Local competitors travelled to Tamworth to compete in the Australian Barrel Horse Association National Finals this month.
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Jordan Grant and Ella Birt competed in the open categories, while Violet McMahon was in the junior section.
In barrel racing, horse and rider attempt to run a cloverleaf pattern around preset drum barrels or around poles in the fastest time a test of the rider and horse’s combined speed and agility.
In her first time at the National Finals, Jordan competed over two rounds with two horses, Roy’s Lethal Way and Ezmay, across the week long competition.
Ezmay ran 18.9 seconds in both rounds to finish 133rd out of around 540 open riders from across Australia.
Roy ran an 18.1 putting Jordan first in the third division.
The pair were sitting 44th after round one and made the top 50 shootout on the Saturday night, but unfortunately tipped over their second drum to be knocked out of the open competition.
Jordan said the national experience was enjoyable and showed what the local horses are capable of.
“I’m still super proud he got us up there with the fastest horses in the country, ultimately running less than one second behind the Australian record holder,” she said.
“Both my horses ran great, and it was a super fun week to be a part of.”
Ella also competed over two rounds in the open barrels section on her new horse Nugget.
It was Ella’s third time competing at the Nationals Finals.
Nugget is trained by Ella, and is just beginning his barrel racing career.
With a round one time of 18.8, it put them in the fourth division.
The pair were marginally slower in round two, with 18.9, giving them an average of 18.9 over the two rounds and placed them 129th out of 540 riders.
On her time in Tamworth, Ella said it was, “the best week of competition against Australia’s best barrel racers from all over the country” and allows her to catch up with old friends and make new ones.
Violet also competed in two rounds of both junior poles and junior barrels on her two horses, Cosmo and Chase.
It was Violet’s first time at the National Finals.
Cosmo is a 13.2 hands high Welsh pony that has done particularly well for Violet up against sprint bred quarter horses bred for the sport.
The pair have been a team for the past four years, growing together, while Violet and Chase working together for less than a year.
Violet and Cosmo finished 16th in the third division average, competing against about 300 junior riders.
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