A True Testament to the Barrel Racing Community

Bobby "Booger" Barter's death is devastating to the barrel racing and team roping industries. With that said, his death has underscored the fact that these so-called industries are much more than just that - these are communities of people who love and care for one another in ways not comparable in many other areas of life.

While the details of Barter's death remain unclear and may never truly be known to anyone but his immediate family and Barter himself, what will always be known is how Barter lived. His devotion to barrel racing and team roping as sports and as communities of people produced forums like BarrelRacingBuzz.com, where still today complete strangers are coming together to morn his loss. Though they are in mourning, conversations continue on about Christmas recipes, the National Finals Rodeo and more.

Already, an NBHA district in Texas is organizing a fundraiser for Barter's young son, Bandera, selling $5-arm bands. Friends of Barter are uploading videos of his fun-loving ways to the forum, and some are discussing having a Booger Barter Memorial Show.

For some reason that I'll never know or begin to understand, barrel racers come together because we get each other. In times of grief, we can relate to one another like few others in our lives. In times of joy, we celebrate together. When Sherri Cervi and Tammy Key ran Stingray and Dinero, respectively, in Round 6, we all knew that we were witnessing a special moment in barrel racing history. Unfortunately, we also knew that that moment would be overshadowed by the heartbreaking moment that occurred in Athens, Texas, earlier that same day.

Yesterday, I posted a short blip about Barter's death, linking to The Barrel Racing Report that ran what appeared on the World Barrel Racing and World Team Roping websites. That short post received more views than any other story in the nine-month history of this blog. In fact, it received more than twice as many views as any other post I've ever put on the site.

Normally, most of the Barrel Racing Blog's readers come from Pennsylvania and Ohio, but yesterday, a national audience flocked to this small site. Readers came in from Athens, Texas, and Athens, Ohio. Obviously, most visited the post about Barter's death, but many poked around at what else the Barrel Racing Blog had to offer. If I were to guess why, I would say it's because we as barrel racers can't help ourselves - if we see an article about Joe B Jammin or a listing of results from a small town rodeo in Ohio, we can't resist.

Bit of the Week - Lance Graves Rope Nose Sidepull

We haven't had a chance to throw together our "Bit-of-the-Week " section lately, but this one is definitely worth a mention.

This Lance Graves' sidepull  is way more than just a hackamore. It's shanks rotate outwards, giving you the feel and connectivity of a snaffle bit while maintaining the pull of the hackamore.

Right now, I'm using it on my six-year old that needs a little bit of a check before a barrel but still needs the lift and guide around a barrel like a snaffle would provide. I can lift her shoulder with this bit and still reach down and pull her around with it if she needs more help. My team roping, horse-stealing boyfriend also heels off of the same horse using this, and it gives him enough pull to slide to a stop on the heeling side.

Transitioning from a Rope Horse to a Barrel Horse

The Reason for the Switch

Sometimes, we don't have time to start a colt from the ground up, wait through its futurity years and slowly adjust the horse to life up and down the rodeo road. Finding a cheaper, finished rope horse is a great option for somebody who can't afford to splurge on a finished barrel horse but doesn't have the time to start a baby.

The Perks

Most ropers demand a calm, quiet horse who can stand in the box, stand tied for hours at a time and doesn't spook. Rope horses are used to cattle, so running down a rodeo alleyway as bulls fuss in the back pens won't bother them. They already know how to tuck their butts underneath them and move quickly, so all that's left to teach them is to turn a barrel. Usually, as our experts will tell you in this video, teaching a rope horse to turn a barrel doesn't take long. 

The Weekend Review - H & H Rodeo, Apple Grove, West Va.

I spent this past weekend close to home, hitting a rodeo on Saturday night that definitely challenged our old horses!

Rodeo Review - Saturday Night at H&H Ranch - Apple Grove, West Va. 

What: An open rodeo, part of H&H's summer series

Who: Mainly locals. H&H stock.

Time: Had to get there at 5:30 to pay fees, but show started late - should have started at 7 p.m.

Fees: $40 for barrel racers, $50 per team for ropers. 

Added Money: None - 80 percent payback.

