Lets take this blog to the next level

If you have a photo of crappy show riding, know of a jerkwad trainer or judge, or someone in the show world that is an abusive piece of shit then send the info to me. This blog is not anti-showing, it's anti-abuse. So there is no truth to the claims from the TWH, ASB, western pleasure and dressage zombies that I'm trying to shut showing down. Instead I'm trying to make showing more honest and to get abusive practices out of the showring! Email me at shameinthehorseshowring@gmail.com



I have a request for my readers: If you have successfully rehabbed a show horse, or gotten a rescue and taken it on to a show career then let me know, I'd love to feature you here!






Saturday, February 28, 2009

Can Chaser, Ignorant Racer : Updated

*To those of you visiting from the RK3 Ranch website, I hope you can tell by her poor spelling and complete lack of grammar that her ignorance is epic. Her parenting skills and horse training match her linguistic abilities. She's also completely wrong about who owns this blog and who wrote this article. Being stupid is easier than doing research, so she'd rather blame an innocent party than admit she can't read.

Back to the article:
I’ll start off by making the statement that I know not all barrel racers are ignorant horse beating morons. But enough of them are that it gives the sport a bad name. I grew up riding in local gymkhanas, high school rodeo, Little Britches Rodeos and open speed events. My family had state barrel racing and pole bending champions. We know what it takes to raise, train and compete a good speed horse.





A good barrel horse has a nice, slightly uphill, working conformation. He’s got a deep chest, nicely tied in neck, good short back, good hocks and strong cannons. I know barrel horses don’t have to have perfect conformation and most wouldn’t even get a second look in a halter class (Thank God!), but good conformation helps with long term soundness. A trip over to dream horse just about had me gagging up my morning soda.




I like this horse. She’s fairly balanced, nice neck and head, solid hip. It’s not a great camera angle, but she’s still a good horse. I’d like a better gaskin and a little bet tighter neck, but overall she look athletic and sound.








On the other hand this next horse is not a barrel prospect. Naturally he has his balls, because all prospects need them, right.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a worse camera angle in my life, but even if this horse was photographed by Ansel Adams he’s still going to be a down hill, bad necked, straight shouldered, bench kneed piece of shit. The only thing I can envision this horse doing is pulling a plow, down a slope.





For those of you enamored of his “puuuurrrrtttttyyyy” dun color and big ass he can be yours for a mere $2,500. Dream Horse Barrel Prospect He’s a two year old, hasn’t done shit, but he’s supposedly the next great herd sire and barrel racing champ.







A good barrel horse is a calculating animal that thinks six strides ahead. He can be revved up and shut down with a light touch. He likes to run, but he has no problem being a good trail horse, or working other rodeo events.

What a barrel horse shouldn’t be is a crazed nutbag that flips into fences and runs out an arena gate and into a pick-up truck parked half a mile away. He shouldn’t be downhill like a ski slope, or be so bench kneed or cow hocked that he looks like some third grader made him out of play-doh.


Let’s examine the psyche of the average barrel horse. There are horses like Charmayne James’ Scamper, that compete for years, stay sound and make records other competitors can only aspire to. One thing I noticed in the years I watched them compete is that Scamper was never over bitted and she rarely got into his mouth. She also didn’t beat his ass around the first barrel. She gave him time to set up his pattern and get in the groove before she asked for more speed. If only other riders had as much consideration!

On the flip side, we have these little can-chasing wannabes, showing us everything you can do wrong. I have blacked the horses' faces to save them the embarassment of their pasture mates knowing what fuckwits they have for riders.

First rule of thumb for keeping a balanced seat: don’t tuck your chin. It’s something that show jumpers and cross country people learn very early on. And if you’ve got a really powerhouse of a horse it can prevent a nasty case of whiplash. Second rule: make the pocket going into the barrel, not coming out of it. Going wide coming out just means you lost a few seconds. Third rule: If you can’t keep your toes from pointing at the ground you aren’t likely to keep your balls from whacking the horn. If you don’t possess balls then you can get a smack in the belt buckle that will make you puke. Pointed toes mean your hip is open, your leg is loose and your ass is sliding back and forth in that saddle like a Jamaican bobsledder. It is not conducive to getting a good time. As this poor horse’s head shows those reins are doing more than guiding, they’re holding this dumbass in the saddle.





I thought it was supposed to be barrel racing, not barrel ramming. Poor horse. His inside shoulder has dropped so far his ass is swinging out like a school bus taking a sharp turn. The person in the saddle has loosed her inside leg and is high spurring on the outside. This horse is so out of sync I wouldn’t be surprised if a few strides later he slipped or fell over. Horses like this aren’t prospects; they are re-training projects. This horse needs to be rebalanced, get his head up to where his shoulder is free and he’s working off his ass, not so deep on his front.



When we think about barrel racing we usually think about the greats like Charmayne James, Martha Josey, Brittany Pharr, Molly Powell and Dena Kirkpatrick. These women have made barrel racing a respectable sport. Sadly they are the minority. Instead, we have boneheads like this bunch running around and pretending they are the next best thing:

RK3 Barrel Horses/

Let’s start with the stallions. It should be a national horse improvement priority to get the testicles off these stallions as soon as fricking possible.






Downhill doesn’t even describe it. Skiers routinely eye this horse in hopes of a quick training run. He's got it all; bench knees, bad shoulder, roman nose and weak gaskin. Yep, looks like a herd sire to me…not. For $600.00 you can prove that your mare is an improvement broodmare, because if she fixes this thing she’s worth her weight in gold.

