Famous Silk Panties $100,000 BFA World Championship Run

The Graves Ranch has a great YouTube site that posts many of their horses' runs, and I thought you all might like to see Graves' run aboard Famous Silk Panties, winning the BFA Superstakes. 

TheTrickedOutHorse.com's Lisa Barone - Part 2!

The woman behind The Tricked Out Horse brings real rodeo barrel racing experience to her outlaw brand of tack and belts. Lisa Barone has had success in the International Professional Rodeo Association, American Professional Rodeo Association, Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and at the All-American Quarter Horse Congress. Aboard her two mares, this summer she was the high-money earner on Dave Martin's Bullride Mania Tour and last winter won the Sundance Arena Series. Below, Barone talks with The Barrel Racing Blog about her successes as a barrel racer and her life outside the arena.

Where are you from? 

Originally upstate New York, now reside in Fayetteville, Penn.

When did you begin barrel racing, and how did you get involved in the sport? 

I started running barrels when I was 12. I've been riding even before I could walk. I started with show horses and pony hunters. As I got older I still showed horses, but started taking a liking to the speed events. Being from NY, we didn't have a High School or Youth rodeo team, nor did I even know much about rodeo. Alls I know is that I would go watch the local pro rodeo when it would come to town and think that it would be awesome to be able to compete like that someday. So I would just run barrels at our local shows, and as I got to be about 15, I decided that since I didn't like the politics in the show world that I would just strictly run barrels. Then not to long after that I wasn't only competing with those people I watched at the rodeos but I was winning championships. I moved to Penn. in spring of 2001, and in the past eight years I've had much success with the help of a few great horses.

What are some of your biggest successes in your barrel racing career? 

IFR Qualifier, NERF IPRA Barrel Racing Champion, 2 time APRA Champion, Multiple time PRCA Circuit Finals Qualifier, Dodge National Circuit Finals Qualifier, 4x SRA Finals Qualifier, QH Congress Reserve Champion and Finals qualifier, as well as multiple barrel racing and open rodeo achievements.

What horses do you run now, and what horses have you had the most success on in the past? 

I have two mares that I run currently, mostly one that most people know as "Reba" or Hears The Deal, as she is known on her papers. She is 14-year-old once in a lifetime horse. I purchased her from Deena Fries in November of 2001, and since then the mare has suffered three broken legs and still runs hard and gives 100%. She has the biggest heart of any horse I've ever seen. She may not set the world on fire like she once did, but she loves her job and will make the same run every time and put me somewhere at the top. She is Jet of Honor on the top and out of Colonel Freckles mare, I have a beautiful, coming 2 yr old Frenchmans Guy out of her that I will be hauling in the future. Reba will be bred back to "Guy" this spring and I am selling a few of her embryos, to keep her legacy going. If her babies have even half the heart she has, it will be such a blessing.

I also run a 13-year-old palomino mare, ThisBlondeMeansWar, "Blondie". She is mostly all foundation bred. I've only had her for about a year but I've tried to buy her for the past six years, and finally in February I got the word that she was for sale, and the rest is history.

What do you do when you aren't on the road? 

When I'm not on the road, which is scarce at times, I spend time keeping all my business' running smoothly. Besides the leather business, I'm also a Certified Equine Massage Therapist and Adjustor, as well as I take some horses in for tune ups and have a descent size group of lesson students. Between all that I also help my fiancee, John Leinaweaver, keep his bucking program running smoothly. All in all there is no such thing as spare time around our household.

What associations do you run? 

I run IPRA, ECWPRA, WPRA, APRA, SRA, SEBRA, NBHA, IBRA, as well as a few I probably forgot to mention!

What are your barrel racing plans and goals for 2010? 

Hmm, that's a tough one. I'm taking this next year day by day. We have a little girl due at the beginning of March, therefore I'm not sure how much hauling I will be doing. I may just want to stay home and be a mommy for a while. We shall see, I even surprise myself at times. I do know that I would like to haul my colt some to get her used to all the chaos. As far as goals... only time will tell.