The Ground: DEEP. Although the weekend was completely dry, the ground crew plowed the arena over repeatedly and the ground was so deep! My barrel horse came out of the arena with her bell boots turned upside down because of how deep she had to dig. 

Overall: The rodeo moved pretty slowly, so by the time they got to the barrel race, we could only rely on the arena's super poor lighting to see the barrels. The first barrel was decently lit, but the second and third were in pure darkness. I had to ride my 16-year-old horse like a colt to find them, even though she was still trying. 

The gateman kept the gate closed, which was a nightmare for my old horse that is used to hunting an alleyway. Needless to say, we crashed into the gate as fast as can be because the timer was a panel-length away from the outgate. 

Results: I won it with a 16.2. H&H only paid one hole, which was good news for me but bad news for everyone else. It paid $256 to win it. 

In team roping news: I travel with my boyfriend, Corey Rose, and his partner, Alicia Pottmeyer, who team roped. They ran the team roping after the barrels. The bottom end of the arena was in complete darkness, and the steers darted erratically back and forth across the arena. NOT the place to team rope. Corey's steer ducked underneath his horse's legs when he was heading and Alicia's jumped under her's when she was healing. It was a rough time for those two, and not the happiest ride home for me!

I have some rough video that I will put up here later, in case anybody is interested in seeing what the pen looked like!

Bit of the Week - The Traditional Chain Bit by Sharon Camarillo

This week's bit (I use the term 'week' very loosely) is another that I didn't think I would ever own and certainly didn't think would work on my seasoned barrel horses - Sharon Camarillo's Traditional Chain Bit.  

The bit is nothing fancy. A trainer I work with went to one of Camarillo's clinics, taking a 12-year-old mare that she had been having a hard time getting a first barrel on. The mare had been shaking her head and running a half-stride past the first barrel. Camarillo suggested the bit change, and the woman and her horse haven't looked back yet. She's been using this bit in rodeos and barrel races for the past five years, and its been all good news. 

I switched to the bit on my barrel/pole horse after she started diving on poles just a few weeks before the 2006 Congress. I needed something that I could really hold her shoulder up with but would not completely stop her. I tightened the curb chain, and even though I rarely use a shank, I found that this bit really worked with my hands.  Two years later, its all I need to get through a pattern. 

The bit has enough pull in the event that I end up past a barrel and need to pull my horse around, but it also has the perfect lift to keep her shoulders square going into a barrel. Like any bit, I've found that if I over-use it on the back side of a barrel, my mare shakes her head and over-bends. Obviously, I shouldn't do that, but it happens. 

Around the roping arenas, I've noticed a lot of team ropers also using different variations of this bit. Team ropers with hotter horses seem to use this bit to give them the right amount of control before needing to switch to a higher port bit. 

Bit of the Week - "The One Hander"

As strange as it looks, the "One-Hander" seems to work on my boyfriend's rope horse. It may be the craziest looking bit I've ever seen, but that's why I'm mentioning it!

The bit has an adjustable mouthpiece so you can fit it to your horses bars exactly, and the shanks that come together are connected by extremely flexible springs. 

I was so skeptical of it when Corey, my boyfriend, brought it home to try. He is a team roper, and his horse Cherokee has always been very strong and hasn't had a great stop. Corey had a correction bit on him for the better part of the horse's life, and his mouth was a bit tough. He would always stick his tongue out and play with the bit, and every time Cherokee was asked to turn he would begrudgingly fight the bit. 

Now, with this bit, however the pressures hit him, he never fights it. The "One-Hander" is not nearly as severe as the correction bit Cherokee was used to, but its mechanics just keep this old broke horse much happier. He's been roping steers with the bit for a week now, and as strong as Cherokee is coming out of the box, Corey's had complete control. 

I can't say that this particular bit would work for most barrel horses, but it seems like a great riding bit for a nice broke horse. The maker of this bit, American Bridle Bit, makes different bits with an adjustable mouthpiece that aren't connected, so they might be a better choice for barrel horses. They also have custom port options for varying port needs. 

Made only in America and available only from the inventor of the bit, this bit is sort of expensive. It's on sale now for about $140, when it is normally $160. It comes with a lifetime guarantee and a 30-day warrantee, though.