Tragically he’s not the worst stallion they are standing.


Seriously people, is this horse not deformed? He can’t even blame it on a bad camera angle like the other horse. He’s downhill, bad low neck, no gaskin to speak of and totally screwed up forelegs. I can’t believe this thing can even canter, much less turn a barrel. I suspect that with that neck and down hill form he could be used to increase the number of palomino yaks out there in the world. Surely there is some Tibetan farmer sitting in his yurt wondering how he's going to add some height to his yak herd, little knowing this horse is a mere plane trip away.
Aside from his blatant conformational flaws he sure is a puuurrrttttyyyy color. So obviously he must keep those balls. {Where is my frickinig brick wall when I need it?}

If the two poor quality stallions aren’t enough let’s take a look at their training and riding skills:

There really are no words to describe this shit. I know that barrel racing is a quick sport and equitation is not an option. I know things get hurried and, depending on the footing, riding form can take some odd shapes in order to stay on and stay alive. But this shit has no excuse. And it really doesn’t need to be on a website that is advertising someone’s training and riding skills, or lack thereof. I would not send a horse to these people, either for breeding, or training, because in my opinion they exhibit a serious lack of skill and judgement. They make the rest of us speed freaks look bad. They promote the breeding of poorly conformed horses in a sport that requires solid, and sound, conformations.

Looks like the Barrel Horse World forum has gone all stupid and defensive, much like the Pleasure Horse Forum does, whenever one of its flying monkeys gets criticized. They are bitching about me, but no comment on the poor riding, because most of them are at that level. They belong to the hurley burley crowd that has to flog a horse through a pattern, because they don't have a clue how to ride and glide. Mrs. RK3 has even gotten wrong who owns this blogs, obviously unable to click on my profile. She also lied about sending an email to me and me supposedly replying. I've gotten no emails from her, and I certainly haven't responded back to a non-existant email. Looks like she's throwing a Walmart toy aisle tantrum because she got outed as a poor example. Too bad. She put out the ammo to do so. She's now put a poorly worded, and misspelled accusation on her webpage that is against another person. Besides being a complete idiot horse and parent-wise, she can't even figure out who owns this blog. Seriously, shouldn't you have to take a test to be a parent or horse owner? Something that would assure the government that you had an IQ above 50?

I just love it when the dregs of the horse world get all indignant when they get outed for being stupid. I rarely hear the true professionals complain about the blog. They mostly agree with it. It's always the lowest bottom dwellers that get all swelled up. Why? Because they can't read for content. They missed the part where I said that I knew all Barrel Racers weren't bad. They missed it because it wasn't drawn on that big lined paper with a crayon. However, I cannot condemn them too harshly, because they definitely prove my point: There are some real idiots in barrel racing.

Now back to youtube:
This crap just makes me ill. This is not cute! This kid is all over the place. She’s hard on the pony’s mouth. Her saddle needs a rear cinch and her parents should have their asses beat for not having a helmet on her. I commend the pony for not killing her.





This one is even worse!





You can tell this kid has her feet rubber-banded or tied in the stirrups. Thank goodness the horse didn’t roll completely over or crush her. She’s not wearing a helmet and she has no control going into the barrel. Her dumbass parents need their butts kicked into next week.

With ignorance like this out there it is no wonder that barrel racing gets a bad rap. Those of us that actually train without gimmick bits and know how to sit on a horse in a manner that doesn't interfere with it will continued to be slammed by people who see the above stupidity as representative of the sport.

59 comments:

Unknown said...

The thing that always throws me about kids riding barrels is that they look like they are essentially on a really fast pony ride. I rarely see children running barrels that seem to have any control or concept of what they are doing. They just throw the horse out there and the horse runs the barrels.

GoLightly said...

Knowing next to nothing about this sport, I have one question.
How can the teeny pony have only a 4 second difference with the "bigger" guns?

What's the fastest time that barrels can be run?
Just askin'.
The little kid almost getting killed was bad.
Very bad.

Yes, there's some pretty scary "normal" conformation going on..

The autopilot on the horses seemed pretty self-evident on some, as Secretive said.

What is the origin for this sport? Why is it only women?

duh, okay?
I hear ya.
I don't know, so I ask.

horseys4me said...

Im so glad someone finally put this out there. Someone needs to tell the rest of the world that a "barrel prospect" is not just some batshit crazy horse that can run from you faster than a speeding bullet. REAL barrel horses are not CRAZY they are well controlled skilled animals that are athletic when its go time and calm and respectful trail horses when its not. Im sick of seeing ever non-handlable horse advertised as good GAMING prospect...GAH! drives me nuts!

an American in Copenhagen said...

Agree, agree, agree.

Also, even if that last girl was a better rider there is no way in hell legs that short can grip a horse that big. She's practically doing the splits up there!

One of my absolute pet peves is seeing children on horses. That's what ponies are for people!!!

Other pet peves: saintly ponies being forced to endure poorly fitting saddles (and poor riding).

Great post. Could we see a confo shot of a good barrel horse (stallion or otherwise)?

Carrie Giannandrea said...

GoLightly,

Barrel racing started out as an event for the women at normally all-male rodeos. Eventually Pole racing was added, along with goat roping, steer daubing and break-away roping.

When I was young and competing in barrels, our horses turned on for the racing and then turned off before we left the arena..........today it is scary how these horses are competed.

Carrie Giannandrea
Dances with Horses
Formula One Farms

Psychotic Raccoon said...

