I've been horse crazy me whole life.  Grew up showing an arab at open and breed shows.  Branched into barrel racing in my early 20's. Finally followed my dream into the reining pen in my mid 40's while continuing to barrel race.  I've never been a top level competitor but was usually a solid 2D occasional mid/bottom 1D.  I'm now mid 50's and I just don't think I can do this thing called barrel racing anymore.  I never considered us to be poor, we farm, raise purebred cattle and live reasonably comfortably but I cannot ever justify spending $20,000 plus for a horse to compete on.  My dream horse (that should easily be a solid 1/2d horse with her bloodlines) I raised and had hoped would be my horse to barrel race on into my old age is struggling with soundness issue at 7 years old.  I'm now at a cross roads in life I feel.  I'm just not sure I want to keep spending money on injections, possible KS lg snip surgery and then the stress of how do I keep her in shape in Canada in the winter if I did do the surgery.  I've been casually looking at younger started prospects and I just can't justify $10,000 for a baby or yearling.  And with all the KS showing up it seems I can't afford to lose that kind of money.  So I'm sitting here wondering if my barrel racing days are over.  My 10 year old reiner is also struggling with soundness issues, we got through this year but spent a lot of money in vet bills to get through the season so I'm also contemplating my future with her.  I have a really nice 2 year old reining prospect that I thankfully was able to buy 2 years ago as a baby.  But seeing the price of a full sibling to her now advertised I'm like dang I got a deal and I guess I won't be buying another one.  This horse market is crazy and in a way its awesome if you are selling but looking to buy I suddenly am feeling like I'm in the low class income group because I can't pay those prices for something that is my hobby.  Am I the only one sitting here feeling like horses and competing have now become a luxury item for the elite?  I've always trained all my own horses, have never bought a finished horse in all my 56 years and I have no problem bringing a young one along but I can't seem to even afford one of those.  Ok having a pity party this morning.

Edited to add:  I've often bred mares I've competed on to studs I love to get my prospects but at my age if I bred next year I'm well into my 60's before i'd be competing on it and I fear if I get away from barrel competions for a few years at my age starting up again would just be too challenging. 

I can't imagine being "out" of horses but I am at that point. I was going to retire and start hauling seriously  again but it seems to be always something.  Now that I have my mare sound and looking to get my backup going it doesn't look like I can afford it or to retire.  My retirement and investments are not worth anything right now.  I feel your pain.

I feel this... I'm not a top competitor... not even really a decent weekend warrior either. I'm barely cracking 5D on my grade 14yr gelding that I bought as a finished head horse, turned barrel horse. I have enjoyed the process of patterning him and learning myself. But I feel guilty when I go to races, about throwing my money out the window driving down the road. If it weren't for my husband entering me in a few of the races I've gone to, I wouldn't go. I stay home with the kiddos and he makes a decent living to support us but by no means do we have all the extras. Most of the time I feel so outmatched... my horse is simple... no injections not really any extraordinary extras... I keep him in good condition and try to have a great feed program and good farrier. All I can really do. He tries his butt off for me and I have fun while we are actually running .... its a quick blip ... (well, quick for us) of a moment of feeling amazing and truly happy and I always tell him thanks for the ride buddy.... then it's back to reality... kids, bills, stress, etc etc. Lol! I appreciate the times I get to go ... but they are far and few in between. I have those moments after I pay bills and have to pay for feed or this and that where I'm just like.. this is crazy... trying to afford all this and for what??!  I see people running 5 to 8 high dollar fancy bred horses at these races ... I just couldn't imagine. 

