Barrel Racing - Part 2
By MoMoz
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10th May 2010 •
7,998 views
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6 comments
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Part 2- Teaching Yourself How to Ride the Pattern
Now that you know the basics on the pattern from Part 1, Part 2 will teach you how you can be an effective rider around the barrels to improve your horse’s speed and accuracy. You may think that all that you have to do is pull with your reins to guide your horse around the barrel, but you also have to use your seat and legs to communicate with your horse as well.
Angles:
First of all, you want to approach the first barrel at the proper angle. Some people refer to the first barrel as the “money barrel” because if you mess up the first one, your whole run is messed up. In fact, one time I saw a girl who by just knocking down the first barrel, she knocked down the other two barrels afterward.
A lot of people think that you head straight towards the third barrel (right down the center) and then turn waaay over to the first barrel. That makes your turn around the barrel look like an oval, and remember in Part 1, I said that you should have perfect circles around the barrel. So in order to get your perfect circle, you have to approach, yes, in a straight line, but not down the center, just a little to the side of the center.
Now, before I go onto the next step, I must point out the triangle around the barrel. There are three points around the barrel where you must do something, and all of those points form a triangle. Like this:
Checking:
After approaching at your correct angle and getting to point 1, you check. When turning, you want your horse to get down low and almost sit down, to help him keep his balance. The way to achieve this is by checking. Checking is a maneuver performed with your reins and your seat, and it lasts shorter than a second. All you have to do is sit deep in the saddle and pull back slightly on the reins to slow the horse down a bit. It’s not a dramatic pull on the reins to make the horse stop, but it’s just a small tap on the bit to say “slow down a tad there.” (Yes, I’m from Texas :P) This gets the horse crouched down and balanced.
Barrel 1:
After checking, start turning your horse, to get from point 1 to point 2.
I forgot to mention this earlier, but barrel racing is ridden with two hands. Unlike English riding, you don’t have extra rein in between your hands. You have one even loop of rein around your horse’s neck that you just have to wrap your four fingers around and point your thumbs upward. So barrel reins are pretty simple to use.
Anyways, so when you start turning, do it as you would riding English. Pull with your inside rein, squeeze with your inside leg, and turn your shoulders in the direction you want to go.
Once you have turned him and gotten to point 2, then drop your outside rein and put that hand on your saddle horn. Then use the saddle horn to push yourself deep in the saddle. Sitting deep also helps your horse sit down, just as checking does. So what did we just do at point 2? Drop your outside rein, grab the horn, sit deep, keep inside hand on rein.
Now before you get to point three, you must continue turning your horse. Unlike earlier when you turned from point 1 to point 2, getting from point 2 to point 3 is quite different. At this point of the turn, the horse tends to get really close to the barrel, so this time, instead of squeezing with your inside leg, you kick. Kicking is a very strict way of saying “Get away from that barrel!”
Now that you have kicked with your inside leg, you are at point 3. Here, you tip your horse’s nose in. Notice I did not say pull, I said tip. You’re probably thinking, “Why didn’t we do this earlier in the turn?” Well that’s because I have learned from personal experience that if you tip his nose in too soon, you are pulling him right into the barrel and he will run straight into it. The reason why you do it now is because before now you were making slight turns, but to get from point 3 to approaching BARREL 2, you have to make a very tight turn. SO at point 3, tip his nose in to pull his head in the direction of barrel 2. Once his head is tipped this way, his body should follow. The other thing to do at point 3 is to look up. DO NOT LOOK AT THE BARREL! I have learned that if you are looking at the barrel, YOU WILL KNOCK IT OVER.
So after tipping in his nose, look straight ahead to a point beyond the second barrel. Again, if you look at the second barrel, you will not approach it at the correct angle. The correct angle is heading straight towards a point to the side of the second barrel. So when you look forward, look beyond barrel 2.
Phew! The first barrel is done! The rest of the pattern will be a breeze! Like I said before, the first barrel is the money barrel, so you have to get this one right. After doing all of this technical stuff to get around the first barrel, barrels 2 and 3 will be like a walk in the park.
Speaking of walking, if you think about all of this stuff you have to do around the barrel, and then think about how you are going at top speed, you might get stressed. So practice the barrel pattern at a walk. And another walk. And walking some more. AND MORE WALKING! Do not speed up until you have absolutely mastered riding the pattern at a walk.