I can't get over that little girl on that huge horse. WTF were her parents thinking? If that horse had rolled over, she would have been dead.

These kids don't even have basic equitation skills. It's like their parents just threw them up on a horse and let them tear around the barrels. Kids at that level need to be walking and halting on a lunge line before they even go near a barrel. And this is the future of racing. These kids that were never taught right and are going to grow up to be just like their dumbass parents. Very sad.

OldMorgans said...

Until recently, the only barrel racing I had seen was by 3rd rate wanna-be's. And it was awful. Tight tie-downs, big harsh bits, no riding ability, frantic horses, etc. Then I saw on TV a big money invitational barrel race. And that was a whole different world. It was put on by that Lance fellow w/the long hair who barrel races. I first saw him on Craig Cameron's Extreme Cowboy Race and he was riding his barrel horse in that & did very well. Ah, what was my point? Oh yeah--the top racers of this sport do things right and the lower folks need to learn from the top how to do it right.

sagebeasties.blogspot.com

Nicely dun said...

Hmmm. I don't know much about barrel racing, but really, when I'm just riding a simple circle and my horse leans, I pick his shoulder up. I figure that the same concept COULD be applied to barrels? Is it possible to be galloping around but NOT leaning freakishly over?
I don't think its fair to the horses that just becuase they're a "barrel horse" they can have the crap kicked out of them to "go" I mean really. If I kicked my horse like that he'd buck me into next week.
I like the post:P

BJS said...

well first off you really need to watch your swearing and do you have the right to use the videos and pictures that you have on this site? To be honest the way you write on this makes me wonder just what kind of a judge you really are. If you talk to kids this way I would not hire you! I do agree that we do have people in the horse industry that have things they could learn. And you are one of them, you have a lot to learn about barrel racing. Before you talk you should go an learn the sport yourself.

and I bet you like PETA as well.

Amy said...

Jean is it possible for you to make your comments with out all the cussing? Some of your points might be valid but they get lost in the way you write. I don't believe barrel racing is any different then any other equine discipline. You have your top people that have the skill to do things right and your bottom level that thinks they know and don't have a clue. So what is your point. There is no discipline out there that the same things can't be applied to. Have you been to a 4-H show lately they scare me. There are alot of trainers out there that are not teaching these kids the proper skills before they enter the ring and alot of parents that are not getting good advice on what horse to put their children on. Possibly it has to do with the fact that I regularly see posts looking for a nice quiet kid safe horse for under $1,000. If I have one of those in my barn it is priced WAY higher then that or its not even for sale. They are hard to come by and if you want your kid to be safe try spending alittle money for the right horse. Ok off my soap box!

Amy said...

I also wanted to add that I don't think the farm you picked out is half as bad as you are making them out to be. That Jr. Stallion would have only been 2 when that picture was taken, he easily could have been at a growth point that he was hip high. And for those of us that have horses that are bigger runners we have learned that you actually are faster if you do not hug the barrel at any point. You save more time by keeping the forward motion and making a larger turn then by slowing up and hugging that barrel on the way out.

ShameintheHorseShowRing said...

BJS,

The videos are embedded, meaning they are hosted on another site that provides an embed code.

The photos are altered 10% and used for educational purposes.

I'm not a judge.

You've obviously bought the foaming mouth bullshit Miss RK3 is spouting. She's not only a poor parent but she's an idiot. I found her farm by searching for Frenchman's Gold, a barrel sire, and her site popped up as having a barrel stallion ( Or at least her definition of what one looks like)


Jean

ShameintheHorseShowRing said...

Amy,

Even as a two year old his neck is bad, and his gaskin is terrible. I can forgive a bit of downhill on a growing horse, but that much downhill, coupled with all the other flaws, means he needs to lose his balls.

Jean

AQHA Racer said...

Trojan Mouse, since you are so down on barrel racers, let's see a blog about what a proper barrel horse should look like. Put your "state champion" up. What group was the championship from? I am not impressed by the term "state champion" at all. I want to know what organization... NBHA, IBRA, 4H... what???? I know a girl that went around saying she had the 2nd fasted horse in the state... guess what... she was talking about a small club. Lots of BS being spouted around... I want to know what organization before I am impressed by you... And shame on you for picking on kids.

Anonymous said...

Why is it that barrel racing attracts young girls with parents who have no desire to protect them? It just baffles me.

Amy and BJS,

If you don't like the cussing, don't read the blog. A blog is place where a person can publicly speak their opinion however they want. The Internet itself is covered under the U.S.'s Freedom of Speech Act. She has every right to talk the way she feels. We all do. You just did by your comments.

As for "picking on kids," since it's mostly kids that barrel race and they look horrible doing it, what other example does she have? Plus, it is absolutely the parents' and "trainers'" faults that these children's lives are at stake. The parents should make the kids get riding lessons and wear helmets. If they have the money to put in the fees for a class, they have the money for lessons. If they don't have the money for lessons, then DON'T LET YOUR KID HAVE A HORSE. PERIOD.

TJM,

Hooray, now you'll get the barrel racers after you! I wonder if you'll get the 500+ comments you got from the Saddlebred post of them "defending" their crappy riding and poor training skills!

You made an excellent point about barrel horses, that the good ones should be "turned on" and "turned off." I see so many "ex"-barrel horses that are nutballs as soon as they see an arena. Same thing with mounted shooting horses. Plus those same horses that are nuts in arenas are the ones that have horrible arthritis, bone spurs, and all kinds of other problems

Can anyone tell me what does bench knees mean? I've never heard of that.