How does your background in barrel racing help you make better tack?

I see so many people buying tack, gluing "sparkly stuff" on it and selling to the public. I personally wouldn't use any of that on my horses as its mostly junk and it will fall apart. The cheap and competitive prices on those items normally reflect the quality. Therefore I sell only what I would use myself. I make all my tack custom... from beginning to end by hand. I cut out the Breastcollars, Headstalls, etc. then sew them together and hand set all the glitz. Therefore I intend on being the best out there in providing custom items to the buyer.

TheTrickedOutHorse.com's Lisa Barone - Part 1!

Barrel racer, soon-to-be mother and bride-to-be Lisa Barone has had a lot on her plate this past year, but none of that has stopped her from producing some of the most eye-catching tack and western accessories east of the Mississippi. Her company, The Tricked Out Horse, offers more to barrel racers than the simple bling headstalls and breast collars. From her wide selection of hides to her poker-chip conchos, Barone and The Tricked Out Horse bring an outlaw edge to tack world. 

What products do  you offer? 

We offer headstalls, breastcollars, tripping collars, tie-down nosebands, bronc halters, belts, spur straps, dog collars, buckle purses, diaper bags, gear/clothes bags and misc. items such as crosses, drink coozies and coaster, over-and-unders and stirrup hobbles. Basically we can make virtually anything.

Why are your products different from other lines out on the market? 

Most lines are custom, and all our work is made from scratch. I have come up with some styles that haven't been touched on yet. Plus I let the customers come up with their own design and make it to their specifications

Who is your target market and why? 

I have a wide range of market from Show to Rodeo. My dog collars for instance are sought after by many being that it is my own design and there aren't any like them on the market.

What is your inspiration for your work?  

I'm a very creative, artistic and competitive person. I like to be the best at all I do as well as I like having satisfied customers. Happy customers are repeat customers.

When did you start making tack/belts/etc.? 

2005
What is the price range for a headstall/breastcollar set? 

$300-$700

How can readers of The Barrel Racing Blog get a hold of your products?

www.TheTrickedOutHorse.com 

Check back tomorrow for more on Barone's barrel racing accolades and how that's helped her put together these great products!

Change is Coming!

So, if you've noticed that things have slowed down here at The Barrel Racing Blog, I really apologize! I've been making big plans to move this blog over to a NEW site, with tons of new features and lots of great information.

Pretty soon, I'll need you all to start logging onto www.thebarrelracingblog.wordpress.com, where I'll be adding content daily. The new site right now has the same content as this one, and you can continue to get content on both sites until Jan. 1 when the new site will be fully up-and-running!

Throughout this process, I'd love to get feedback from my loyal readers. This website began as a venture in building an online community of barrel racers and helping barrel racing enthusiasts connect with one another. So, nothing would help me more than hearing from you exactly what you would like to see in a barrel racing website.

QUESTIONS: What can I do to improve The Barrel Racing Blog? How can I help you interact more with this site and with one another?

Photos from the Last Two Barrel Races

Just in case you have been to either Porchview Arena or Henderson Arena in the last month for a barrel race, I wanted to give you the website of the photographer, called Forever Works, that was there taking pictures. 

While their pictures are a little bit pricey ($35 for an 8x10 or two 5x7s), they got some great action shots of more than just the second barrel. They were also recently at Kowboy Corral and other regional shows. 

NFR Qualifier and Calgary Winner Tana Poppino's Blog

Oklahoma cowgirl Tana Poppino is busy hauling up and down the rodeo trail this summer with her two geldings, Amigo (Perryman Star) and Goose (Doc Hickorys Cross). She's been taking time out, though, to share her experiences in a personal blog called On the Road, where she shares insights into both her best days and her worst. She writes:

I am back at the fairgrounds at Tremonton, Utah. My trip to Nampa was
dissappointing, but it reminded me that success takes hard work. Good runs come
when there is totally unity between horse and rider. Even though I am competing
with a broken ankle, I have not been able to ride and work my horses every day,
and have lost the edge I need to win.

