Dans Papers - June 1, 2007 - Clippity Clop

If you have been following this column for the past couple of weeks, you might have surmised that the horse I ride is not quite the 17.3hh Warmblood jumper usually spotted at the local shows. At just over 15hh - with shoes on - my little Tobiano paint, Oreo, could pass for a large pony and sports an eight-inch brand on his flank that looks like a "G" with a Texas Longhorn rack attached to it. He's as fast as a thoroughbred and can turn on a dime - he never stumbles or slips, but unlike most jumpers, when you relax back in the saddle, he goes even faster, practically breaking the sound barrier as he tries to shorten his stride so he can go as fast as he wants and still fit in the strides that I want in between fences.

If you haven't already guessed it, Oreo is not a seasoned jumper. He is, in fact, a crossover from the West. For the past eight years, Oreo spent his days racing around barrels, learning how to turn on a dime without losing speed and drop his shoulder to avoid falling over while spinning around barrels at a breakneck pace. So how does such a neat little barrel racer like Oreo find himself on Long Island? The answer is, of course, a horse dealer. However, there's more to it than that. Although the Hunter/Jumper, Dressage and Polo scenes have taken over the Hamptons horse scene, there is a legion of Western riders out here, barrel racing, team penning and living it up, cowgirl style.

Once I learned Oreo's background, I wanted to know more. The National Barrel Horse Association has a great website, www.NBHA.com, with all the information a city slicker like me needs to figure out whether barrel racing is something I'd like to watch or compete in.

Judging from the pictures, the fact that Oreo is absolutely gorgeous is not surprising. More streamlined and athletic than other Western horses, the best barrel racers are lean, glossy and rippling with muscles. The horses are usually Paints, Arabians or Quarter horses, but all breeds are welcome to compete in open classes. Both men and women compete in barrel racing and most races have a purse (yes, they actually pay you for winning, even at the lowest amateur levels). The course is always the same - three, 55-pound closed-top barrels are arranged in a triangular pattern in the ring, called a "cloverleaf," with sstandard distances between barrels. Riders choose whether to circle around the right or left barrel first and proceed through the course as quickly as possible. There are no judges to impress, only the crowd and the clock. Similar to jumping, penalty points are given when a horse hits or tips over a barrel.

Like other competitive horse sports, a barrel racing team must be in tune with each other and share an enormous amount of trust. These horses and riders accomplish seemingly impossible turns at full speed - they must communicate if they are going to leave the arena as winners. If this sounds like fun to you, don't be fooled by barrel racing's western origins. Barrel competitions are held on Long Island all the time and there are plenty of barns out here that can show you the ropes. For more information, contact the Women's Professional Rodeo Association at www.WPRA.com, the National Barrel Horse Association at www.NBHA.com or the Professional Women's Barrel Racing at www.ProRodeo.org.