When we think about barrel racing we usually think about the greats like Charmayne James, Martha Josey, Brittany Pharr, Molly Powell and Dena Kirkpatrick. These women have made barrel racing a respectable sport. Sadly they are the minority.

Unfortunately, the good ones are in the minority no matter WHAT discipline it is. No one wants to work at perfection--they just want to do it, consequences be damned. In our I WANT IT NOW/NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND bullshit society, no one wants to work to really earn their place as a good rider, or good at anything, for that matter. But it's too HARD! As Tom Hanks said in A League of Their Own: "Of course it's hard. If it wasn't then everyone would be doing it. The hard is what makes it great."

Anonymous said...

GL,

How can the teeny pony have only a 4 second difference with the "bigger" guns?

As far as I understand (and someone correct me if I'm wrong), the distance between the barrels is made smaller in proportion to the animal running them. In essense, the VSE (very small equine--that's what they minis, ponies and donkeys in driving events) is running a pattern that is equivalent in distance if they were larger.

However, I did watch a small mini beat all of the horses in the cones competition at a driving event. The horse has to pull the cart between sets of cones in a pattern, and they couldn't touch the the cones. The distance between the cones is widened and shortened depending on the size of the cart going through, but the distance between each set isn't changed.

cattypex said...

I think she's picking more on the parents and instructors than the kids - which is entirely appropriate!!!!!

There was an article in Horse Illustrated lately that showed some good-looking barrel riding, and hammered home the point that your barrel horse should ALWAYS be under control.

I think we so many arm-flapping trainwrecks out there because of real ignorance. I think that these kids get into contesting because they think that all it takes is a fast horse etc. and they won't take lessons.

Like people think that having the fastest car will automaically win you a race. Um, no. A good driver is worth AT LEAST as much.

These kids have been told by somebody that "all contesting horses are crazy sumbitches." It's the same folks who tell them that "all Ayrabs are crazy" and "all Appaloosas will go blind."

And if you stick around a county fair and watch some of the contesting, you will find yourself cussing. You won't be able to help yourself.

stillhanging said...

Where on earth did you learn to judge conformation? (The RK3 stallion) The photo is not a professional photograph and you can see the horse is NOT standing up correctly! You are nothing but a loud, filthy mouth know-it-all, who really knows NOTHING!

I'm still laughing here, (shakes head).

Sam said...

I too would like to see your videos and pictures barrel racing, as well as those of your barrel horses. It would be interesting to see who exactly is giving out all of this expert advice, what exactly she rides (or rode in the past), and what exactly she has accomplished in the sport.

lilbaymare said...

THANK YOU! Ugh this is my major frustration with Barrel Racing in my area. I personally have a mare that has a need for speed naturally (tried her for pleasure and didn't work) and I can trust her with my life she is a very sane mare. So I like to take her to the occasional barrel show but the people that are there just make me want to leave 1) they think there amazing because they are there on there horse with three legs and 100 saddle that is missing pieces 2) there is the rider with the whacked out horse that hates barrel racing and almost goes over backwards before going into the ring 3) the crazy horse that goes in there with no control and uses 'whoa' to slow them up for the barrel 3) the over and under with spurs plus the consist asking for speed when the horse has no more...

basically... THANK YOU.

cattypex said...

OMG... here they are, katphoti!!!!!

Did you not read the part where she says UP FRONT:

"I’ll start off by making the statement that I know not all barrel racers are ignorant horse beating morons."

*sigh*

AND.... I'll DEFINITELY grant you that the sorrel stallion IS a proven producer with a good pedigree!!

But that palomino colt is... unfortunate. I hope he grows out of his downhill stage, but it doesn't look good for now. Plus he has those freaky blue zombie eyes.

I would NEVER post a photo of a friend riding like that Kendra girl. Not if I wanted her to stay my friend.

ShameintheHorseShowRing said...

Stillhanging,

It doesn't matter if the photograph of the palomino stud is professional ( although the one of the old stud is certainly a professional phot, it's signed) there is no denying he's downhill by a huge degree and he's bench kneed. That's what the little straight yellow lines tell us.

If you think having a neck come out of a horse's lower chest is fine the it's obvious who the person is that doesn't know anything about conformation.
Hint: it isn't me.

Jean

Anonymous said...

I know it, cattypex! We're in for a real treat! :)

I actually am a sucker for blue eyes, I hate to say.... Remember: American Indians believed that horses with blue eyes could see into the future or into your soul to help you heal yourself (depending on what tribe's belief you're subscribing to). I am wishing for at least one blue eye on my crazy-me-why-am-I-breeding-for-a-cross spotted gaited draft TWH/Percheron cross foal!

But I think the zombie blue eyes reference is pretty damn funny.... Wouldn't that make a great horse name? Zombie Blue Eyes!

BJS said...

my guess you are pretty young. I have sent your link to everyone I know an so far they all say you are a filthy mouthed mean spirited young lady. And If I was in your family I would be so ashamed, you are giving them a bad name. The only one ignorant is you. Do you even know the the lady as in have you ever met her an her daughter do you even know them? Or are you miffed she used a poem you I guess wrote, do you have a copy write on it? and do you know what slander is? And from what I see you know everything about everything. my guess you really have not done much in your life but whine. oh just so you know I do not know the people you are talking about or the kids. I am so glad you are not a judge I did miss read that. Thank God for that. have a great day..

ShameintheHorseShowRing said...

BJS,

Please don't show the world how ignorant some of the "i wanna be a cowgirl" people are.
I was born in 1960 and was competing in rodeos and speed events before most of the Barrel Horse World people were born.

