“Cowgirl positioning” Do they sell this stuff somewhere? I’ve been barrel racing now for about two or three months on somewhat of a regular basis and I have to admit we’ve been getting better. “Stuck” is a commonly used term for horse riders, especially those in training for barrel racing. It means that you get “stuck” in certain areas around the three barrel pattern. For Raven and I, it’s approaching the first, around the first, getting out of the first and so on until we’re headed for the third and then she has no problem heading home to the gate. This is where some cowgirl positioning is needed.

It’s messy, unruly and heck it’s sloppy. People from barrel racers of western New York were telling me to “just be sloppy.” For the last fifteen years I’ve been told to sit up straight and push my heels down as far as they can go. Pinched knees while riding was never an option because in an English saddle it causes you to be unsteady to say the least. Being sloppy was ironically hard to do. I actually had to think about being relaxed in my body, who does that? Sitting up was what came natural for me.

Hunched back and pinched knees were all I needed to have a whole new ride this past Tuesday at our weekly BRWNY fun night. I had a new strategy around my barrels and for once I was trying to put the wheels on Raven going in the gate. For months we were getting 20 and 21 seconds and I guess you could say we were stuck. We needed a new strategy. I was overly pleased with our 19.5 second barrel run and 28 second pole run. Thanks to cowgirl positioning, good friends with good advice and my talented mare, we are doing well and having the best of times just having fun.

Irving, New York

 

Attica, New York