TRAIN THE PATTERN

Train a solid pattern on your barrel racing horse with tips from a trainer.

-  BRONWYN HART-IRWIN

Barrel racing is a thrilling sport! You ride your horse around three barrels in a clover-leaf pattern, and the pair with the fastest time wins. If a barrel is knocked over, five seconds are added on to your time as a penalty.

Many barrel racing events offer divisions for various experience levels, and a lot of competitions welcome any breed of horse and skill level, so almost anyone can try it out. Here, I will focus more on training a solid pattern on your horse, but keep in mind you should always be working toward advancing your horsemanship skills.

GET STARTED

To get started, you need three barrels that are the same size. Set them up in a big triangle and refer to the diagram to place the eight cones for practicing. Cones (or "points") are important to develop consistency on the pattern.

The distances are set as starting point, but once you are experienced, you can adjust them to better suit your horse's style.

When starting your horse on the barrel pattern, it's important to start at the walk. Repeat the pattern, then try to loosen up the reins to see if your horse starts taking you to the correct points around the barrels.

If he is starting to understand, take him through at a trot, and eventually a lope. Going too fast too soon can create problems on the pattern, and it might frustrate your horse if you are having to pull him around too much.