Mrs. RK3 didn't steal anything I wrote, you have me confused with someone else. She's spouting lies now to cover the fact she's an idiot. It's not working because she got called out on it.

I don't have to know her personally, because I can see from the photos on her site that she knows nothing about conformation or training.

I'm glad you sent this link to everyone, because it increases traffic, which means more points for me.

Jean

Anonymous said...

Hey BJS, since you're obviously such an expert since you've decided to tell TJM off and that she doesn't know what she's doing, why haven't you offered a critique on what she's put up there? How come you're spending your time writing snarky comments instead of showing us good examples of how people are doing it right, perhaps including yourself? IF you're doing it right, that is--most likely you're just as bad a rider as the ones posted here and you don't like being forced to look in the mirror. Plus, you can't even read the posts correctly because you assumed she's a judge, young, and that she thinks ALL barrel racers are bad riders, when she clearly posted that she doesn't think that, and the first video is of some champion riders.

Way to go tattle to everyone else about her blog, by the way. You've proved to us that you're the young one who needs to learn how to act like an adult AND learn to read and write. Honey, ask your parents for some riding lessons and a really good quality horse and THEN come back here and talk.

Sam said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sam said...

Well, I didn't get to see any pictures, videos or accomplishments by 'Jean'. Darn. I didn't figure any existed, anyway. I think I'll move on and do something more constructive with my time, outside with my horses, rather than sit around with you old bitties bitching about them and everyone else.

Have a fun being miserable!
:-)

Unknown said...

I understand having a personal opinion on what you feel is proper and correct in horses, training, and what a trainer should do or not do. But do you really have to be so ugly about it. You can make your comments and not put people down and then put people's children down for a picture that was taken. You should know as a parent and trainer(if you are either) that children can be taught many things but as children they are prone to not doing them to a perfectionist stand point. Just get off your high horse and if you have an opinion you would like to share can you make it, your opinion without putting people down. You don't have to make people feel or look bad just to make yourself feel better. Just write your opinion and move on.

cattypex said...

I dunno, if somebody bites me, I might bite back... ; )

Anyway, if somebody critiques *my* riding, I'm like, "Oh really?" and think about it objectively.

They're often right. And if I truly think they're wrong, I just.... ignore 'em!

Note that I haven't posted any photos of my riding anywhere on the Internet. Cuz I can't find any GOOD ones!!! My dad is a TERRIBLE photographer, and mainly has pictures of me collecting a ribbon or standing by my horse with a trophy, pudgy, hot and grubby, because I am a dirt magnet.

Soooo.... if you don't have good stuff, DON'T POST IT. Because you WILL be judged on what we can see.

Like at a horse show! Land sakes!

Trainer X said...

You know... I don't know much of anything about barrel racing, BUT I can tell you that I do NOT have tolerance for stupid people!!! Tying that girls feet to her stirrups?? No Helmets??? Sorry these parents and people get what they deserve...

photogchic said...

Watching that first clip reminds me of barrel racing when I was kid. There was a family that trained the ponies to run the patterns without riders. When they would get to shows, the ponies would be rearing before entering the ring...at the last second, they would plop on their kids and they would just hang on for dear life. They took home the blue ribbons every time...just thinking about them today still makes me angry.

Anonymous said...

Hey everyone,

I was responding to some idiodic replies on YouTube concerning the little girl riding the blue roan pony, and check out this video I ran across!

mini pole bending

No, she's not the best rider, but she's sitting in the saddle and *GASP* WEARING A HELMET!!! AMAZING! I put a big kudos comment on the video to her parents.

TJM: an idea for you. What about doing a post about videos of amateurs on YouTube that are actually doing a GOOD job? They may not be perfect, but you can at least see they're trying! Just an idea! :)

ShameintheHorseShowRing said...

Katphoti,

That is a great idea! I'll dig some up and post them.


Jean

sandmarc said...

OMG! How did that girl keep from falling off or getting thrown in front of the horn? I didn't ride that badly when I started.

And that Palomino stud needs to be a Palomino gelding ASAP!

Sloan said...

I run barrels. A lot of what you said is true. My friends and I complain about it all the time--over-whipping, kids with no helmets on mounts that are dangerous, drugging horses, injecting the hocks of lame horses, breeding crap... I'd love to have a cup of coffee with you sometime and vent!

Please don't get defensive but some of what you said is not completely true and you also didn't respond to some misconceptions. Like how someone thinks the little girl's feet were tied in the stirrups. I agree she shouldn't have been on that horse to begin with, but it looked to me like her foot got caught in the stirrup, not that it was tied in. IF her parents used rubber bands on her feet, which is common in the barrel racing world, it would have broke when she fell.

You're right about how the NFR riders start with good equitation and that's why they're winners. But when going around the barrels, their toes will be pointing down also. I bet you can find a close-up picture of Charmayne and you'll see her toes are down.

And honestly, even though my pet peeve is also how everyone breeds any old Rusty in the backyard, I think you were a little hard on that woman's horses. The first one looked beautiful to me. I actually thought you were showing a picture of what a barrel horse SHOULD look like. I didn't see a roman nose. I believe that was an optical illusion due to the white on his nose. And it's really hard to say if he's bench kneed or not because of the way he's standing. I bet he'd look a lot better if they made him step up.

The other one is just a two-year-old so you can't tell much at this point, especially from one photo.