Check out the rest of Poppino's site at tanapoppino.com.

Part Three of TrackMyHorse.com

As the site's membership grows, Mike and Tracy have heard more and more success stories. His main goal through all of this is to make the website available to as many barrel racers across the country as possible, and so far, the feedback has been all good. 

Janet Vegter Kerr of Ohio uses TrackMyHorse.com to monitor her performance on her horse, FQH Rod's Fast Deal. The features built into the site that allow her to see how her bit changes and supplement changes give her a competitive edge, Kerr said. 

"For example, I always run in a junior cow horse bit outside and an "o" ring inside. Well, after using TrackMyHorse.com, I found that my horse actually worked better (clocked faster and left the barrels up) with a junior cow horse in some indoor pens and an "o" ring for some outdoor pens," Kerr said. "It's all stuff that when I was just writing it down in a journal I missed."

The graphs lay out changes in the horse's performance so clearly, Kerr said, that trends are hard to miss. 

The ability to see how mitigating factors affect horses' performances is another thing that Mike said sets TrackMyHorse.com apart. It's saved horses careers, Mike said, by showing what the horse's rider is changing rather than just trying to guess what the particular horse is doing wrong. 

Where's TrackMyHorse.com going from here? Mike and Tracy said that nobody knows for sure how many barrel racers exist in the U.S., but they know for sure they want a good portion of them using TrackMyHorse.com to help improve their horses' performances and values. Even more, the couple plans on expanding into other areas of equine competition, but those plans are still on the drawing boards. For now, Mike and Tracy will keep promoting their site at barrel racers all over the West.

Part Two of TrackMyHorse.com

The Mahans have built a site that has so far tracked over 1700 barrel races from across the country, with members from Texas to Pennsylvania and back. 

And they've done it all with close to no advertising. When the site was launched, Mike and Tracy placed one ad with Barrel Horse News, and the site took off from there. Some of their old contacts back in Ohio and Pennsylvania jumped on the bandwagon and began using the site, joining other barrel racers from across the country. 

Mike and Tracy set up a booth at the WBR Race for the Cash II in Ardmore, Okla., July 17 to do their first bit of public relations and advertising since the sites' launch. Since then, Mike said the site has been receiving new members daily.

One of the website's biggest draws is that it allows riders to track their own progress and set personal goals. 

"The encouragement you get from being able to focus against yourself is such a confidence builder," Tracy said. 

When competing against girls like Jordan Peterson, sometimes it is difficult to see progress when the average barrel racer watches the professionals break records every weekend. With TrackMyHorse.com, though, riders can watch their own progress and compete against themselves and the clock, rather than worry as much about what the top of the ranks are doing. 

On top of that, the website offers riders the chance to see the true value of their horse. Since the beginning of barrel racing, owners have only been able to anecdotally describe their horses' performance over time. This website allows for a complete performance history of any given horse and can be used when marketing the animal. 

"The heartbreak of this is that there are so many young ladies, professional cowgirls, with no history of their success," Mike said. "For the first time, we have that history."

The site can track barrel races back to 1999, so if you've saved any times, winnings or records, you can enter back-data into the site. The performance history of any horse can be made public and can be downloaded as a PDF and printed. It can be used as a sale flyer or can be saved as a reminder of a great horse. 

Horses with performance histories can also be submitted to the site's free classified section, where members can buy and sell horses using their complete resumes. 

Part One of TrackMyHorse.com - A Look Into the Future of Barrel Racing

Mike Mahan spent years developing a computer system to help his wife Tracy improve her times in the International Barrel Racing Association. In the end, what Mike created changed both Tracy's barrel racing career and both of their lives.

The program Mike created is now known as TrackMyHorse.com, a website used by nearly 100 barrel racers across the country to monitor their horses’ performance.

