Notes

Fast horses, sharp turns, and brave cowgirls make up the dangerous, thrilling sport of barrel racing. Barrel racing has been around since the late 1800's when cowboys’ wives, or girlfriends would ride their roping horses around the cloverleaf pattern as fast as they could to see who could get the fastest time. Over time more people started to barrel race, and would compete in barrel racing at local fairs and rodeos. It wasn't until 1948, however, when the Girls’ Rodeo Association (GRA) was started that barrel racing was considered a real rodeo event. About 40 years later the (WPRA) Women's Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) was started with only 74 members, and only 60 active competitors. Over many years the WPRA has grown dramatically and now has over 2,000 members . The sport of barrel racing has been growing and will continue to grow because of the dedicated, determined cowgirls, and their love for this sport.
Barrel racing takes a special horse and rider match, the horse has to be fast, willing, and adgile, and the rider paticent