This is a great idea, this blog, reporting on all the abuse. I love it! But think about whether it's a good idea to simply attack haphazardly. Find the real things. Believe me, there's plenty of pictures out there of poorly conformed barrel horses people are breeding!

A friend of mine who was having a conversation about politics and how people should respect each other even if they disagree, said to me, "I see no purpose whatever in antagonizing others--it surely doesn't win any converts or friends." I thought that was good advice.

Thanks for letting me put in my two cents.

Cut-N-Jump said...

First to clear up a misconception in the comments, no the barrels are not moved in closer for ponies. If there is only a 4 second difference the pony is just that fast. Some of them are.

Another misconception is children being better suited mounted on a pony. Not really. They are better suited mounted on a horse or pony who matches their ability. Size of the equine factors in under what the child is comfortable being on.

Katphoti- ever been to the barrel prctices at the local arena? Downright hairy scary at times. No EMT on hand either...

The sad part is most of them are so ignorant they wouldn't take free advice even if it made perfect sense.

The tack?It would easily rival anything on the walker world in relation to cruelty. In skilled hands it can be dangerous. In the hands of a child, well, do I really need to go there?

While working for the vet, we injected a large number of wannabe barrel racer horses. Hocks, knees and hips generally and often shoulders, coffin bones and bursa's. Several got what was referred to as "around the world" which meant everything got stuck.

Often the owners bragged it helped the horses times as they weren't sore while running. The drugs Masked it. Often the joints were breaking down over time. Sad really that the owners would rather shell out a few hundred $$$ to keep competing on the horse, rather than slow down, scale back or move on to another horse, retiring the last one they ruined.

The best line I heard was a guy whose daughter was running barrels on her $1500 trail horse. She was ready to move up. He was going to buy her a $5000. barrel horse. As if price was what moved you up in the ranks. Problem with a $5K barrel horse- everybody has one. You want to do well, you better be willing to learn How to ride and willing to plunk down a lot more cash.

Cut-N-Jump said...

Go lightly- barrels at the top levels like the NFR often turn in times of 15-16 seconds. The timer includes hundredths as well so times of 15.35 or 15.72 etc arehow they are announced.

A 5 second penalty is added for each barrel knocked down. So a time of 15.47 becomes 20.47 for one barrel down. Often one barrel down is enough to keep you out of the money if the competition is strong. What's behind the decimal is many times what decides who collects the checks at the pay window.

GoLightly said...

(falls down in shock)
Thank you, Queen CNJ.
A lack of knowledge does not imply stupidity. Who Knew! An actual answer.
One small step for ...
EducatioN. Something Sam seems pretty disinterested in. That scares me, a lot. Closing a mind's doors is a bad thing..

Walking a mile in someone's shoes is difficult, when you're shoeless.

Thanks again, I will keep my ever-so-unpoopular opinionated opinion where they should go.

My blog. I've learned ThaT much:)
Nope, no link, too old, too busy. I'm close,though. Just takes me a while. And yup, I retain surprisingly well. The relevant answers/pictures, anywho.

Thanks Carrie, and kat and all who are interested in answering/asking questions, instead of smackin' your head in disgust, at the know-nothing loser.
This happens in horses, a lot. It starts early.
WHY??
Sure as ShiT isn't beneficial
TO THE HORSES.
No-one answers ThaT one. It's a biggy. Well, SWA did.
Kudos!

Hugs CnJ. Hugs to you and your brood.
Times is tough, for us all.
To All of Us.
crap, I must do dishes.
And of course, my 'puter is just fine, because I gotta
Go,
Lightly.
(collapses in shock, again)
Bleedin' red-heads...

I KNEW it had to be designed to get the women out of the other pens..
ssssshhhhhhhh.

GoLightly said...

Oh, and JIC I came off sounding even more stupid than usual.
CnJ, I'm serious.
Thanks for answering.

To Horses.

Cut-N-Jump said...

GL- no problem. The upper level riders of which I speak and TJM does too, they ride wel l on well trained and well cared for horses. The no talent hacks and back yard screaming Suzies that ride like the one pictured so far out of the saddle, are the type who give the sport a black eye and bad publicity, all the way around.

We all know there are plenty across the board, in every breed, in every discipline. They often lack skill yalent amd commom sense. The only thing making it worse is when they have no desire to improve or change. This is the worst type as they won't quit, give up or realize the effects of their ways until either they or somebody else, gets seriously hurt. If it happens to be them, they often bear the scars as some sort of 'honor badge' and tell their glory story, rather than admit I fucked up. Igot hurt as a result.

These people scare me. For the sake of their horses, they scare the hell out of me. They ruin and destroy more horses mentally and physically then you can imagine.

I'm sure there are some good videos on Youtube showing the riders at events such as the NFR. Go take a peek. You may enjoy them.

And please drop the queen thing. Although I would like to think I would enjoy living in a castle, they tend to be drafty and lack indoor plumbing! They are also missing a few other creature comforts. Like hot water for bathing...

Cut-N-Jump said...

Go- the castle is somewhere in Ireland.

Like either of us would 'hate' living there!

GoLightly said...

No one answered Kat on bench knees!
(smacks head)
owww.
I believe that expression (at least in my old biddy days) means knees with cannon bones that cut back sharply below the knee.
Over at the knee is similar, but without the "narrowing" of the cannon bone below the knee..
Correct me if I'm wrong, PleasE?

I think the key phrase TJM uses is
"Those of us that actually train without gimmick bits and know how to sit on a horse in a manner that doesn't interfere with it will continued to be slammed by people who see the above stupidity as representative of the sport."

