Barrel Racing Description

Barrel Racing Description

Barrel racing is a rodeo event in which a horse and rider attempt to complete a pattern

around preset barrels in the fastest time. Though both sexes compete at the youth level

and in some amateur venues, in collegiate and professional ranks, it is primarily a rodeo

event for women. It combines the horse's athletic ability and the horsemanship skills of a

rider in order to safely and successfully maneuver a horse through a clover leaf pattern

around three barrels (typically three fifty-five gallon metal or plastic drums) placed in a

triangle in the center of an arena.

In timed rodeo events, the purpose is to make a run as fast as possible, while the time is

being clocked either by an electronic eye, (a device using a laser system to record times),

or by an arena attendant or judge who manually takes the time using a keen eye and a flag

to let a clocker know when to hit the timer stop; though this last method is more

commonly seen in local and non-professional events.

The timer begins when horse and rider cross the start line, and ends when the barrel

pattern has been successfully executed and horse and rider cross the finish line. The

rider's time depends on several factors, most commonly the horse's physical and mental

condition, the rider's horsemanship abilities, and the type of ground or footing (the

quality, depth, content, etc. of the sand or dirt in the arena).

Scoreboard Displays:

• Contestant number is entered bottom row, left numeric display set.

• The time clock is set at 00.000. When rider crosses the start line the clock starts

counting UP in SS:THT {Seconds:Tenths/Hundreds/Thousands of

seconds}. When rider finishes the run a STOP button is pressed to stop the

clock. This stops the time (example 12.456 seconds would be [12.456].

• If a penalty occurs then the PENALTY lights illuminate and the time is adjusted

manually UP. Or there is a NO TIME penalty and the time is cleared to

00.000. Penalty times are normally 5 or 10 seconds so their should be an

automatic 5 and 10 second adjustment button on the controller.

• If a re-ride is required then the RERIDE lights illuminate and the riders number

stays the same but the time is cleared to re-start at 00.000. A rider with a re-ride

normally does not do his RERIDE until after all other riders in that rotation have

finished. The RERIDE lights need to be able to illuminate at the start of a ride to

indicate that it is a RERIDE.

• If the above time is the leading (LOWEST) time, that becomes the leader score,

the rider number and their score showing the FASTEST time goes up into the top

line. If the next rider has a FASTER time then their rider number and time

replaces the previous as the top line is always for the rider in the lead with their

score time to beat.