Now based in Texas, TrackMyHorse.com began six years ago out of Mike’s desire to help Tracy improve in the arena. He created his own program to follow her times in each arena, monitor the winning times and to track outside factors like supplements, shoeing schedules and veterinary appointments.

“The real core of this was to see Tracy succeed,” Mike said. “This is for any
parent for their child or for any husband for their wife who wants them to
succeed."

With the ability to track her progress and gain a better understanding of factors contributing to both good and bad runs, Tracy’s times began improving.

“It was through other people seeing it in the grandstands that this really took off,” Mike said. In the grandstands at IBRA Nationals in Murfreesboro, Tenn., one year, people saw Mike using his Tracks system and begged him to make it available for others to use.

Knowing how the system had helped Tracy, the couple set off to make TrackMyHorse available to barrel racers nationwide. Six years in the making, TrackMyHorse.com was released on the Internet in January 2009 and is now available for $12.95 per month.

The husband and wife team are not just Internet entrepreneurs, though; when they aren't running barrel horses or working on TrackMyHorse.com, Mike and Tracy are a private flight crew that fly across the country. They use their down time to run TrackMyHorse.com, and even more, they have begun setting up booths at large barrel races in Texas and Oklahoma to advertise the website.

In route to Glen Rose, Texas, for a Win $ More barrel race, Mike and Tracy discussed TrackMyHorse and all of its features with TheBarrelRacingBlog. Stick around the next three days to see what TrackMyHorse might have to offer, plus gain some insight into the lives of Mike and Tracy Mahan.

Website Review - The Barrel Racing Buzz

The Internet's Fastest Growing Barrel Racing Site

Recently I discovered a website with many of the same goals as thebarrelracingblog, The Barrel Racing Buzz. This site builds the idea of community within the barrel racing industry by providing forums, informational articles, advertising , videos and an events calendar, all easily accessible on their site.

The site even runs a live webcast that features large barrel racing events from across the country. Those running the site seem to be well connected within the industry, as they are able to feature video interviews with some top contenders like Kay Blanford and Marlene McRae.

My favorite thing about this site is its multimedia features. It incorporates blogging with video and photos that really enhance the experience and help bring the big names and big events to people across the world. This site focuses mainly on national barrel racing events, with many put on by the World Barrel Racing Productions. The events calendar, however, is user-generated content, so anything and everything can be submitted as an event.

Overall, if you want to stay in touch with what's going on across the country, mainly out West, this is a site for you. With their product videos and interviews with top barrel racing experts, this website can really keep you on your toes with what's going on in the industry.

This Week's Barrel Racing Report

Check out this week's edition of The Barrel Racing Report. It's got updated PRCA standings, with Mary Burger just ahead of Brittany Pharr and Lindsey Sears. 

Rodeo Attitude News - Site Review

Today I stumbled across a website for rodeo news across the country. Rodeo Attitude News calls itself the premiere rodeo website (which I can't quite verify), but it aggregates and produces industry news from the major associations - the WPRA, the PRCA and the PBR. 

The website, which is a bit tough to read and get through because it has so much information, divides its pages up by association. It acts as an aggregate for different association's press releases, and brings them all together - featuring event coverage, stories on competitors and even entertainment. The top headline today came from a PBR press release about Ty Murray as a competitor on ABC's Dancing With the Stars.

It does provide some useful content, as it links to the association's pages. The site tries to highlight association event listings, but it seems to be a bit behind. That said, keeping up-to-date with any events within the rodeo/barrel racing industry can be trying at best, as promoters themselves tend to be slow at disseminating information. 

The site has a lot of great resources, like practice pen listings and a personnel directory. It features some multimedia content and even message boards, which seem to be building an online community, as the message boards are relatively active. 

It focuses mostly on rodeos and barrel races West of the Mississippi, though. So, for those of us stuck in the Mid-West or Northeast, it's just a nice site to look at every once and awhile.