Hear, hear!

p.s. CnJ, finally, I've been wondering! I thought your castle looked familiar. It's JusT like the one I'm looking at, for a summer retreat.
:):):)

kgirl said...

For one, I commend this writer for expressing her opinions, and speaking up for what she believes in, despite the fact they may be wrong or created on a false bias. I feel badly that so many people will take the words of this lady as words from "God". I would like to ask each and everyone that has commented of half of the nonsense that this lady has written if you yourselves have taken the time to do the research before you expressed your opinions. I actually agree with some of the stuff that many of you have written, but I must say I disagree with alot of the opnions found on this site. First and foremost I would like to commment on her use of MRS. RK3's website. I find it exceptionally rude that you would attack one lady you have never met. If I can correctly recall do you not claim you are from Virginia, and then I know for a fact that MRS. RK3 is from Seguin, Texas. I find it hilarious that you would attack someone who you have never come into direcct contact with. And you did attack her language and her poor diction, but by using so many foul words in your blog you have greatly hindered your credibilty. Just because you feel comfortable with using profanity, there are many people that would prefer not to read such garbage. Many people, like myself can write an entire comment without using fould words as modifiers. This just helps to give us greater credibilty, and prove that we have a wider vocabulary which would allow us to replace your pathetic excuses for adjectives for real words that one can use to say the same thing and give the same connotations without being crude :) I would also like to point out that good grammar does not always make the person....Many well known, exceptionally smart people have horrible diction, spelling, and sentence structure. I would also like to address the use of A minors photo in your blog. I would first like to ask did you personally take the picture of MRS. RK3's daughter on her horse. Oh wait, you didn't, then how can you copywrite something you did not create????Furthermore if you are to copy pictures from other people's website you have NO RIGHT to copywrite those pictures because you were not the orginal sources of these pictures. And if you have not seen these horses in person how can you make such harse critiques? I have had personal contact with some of these horses and their offspring, and I would ask each and every one of you who have commented on these stallions to research some of the offspring and some facts before you comment so harshly on these horses....I find it rude and disrespectful that you will attack a little girl's riding ability without having actually seen her run(and im referring to the picture, not the youtube vidoes), you are basing your entire opinion on one picture....I loved how one of your bloggers brought up the point of Charmayne James and the pointed toes...each person will develope small habits when riding that aren't considered "ideal," but again it's not our right to judge them, and I am fairly certain that each one of the people that has commented on this page would have their own bad habits that we could all point out. Unless you are a FLAWLESS rider do not judge people that you have not met! And regarding the rubber bands, this is a common practice that many NFR riders use to keep themselves from sliding out of the stirrups, but if the rider was to fall out, the rubber bands would pop, and in no way endanger a person's life. I agree there are a bunch of ridiculous people who don't have the right to be calling themselves barrel racers, but it is not our right to judge these people or publicly humilate them...and addressing the concept of only a horse that is perfect conformationaly can run barrels is absurd. Has no one ever seen the gelding Scamper? Scamper was not built to be the ideal barrel horse, but as any good trainer would know its not just about conformation, it's about attitude, and heart. Which cannot be potrayed by ANY picture! I find it sad that so many people that have no knowledge of this industry or the people who participate in it can feel that they have the right to attack those who have been part of this industry for a long time. I hope that this comment will not be deleted, and I sincerely hope that many people will take the time to read this comment, and respond to it. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope that you will acknowlege some of my points in future comments.

kgirl said...

For one, I commend this writer for expressing her opinions, and speaking up for what she believes in, despite the fact they may be wrong or created on a false bias. I feel badly that so many people will take the words of this lady as words from "God". I would like to ask each and everyone that has commented of half of the nonsense that this lady has written if you yourselves have taken the time to do the research before you expressed your opinions. I actually agree with some of the stuff that many of you have written, but I must say I disagree with alot of the opnions found on this site. First and foremost I would like to commment on her use of MRS. RK3's website. I find it exceptionally rude that you would attack one lady you have never met. If I can correctly recall do you not claim you are from Virginia, and then I know for a fact that MRS. RK3 is from Seguin, Texas. I find it hilarious that you would attack someone who you have never come into direcct contact with. And you did attack her language and her poor diction, but by using so many foul words in your blog you have greatly hindered your credibilty. Just because you feel comfortable with using profanity, there are many people that would prefer not to read such garbage. Many people, like myself can write an entire comment without using fould words as modifiers. This just helps to give us greater credibilty, and prove that we have a wider vocabulary which would allow us to replace your pathetic excuses for adjectives for real words that one can use to say the same thing and give the same connotations without being crude :) I would also like to point out that good grammar does not always make the person....Many well known, exceptionally smart people have horrible diction, spelling, and sentence structure. I would also like to address the use of A minors photo in your blog. I would first like to ask did you personally take the picture of MRS. RK3's daughter on her horse. Oh wait, you didn't, then how can you copywrite something you did not create????Furthermore if you are to copy pictures from other people's website you have NO RIGHT to copywrite those pictures because you were not the orginal sources of these pictures. And if you have not seen these horses in person how can you make such harse critiques? I have had personal contact with some of these horses and their offspring, and I would ask each and every one of you who have commented on these stallions to research some of the offspring and some facts before you comment so harshly on these horses....I find it rude and disrespectful that you will attack a little girl's riding ability without having actually seen her run(and im referring to the picture, not the youtube vidoes), you are basing your entire opinion on one picture....I loved how one of your bloggers brought up the point of Charmayne James and the pointed toes...each person will develope small habits when riding that aren't considered "ideal," but again it's not our right to judge them, and I am fairly certain that each one of the people that has commented on this page would have their own bad habits that we could all point out. Unless you are a FLAWLESS rider do not judge people that you have not met! And regarding the rubber bands, this is a common practice that many NFR riders use to keep themselves from sliding out of the stirrups, but if the rider was to fall out, the rubber bands would pop, and in no way endanger a person's life. I agree there are a bunch of ridiculous people who don't have the right to be calling themselves barrel racers, but it is not our right to judge these people or publicly humilate them...and addressing the concept of only a horse that is perfect conformationaly can run barrels is absurd. Has no one ever seen the gelding Scamper? Scamper was not built to be the ideal barrel horse, but as any good trainer would know its not just about conformation, it's about attitude, and heart. Which cannot be potrayed by ANY picture! I find it sad that so many people that have no knowledge of this industry or the people who participate in it can feel that they have the right to attack those who have been part of this industry for a long time. I hope that this comment will not be deleted, and I sincerely hope that many people will take the time to read this comment, and respond to it. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope that you will acknowlege some of my points in future comments.

