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 in Barrel Racing
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. Try to be consistent so he gains confidence on the pattern.
Refine Your Ride
The following is the technical pattern that I start my horses and students on.
◆ First Barrel: You can choose to turn the first barrel either to the left or the right. I am going to explain the pattern turning right around the first barrel, which then requires a left turn around the second barrel and the third barrel.
To start, align your horse with the third barrel and then make a gradual right arc up to the first cone on the pattern, which is about 10 feet to the left of the first barrel. Basically, you are going to ride by all of the cones, in order, on the pattern.
As you continue to the second and third cones, use the inside right rein to show your horse where he is going around the barrel. At the third cone, about 4 feet from the barrel, come to a stop with your leg in alignment with the cone, which is also where the back edge of the first barrel is.
Rest your horse at this point. The reason for the stop is so he can square up his feet so he is not pointing on an angle. This will be important when he gets faster so he won’t be tempted to swing his haunches to the outside and lose power. His front feet and back feet should travel in the same track around the pattern.
From this point, start walking and turning sharply toward the second barrel.
◆ Second Barrel: On the way between the first and second barrel, ride in a straight line pointed at the third cone, which is 4 feet to the right of the barrel.
Around the second barrel guide your horse with the left inside rein and then stop at the fourth cone. Similar to the first barrel, stop where your leg is beside the cone.
This point is important because your leg hangs at approximately the halfway point of the horse, so once you get to this spot, he should be able to turn tightly toward the third barrel without knocking the second barrel down.
Now start walking and turn sharply, heading toward the cone in front of the third barrel.
◆ Third Barrel: Ride a straight line toward the cone at the third barrel. Any extra steps in the pattern will result in time loss, so try to focus on going straight between the points.
Once you pass the cone, start to use your inside left rein and some inside leg to start to shape your horse to make a left turn. Pass by the next cone and stop at the final cone where your leg is in alignment with the edge of the third barrel.
◆ Run Home: Start walking and turn sharply going in a straight line all the way through the timer line. At the end of the pattern, stop straight so your horse doesn’t get into the habit of turning left or right.
Ready to Advance
Practice this pattern and include stopping at the cones mentioned until your horse is confident in where he is going. Now you can start to trot between the points while still maintaining the stop on the backside of the barrels. After that, you can take the stop out, but be sure to sit heavy on the same points to balance your horse for the tight turns around the barrels.
Eventually, you can work up to a lope around the pattern. Make sure when turning that your horse is on the correct lead so he stays balanced and can build proper muscle memory.
Always remember not to get too close to the barrels. If your horse gets really close, he has to break his stride to pivot multiple times in order to avoid knocking the barrel over. It’s better to give him some space around the barrel to keep moving forward around it.
Barrel racing is a really fun sport, but it also works on precision, which will help improve your training skills.
I hope you have learned some tips for starting your horse on the barrel racing pattern, and I wish you all the best in your training!
This article about barrel racing appeared in the November/December 2024 issue of Young Rider magazine. Click here to subscribe!
