hoow old is the worls youngest barrel racer professional

The pair can touch and even move the barrels, but knocking one over earns a five-second penalty-effectively dooming the run. īarrel racing wasn’t an official sport until 1948.

There’s no standardized dimensions to barrel racing arenas, but generally the markers are spaced about 90 feet from one another. The rules are simple: The contestant and her horse perform a cloverleaf pattern around three barrels. American quarter horses are also known for their gentle temperament. Many riders prefer them to other breeds for their superior acceleration and agility, even though they aren’t as fast, in pure terms, as thoroughbreds. Like most barrel horses, Tennessee is an American quarter horse. Depending on the competitors’ ability and the size of the track, the whole performance can last as little as 14 seconds. įive-year-old Tennessee, owned by professional competitor Metzli Arreola, 29, stands tied to a trailer on a ranch east of El Paso. The last turn sets the duo up for a straight mad dash toward the exit. The rider repeats the process with the remaining two barrels. It takes an incredible deal of skill and guts to orchestrate such an extreme reversal of momentum. The rider, who to this point has been speeding her steer with spurs and vocals, must stop her 1,200-pound partner on a dime and twist the horse around the barrel as tightly as possible without knocking the barrel down.

Just as the animal is nearing top speed, more than 40 miles per hour, it meets the first of the track’s three metal barrels. The horse breaks out of the gate at a slanted angle headed for the arena’s right-side fence. Text and photography by Henry CraverMarch 22, 2021 The rules of barrel racing, the only female-dominated rodeo sport, are simple.

Hoow old is the worls youngest barrel racer professional