Blazing speeds matched with superior horsemanship make barrel racing one of the most exciting spectacles to watch in rodeo. An event of skill, timing, and the guts to spur on after the turns, barrel racing has seen some of the best female riders rise to prominence in the rodeo ranks. Riders are pitted against the clock in this fast paced event. Entering the arena at full tilt, both horse and rider must navigate a cloverleaf pattern around three barrels and then ride for broke to the exit.
Today barrel racing is the only regularly sanctioned women’s event at PRCA rodeos and is one of the most popular, but it wasn’t always this way. Watch how barrel racing found it’s way into rodeo.