Barrel 2:
Ok, I got a little sidetracked about the whole walking thing. Hey remember, walk the pattern first! Ok anyways, now you are heading past point 3 of barrel 1, but you still have one hand on the horn and one hand on the reins. So wait until you go past point 1 again, and once you get back to point 1, you have made a full turn. Now you can put both hands on the reins and head towards barrel 2 (at the walk). Now you have both hands on your reins, and are heading towards barrel 2. Once you get to point 1 of the second barrel, check, then once you have reached point 2, drop your outside rein, grab the horn, and sit deep. Then at point 3, tip the horse’s nose in and look forward towards a point beyond barrel 3. Here are the points for barrel 2, since they are a little different than barrel 1.
Barrel 3:
The points on barrel 3 are also different:
At point 1 you check, at point 2, you drop, grab, sit, and actually begin tipping the nose here. That way all you have to do at point 3 in look forward. At barrel 3, you basically just transfer part of point 3 to point 2. Don’t forget to kick with your inside leg to get to point 3, and there all you have to do is look straight ahead, right down the middle of the pattern.
Running Home:
After you have passed point 1 again, put both hands on the reins and lean forward and let your horse fly! After crossing the start/stop line, sit deep, say whoa, and ask your horse to stop. Once he has come to a complete stop, release the pressure on the reins and then back him up a few steps.
Practice Makes Perfect!
Now you must be thinking, “Wow, that’s way too much to remember!” Actually, it becomes easy after you practice. The best way I recommend practicing is going at the walk and setting cones where your points are located. Then once you have the points memorized, you can remove the cones and walk it without them. Then you can speed up to a trot, canter, and so fourth. So just remember your points and what to do at them and you will be fine! But remember, don’t practice the barrels ALL OF THE TIME because this will bore your horse.
I hope you enjoyed Part 2! Coming up next is Part 3- teaching your horse how to respond to all of these cues and well… teaching him the pattern. |
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ImaCoolCowgirl
Grabbing the horn is actually the worst place to grab the saddle as a barrel racer. I know I do because it is the easiest place grab quickly, but my trainer recently told that is actually doing more harm then good. When Holding the horn(or pommel) you are actually pulling yourself up and out of the saddle. The best place to grab is behind the saddle(or the cantle). Because in grabbing there you are forcing yourself to site deeper into the saddle.
Grabbing the horn is actually the worst place to grab the saddle as a barrel racer. I know I do because it is the easiest place grab quickly, but my trainer recently told that is actually doing more harm then good. When Holding the horn(or pommel) you are actually pulling yourself up and out of the saddle. The best place to grab is behind the saddle(or the cantle). Because in grabbing there you are forcing yourself to site deeper into the saddle.
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May 10, 2010
• 5,361 views
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MoMoz
Actually, when we hold the horn, we hold it specifically so that we don't do that. I can see how you could lift out of the saddle if you were pulling on the horn, but we specifically use our palm to push back. So it depends on how you use the horn when you grab it.
Actually, when we hold the horn, we hold it specifically so that we don't do that. I can see how you could lift out of the saddle if you were pulling on the horn, but we specifically use our palm to push back. So it depends on how you use the horn when you grab it.
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May 10, 2010
• 5,384 views
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Jenna Hesselink
In riding a horse, you never ever want to grab the back of the saddle(cantle)... It is a bad habit. Thats just what I've been taught in my years of riding.
In riding a horse, you never ever want to grab the back of the saddle(cantle)... It is a bad habit. Thats just what I've been taught in my years of riding.
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May 12, 2010
• 5,384 views
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Dark Star
Well, not always, I grab the horn going around the saddle, but when I stop from a gallop to a full stop in less then a second (Yes, my horse stops on a dime) then I brab the back to keep from falling onto his neck.
Well, not always, I grab the horn going around the saddle, but when I stop from a gallop to a full stop in less then a second (Yes, my horse stops on a dime) then I brab the back to keep from falling onto his neck.
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Sep 6, 2010
• 5,354 views
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MoMoz
Well yea I can understand that, but you don't grab the cantle when turning the barrels.
Well yea I can understand that, but you don't grab the cantle when turning the barrels.
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Sep 6, 2010
• 5,388 views
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Dark Star
Also, you always should do a circle at the end of your run to make sure your horse doesn't hit the fence (That isn't fun AT ALL) I have had it happen, my horse busted the top two bars off the gate cause he had gotten spooked (it was his first time in the dark)
Also, you always should do a circle at the end of your run to make sure your horse doesn't hit the fence (That isn't fun AT ALL) I have had it happen, my horse busted the top two bars off the gate cause he had gotten spooked (it was his first time in the dark)
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May 15, 2011
• 5,354 views
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