WPRA Barrels and Breakaway
Remember that cowgirl from the ‘30’s a few weeks ago? The one who helped found The Cowboy Turtles Association? Yeah, that one. Well not to be outdone by a Professional Rodeo Cow b o y s Association, she and the sisters who followed in her boot tracks formed the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association. Today WPRA sanctions women’s rodeo events in Barrel Racing and Breakaway Roping. Rodeo wouldn’t be rodeo today without ‘em.
Barrel Racing is a speed and action timed event. Horse and rider turn three barrels set in a triangular clover leaf pattern. Patterns vary in length depending on the size of the arena. Riders have their choice of beginning with the right hand barrel or the left with each turn accompanied by a flying lead change to the next. Contestants strive to make the tightest turns possible without tipping over a barrel. Knocking a barrel down draws a penalty, usually :05, sufficient to drop a competitor out of the money in an event timed in tenths of a second.
Also noteworthy in barrel racing are the horses and conditions in the arena. Barrel horses need to be both athletic, agile, and fast. A good round of turns can easily be given up on the sprint to the finish. While breeding and market conditions enter into it, a good barrel horse can go from $25,000 to as high as $100,000. In recent years events have taken to dragging the pattern midway through a large field to give equal footing to competitors running later in the event.
Newest of the rodeo events, Breakaway Roping joined the professional ranks in 2019 and is gradually making its way into major rodeo programs. Primarily a women’s event, Breakaway Roping is a timed event similar to calf roping though the calf is not thrown and tied. A calf legally roped around the neck breaks the rope away from the saddle horn when the horse sets the rope with a sliding stop. Time stops when the rope breaks away from the saddle. Also similar to calf roping the calf gets a head start with the roper behind a barrier. If the roper breaks the barrier before the calf a :10 penalty is assessed to the time. The calf must be roped around the neck. Any other ‘catch’ results in no-time.
Next Week: Just for Fun: Kids and Clowns
Return to Facebook to comment.
Ride easy,
Paul
Barrel Racing is a speed and action timed event. Horse and rider turn three barrels set in a triangular clover leaf pattern. Patterns vary in length depending on the size of the arena. Riders have their choice of beginning with the right hand barrel or the left with each turn accompanied by a flying lead change to the next. Contestants strive to make the tightest turns possible without tipping over a barrel. Knocking a barrel down draws a penalty, usually :05, sufficient to drop a competitor out of the money in an event timed in tenths of a second.
Also noteworthy in barrel racing are the horses and conditions in the arena. Barrel horses need to be both athletic, agile, and fast. A good round of turns can easily be given up on the sprint to the finish. While breeding and market conditions enter into it, a good barrel horse can go from $25,000 to as high as $100,000. In recent years events have taken to dragging the pattern midway through a large field to give equal footing to competitors running later in the event.
Newest of the rodeo events, Breakaway Roping joined the professional ranks in 2019 and is gradually making its way into major rodeo programs. Primarily a women’s event, Breakaway Roping is a timed event similar to calf roping though the calf is not thrown and tied. A calf legally roped around the neck breaks the rope away from the saddle horn when the horse sets the rope with a sliding stop. Time stops when the rope breaks away from the saddle. Also similar to calf roping the calf gets a head start with the roper behind a barrier. If the roper breaks the barrier before the calf a :10 penalty is assessed to the time. The calf must be roped around the neck. Any other ‘catch’ results in no-time.
Next Week: Just for Fun: Kids and Clowns
Return to Facebook to comment.
Ride easy,
Paul
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