kgirl said...

i am hurt that you would call my mom a horrible parent...I am the other daughter of MRS. RK3 that you FAILED to mention..I don't ride horses much anymore, but I am VERY active in 4-H and many other associations. I am 17 years old, I am exceptionally smart having a 98 GPA, and testing within the top 10% of this nation. I also as a junior, and I already have approximatley $15,000 dollars in scholarships..I have traveled all over the nation with my showing career ( which has been very successful). I cried the first time I read your article bc you have no idea about my family dynamics, and you have never seen my sister run her horse...thats one pic and you have no right to judge...And my mom has supported me in everything my sister and I do, and just to let you know I my mom is not a failure, and I am proud to call her my mom. She has inspired me to plan on graduating from Texas A&M where I hope to have 4.0 and a double major in Agricultural Economics and Political Science and a Minor in Public Relations...I want to go in the political world, and I hope one day to make a difference in many people's life! I have a passion for agriculture, and I hope that I can help to touch many people's lifes. I FIND IT DISGUSTING HOW YOU COULD ATTACK A PERSON AND HER FAMILY THAT YOU HAVE NEVER MET!!!!

kgirl said...

sry i spelled lives wrong my fault!

SRACER said...

I just want to say "Oh My Good"!!!! This must be a full time job for you. Now if you really did your homework honestly about that stallion, you would know that that stallion produces WINNERS. End of story.

CHT said...

Bench kneed is a flaw that is viewable from the front NOT the side, so I think you have the term confused with something else. Possibly over at the knee? From the front, the cannon bone of a bench kneed horse will not come out of the center of the knee, but rather be off to the outside a bit. Often leads to splints on the inside of the leg. Keep in mind that some technical flaws do not interfere with performance. Some great race horses are over at the knee (which is the term I THINK you were looking for) Or maybe you were thinking Tied in at the knee?

I actually liked the chestnut stallion. not sure why a roman nose would be considered a flaw for a performance horse anyway...worried it would slow him down?

The blog was good until you worked to hard to make it about that one person/one website. Lost some credibility when it started to look like a vendetta.

I hope you go back to the good work you were doing previously and leave the vendettas alone.

Karen

Secerts said...

I just now came across this blog, and I have to say thanks for putting this on here. Most people think all barrel racers are idiots, when in truth with the people I show with we can all spot the wanabees right away. I'm only 16 but I gew up barrel racing in the NBHA, and my mom made sure I could ride right as well. It makes me sick to watch ppl just get on a horse and start running it through the barrels. no one gets how much time and training it takes to make a barrel horse. So thanks again for not assuming all barrel racers are idiots, like most blog writers. I think there's good and bad in every disapline.

margo, everlasting said...

I thank you for pointing this out. I hope that I am considered one of the not-so-stupid barrel racers out there. I have an appendix who isn't downhill, he's actually almost uphill, has really good legs, and as well as doing barrels and poles and being in the ribbons, he can place in a hunter class or go on an all-day trail ride- bareback to boot!

Unknown said...

Seems to me that Trojan mouse is just a sour old lady that likes to put herself up on a pedestal and badmouth fellow riders. Yes- there are barrel racers out there that aren't very good riders, but they're always going to be there so stop complaining, or offer riding lessons or something...eh?Swearing and whining won't get you anywhere in life!!!!

suckafree said...

at last a place where i can bitch with and be among like minded people! and laugh at the morons that contest this blog- ON THIS BLOG! HAHAHAHAHAHA! so i'm a barrel horse trainer now- after years of just KNOWING i would end up in the horse show world. i really enjoy it- mostly because it's really easy since most of my competitors can't fickin' ride. sometimes it's frustrating to watch- but that's why there's booze in the trailer for me. i'm not miss perfect and i'll thump a hoss occasionally. if you would like some more ammo- check out bucksandbarrelsranch.com i worked for that retard and broke and trained a whole mess of "pc shitstains" as we affectionately refer to that walking reproductive disaster. nothing sucks worse than a downhill horse right? now throw in pigeon breasted, backward knees, thick and short necked, zero withers, and NATURALLY OCCURRING SWAYBACK!! thankfully they all had "real good dispositions" ie: they can put up with barrel racers.
to this blog author: thank you for possessing the testicular fortitude to post this, you have given me strength!

Run Please said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Run Please said...

Suckafree you are my HHHEEERRROOINNNNEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!

HUUGSS!!!

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