Here is a great video from Winning Runs with Futurity trainer and multiple time National Finals Rodeo qualifier Danyelle Campbell.

Danyelle and Charlotte go through some of the bits Danyelle uses to run and train in, she talks briefly on martingales.
The preview then moves into a barrel racing exercise that she uses on her 2 year olds right up to her open and rodeo horses. It helps the horses stay open the rib cage and following their nose.

She will use her inside leg/foot to help the horse stay in a “C shape”, but she is careful not to keep constant pressure

Barrel Exercise -Circle Tires

on the reins. She wants them to stay in the C shape, bend by giving and taking the rein pressure so they stay in position on their own. Because this is a preview, you don’t see the complete drill, but we have it on our Barrel Racing Drills website

The video moves on to show how Danyelle keeps her horse working consistent as she demonstrates why she tries not to “pick a horse up” She wants her horses to round out as she pulls to her hip and have the horse step around the barrel. She finds if you pick a horse up you take the roundness and speed out of a turn.

For the complete Winning Runs Video you can pick it up at www.winningruns.com

For this particular barrel racing drills and over 80 more Check out www.barrelracingdrills.com

11 Time World Champion Barrel Racers Charmayne James has a lot to offer the barrel racing world.
I came across this video on Youtube that was taken at one of Charmayne’s Barrel Racing clinics. If you have watched her video and read her book like I have, you will appreciate this visual.

Part of Charmayne’s teaching uses 5 axis points around the barrel. She also really emphasizes looking over the outside ear on a horse going into the turn to locate those points while shifting your weight to the outside. The third thing she wants to see is a bent elbow through the turn as you lift and position your horse for the turn.

This is a long video, but it won’t cost you a time to catch a glimpse of this $600 clinic.

For more on Charmayne James and her clinics visit her website: www.CharmayneJames11.com She also has some other really great articles on there that have been featured in Barrel Horse News.

This is an excellent video from Ty Mitchell from the Josey Ranch Team of trainers. He talks about some of the things we can do as riders to prevent alleyway anxiety in our horses. He will demonstrate how to be prepared for different setups and still be successful.

Prevention really is the key and he talks about some of the strategies to do that. Every horse is a bit different so getting your game plan and strategy for the alleyway in mind in advance, is key. Being prepared in the alleyway is part of getting consistent.

The horses don’t necessarily know our names, but they certainly feel our nerves!

Ty suggests trying to channel any nervous energy you may have in a positive way.

If you’ve already got problems, you’ll want to watch right through to the end. Ty talks about what to do with horses that want to turn around and circle. He suggests you turn them the opposite of where they want to go, while keeping an eye on where you want to go (even if you aren’t facing that way). Your body will follow your eyes. Try and stay relaxed and ready to make a move.

He also suggests to use progression where you would walk, trot and lope into your run rather that blasting from a stop.

One barrel horse training exercise he likes to do is “Loping in the Hot Zone”. He suggests loping circles down at the stopping end, then walking through the pattern. Make him work where he feels the anxiety and continue loping until he starts to relax.

The Josey Ranch has a lot of great resources on Youtube and online and on their website www.BarrelRacers.com

Here is a great drill that Sue Smith (NFR Qualifier and Futurity Trainer) shared on her Spur UP – Sue Smith Facebook page.

The purpose of the drill is to get control of the horses shoulders. Sometimes a horse will “float” or drift in a turn where their shoulders are not following the inside rein pressure.

Sue teaches “separation” where she has the horse stop on the way into a turn and on the way out, giving the horse time to prepare and absorb the information give in the turn. Sue feels this helps the horse to soften and relax for the turn.

In this drill you will see the rider stops the horse before the barrel and counter bends the horse around the barrel pushing its shoulder in (which was wanting to drift/float). The second time the horse circles the barrel (not counter arced) it is more engaged in its hind end. She stops the horse on the way out before proceeding. This rider felt the horse drifting out on the way into second and quickly corrected it. You will hear Sue applaud her for her judgement there.

In Sue’s words:

The counter arc helps to drive the hip forward & down, “hooking” it to the front shoulder, this also “frees” the front end up, helps to elevate the shoulders and gives you rib control.

Thank you Sue for sharing this video with the public. You can find Sue online at www.SpurUP.com or find her fan page on Facebook.  Sue trains barrel horses, does barrel racing clinics and makes amazing tack.  Watch for her at the NFR!

Professional barrel racer and trainer Dena Kirkpatrick demonstrates how to get a great stop on a barrel horse.  She will start at a walk first, she will sit,  say whoa, make contact and have them take step back.  Dena emphasizes that you stop your horse in a straight line and to get out of their mouth (release) the moment they step back and give at their face.

Give this video a watch to get a visual of this great barrel racing tip from Dena Kirkpatrick

World Champion Barrel Racer and Olympic Gold Medalist Kappy Allen put together this video clinic.

The video demonstrates proper hand position and how it contributes to a happy, relaxed and focused horse with bend through the body. All these key factors result in a smooth run and FAST TIMES.

