a good friend who did college rodeo. She bought a seasoned Appendix who had some bad habits and was blown up. She did a lot of slow work with him, and afterwards, won some nice checks on him. After college, she continued to run him and usually always at least made back her entrance fees.
I have another friend who has dabbled in a lot of disciplines. She had recently done horsemanship IHSA in college. She did quite well and brought home a halter bred, all-rounder that she wanted to work on with barrels. She worked with my friend with the Appendix. Often she would tell her how she needed to sit back and sit on her pockets going around the barrels. The IHSA rider said that she was not going to change her equitation running barrels. She didn’t agree with that philosophy. It wasn’t necessary. So she threw the ISHA rider on the Appendix, and down she went on the first barrel…
Edit to Add: I’m not saying from this that you should look like an airborne chicken on your horse. But you need to ride defensively and have a secure sit, especially going the speeds these horses go around a barrel. Sitting like a horsemanship rider is just going to inject you in seconds.[/QUOTE]
Agree completely. It’s naive to think your body is going to be in picture-perfect horsemanship position throughout an entire barrel run.
[QUOTE=Angelico;7959777]
Look up the USET Equitation Final. [/QUOTE]
You mean, USEF?
I did a google search for it but it doesn’t really give me anything specific. If you can refer me to a specific link that you are talking about that would be great.
I did look at the USEF rulebook and I only found some very general rules for barrels/poles in the Arabian horse division:
AR260 Penalties
Off course (failure to follow pattern) - disqualification
Fall of horse or rider - disqualification
Spurring, striking or hitting horse forward of cinch - disqualification
Excessive use of spurs, crop, bat or romal - disqualification
Obstacle knocked down - 5 second penalty
Breakage of equipment which prevents completion – disqualification
I don’t disagree with any of these but the one I bolded would need clarification, only because when you implement NEW rules, people are going to have specific questions on what is acceptable and what isn’t, and what is considered excessive and what isn’t.
Also, I couldn’t find any rules related to how a person rides (horsemanship) in gaming events in the USEF rules … which really seems to be part of the “bad reputation” of barrel racing that is going on in this thread.
And I also didn’t see anything that relates a scored “horsemanship score” (or whatever you want to call it) to a timed event that matters into the thousandth of a second.