Kappy says “relaxed and fluid means consistent and fast”. The key to this is hand position and this all starts in the practice pen. We need to train our muscle memory so that in the run and at fast speeds we are in the proper position without having to think it through.

“Relaxation means bending through the entire body”. We want our horses to bend through the ribcage and remain relaxed while doing it. Proper hand position will contribute to this.

Kappy states that a horse that runs tight and tense is more likely to run choppy and take extra steps. A tense horse is also more likely to hit a barrel. To avoid this she feels we need to always be paying attention to where our hands are in the practice pen always working for a relaxed horse. This starts at a walk.

Watch this great video with barrel racing tips to learn how to achieve this. At the end of the video Kappy talks about different barrel racing bits and their uses.

For more on Kappy visit her YouTube channel or www.kappyallen.com

Here is a great barrel racing tips video from champion barrel racer Kay Blandford and Barrel Racing Buzz videos.

Kay offers so much insight and advice in this video you could watch it many times over and still pick up new tidbits.
She has a diagram of her barrel racing drill that she uses with four tires in a square and describes in detail how she works the drill to improve her barrel racing runs and to train on a young horse.

Give it watch and learn from this champion barrel racer. She’s great and shows so much passion for the sport!

Fallon Taylor offers several great free barrel racing videos with tips on YouTube. Here is one of her helpful videos that talks about how to deal with a barrel horse that has a tendency to shoulder the barrels.

In the video she focuses on the second barrel. The second barrel is the hardest turn because we have to make a full circle turn around it. One of the first problems she discusses at second barrel is when riders don’t finish their first barrel properly and end up moving their horses over too far and going into second on the wrong lead This in turn causes the horse to change its lead in a difficult position making him come out wide on the backside because he has to take his room there.

Fallon Taylor demonstrates a few solutions to shouldering including counter arcing the horse away from the barrel, then pushing him past the barrel following up with finishing the barrel.
Here is the video:

As the barrel racing tips video continues she demonstrates where she likes to rate and position her horse going into the barrel for the most efficient turns (she likes to be 4-6 feet out and rate and stop when her knee is at the barrel). Fallon talks about body and hand position too. She suggests you sit deep and being sure to not pick up too early on your horse.

The bit she mentions and shows at the end would be a good bit (as she suggests) to use on a horse that has a tendency to shoulder.

Sometimes when things go wrong with our horses we are quick to point the finger. “My horse keeps running on the wrong side of the barrel, My horse keeps hitting the barrel or My horse won’t do this, my horse won’t do that”.

Horse aren’t that smart, they don’t just run into things for no reason and they don’t think things through and decide to ruin your day. Horses get tired and sore, horses get scared and angry.. They will fight or flight. Meaning they may buck or kick up, tune you out or they may take off running (flight).

Most often it is us as riders that are not giving the right message to our horses. One extreme would be not giving them any guidance or leadership at all and they walk all over us or refuse to work. The other end of the spectrum would be “making” them do things instead of setting them up for success and asking them for what we are looking for. When we make them do something they don’t learn they just do it because they are scared or frustrated.

When your horse makes a mistake think about why they did what they did. What were you doing or not doing that prevented your horse from making the correct move. Were you giving them a conflicting message? Were you leaning to the inside? Kicking and pulling at the same time? Maybe you actually asked with your body and your horse listened even though in your head you meant to do something else?

Is YOUR body doing what your brain is trying to tell it? Maybe its YOU and not your horse making the mistakes.

Be aware of the messages you are sending to your horse and have some compassion for him if you are having an off day and perhaps sending some confusing messages to him. A horse can feel a fly land on him, he can surely feel your body off balance or horse leg bump him accidentally. We work to get our horses broke and soft, but the pitfall of that is that they listen better. This means we had better ride better!

Ride for your horse and be considerate and aware of the messages you send him (whether you mean to send them or not).

When you ride, ride with purpose. While you head out to catch your horse, while you are tacking up, think about your plan for the ride. In order to accomplish goals, you need a plan and parts of that plan are being executed with every ride. You don’t want to miss an opportunity to get closer to your goals by riding aimlessly.

Here is an example of how I might ride with purpose with one of my horses throughout the week.

Monday: Arena work. We will work the pattern with the purpose of keeping the horse free and moving smoothly around the barrels without anticipation.
Tuesday: Outside the arena. We will head out to the field to increase fitness and a “brain break” from the arena.
Wednesday: Outside the arena. Lets head to the hills to work on muscle building going up some hills a few times. We will do some perfect circles while we are out there too and work on staying supple in wide open spaces.
Thursday: Arena work. Set up drills. Will do circle tires drill to improve hip strength and bending.
Friday: etc, Saturday etc,

You get the picture – ride with purpose and know what your plan is for the ride. This way you aren’t out there just putting in time. You can get out there, ride with a plan in mind that is going to take you one step closer to achieving your goals and dreams.

You may find your rides are more successful and your horse appreciates your new “purpose driven rides”. Lay out the expectations for yourself and the horse and work towards making improvements throughout your ride.

It is not necessary to plan your week ahead, but it is important to ride with purpose each time if you want to progress towards your goals most efficiently.