I truly feel that barrel racing incentives have jacked the prices up and have really hurt the small breeder/stallion owner. What I do not understand is why people breed to these stallions in the incentive programs then don't pay to nominate the baby and want to sell it for $20,000 to 30,000. I have seen several horses are 3 year olds that are not paid into Pink Buckle, Ruby Buckle or both. If they aren't paid in by Dec of this year they cannot be enrolled. The late fee for them is $2000 for each. Ruby and Pink Buckle. Just because they are eligible for any incentive does not mean they are any better than any other horse. Individuals that have babies for sale seem to think they need to follow the big prices. I will also say that when you consider stud fees, shipping, and vet fees you have quite a bit tied up in your babies. My suggestion is if you like both horses continue with the injections. I had one that had Kissing spines and I rode him for years injecting his back. My vet was one of the top vets in the South and he did not recommend surgery at least for my horse. Getting his back injected wasn't too expensive. The other suggestion is decide which you like better and continue down that path. 

I think a lot of people are feeling this way right now. Especially the more weekend warriors. I dont know what I would do if something happened to my mare now because I could never afford these prices. I love bloodlines and love seeing the industry strive but I have zero interest in pink buckle, ruby buckle or any of the high stakes races down south. Just isnt my jam, I couldnt afford the time off work even if I did. I am curious if the prices will maintain. 

My nieces have recently saved up to buy their own horse (16 years old) and you cant find even a project which they, with the help of me is capable of finishing for anything decent. You are finding grade, 17 year old, sitting in grandpas back pasture, dont know a thing for $4500... I am curious how this will pan out and I will just keep praying my mare stays healthy and loving her job! 

I am always on the look out for back yard horses that look decent and have some talent but are not your 20-30K bred a certain way prospects. Just have to be patient. THose horses are out there. But the trruth is, horses are worth what someone will pay and they must be getting that kind of coin for them or they wouldn't be priced that way. 

Just another thing to add.  I was shopping for a prospect.  I found a few in my price range but then when I looked around for someone to start it for me I couldn't afford that end after buying the prospect.  I always started my own but I am in my late sixities and I don't hit the ground and bounce like I did when I was young.  I am not knocking the trainers for what they charge because they have to make a living too.

I'm in the same boat for the most part.  I'm not going to mortgage the farm in order to buy a horse.  I can't justify it and my husband is not even close to interested in that.  

I started riding on my own and I was 2 when I started tooling around by myself.  I had some excellent horses over the years, and I'm not 100% sure how my parents and grandparents paid for me to go up and down the road.  But we did it!  

I'll be 40 in a couple of weeks and the price of things is so expensive.   

Nate (my namesake) is about to be 28.   My other horse who my mom rides is going to be 21.    I had bought a prospect a couple years back and lets just say that did not go well and she's now a broodmare on someone elses farm.  To be honest, selling her sort of broke something in me anyways.  My dream was always take one from the ground up.  Needless to say, that didn't happen for several reasons. 

But it's just unfair that we have to sit here and whine to each other instead of whining to a new horse.

Same thing here. We put $60K into our rental property this year which took my breeding, show and new barn monies. I sold a nice horse but that still wasn't close to enough for the new barn. And I'm pretty tired of being weather dependent on vet and farrier visits without a barn. I can't remember the last time I had FUN barrel racing! I spent 2018 and 2019 rehabbing MY SI so I could even ride again. Then covid hit and we all know what that did to the show schedule. After spending all the money on the rental house I really looked at it and the neighborhood and wondered if I wouldn't be happier selling out and maybe keeping one or two and boarding them. But, I'm stuck with my dude Zan, and boarding a stallion (at the end of his racing career, he's turning 18 in 2022), and keeping one mare to race doesn't sound any more fun. Xena is making really really nice babies and I want to ride her long yearling, but that's how many years out? 4? 5? I don't ride them until they are broke broke now, and finished on the pattern and not too spooky about show sights. I want to breed my DTF mare and see what she throws but I'd be 65+ by the time that youngster was broke and on the pattern. I don't think I have the enthusiasm for that any more! I talked with someone who bowed out of the barrel horse world a few years ago. He spent the years after his daughter quit riding still owning and keeping one or two in shape. He said to just have your rider meet you at the shows and ride, but I don't think I'll be wanting to go to shows if I'm no longer riding? I'm an adrenaline junkie, a competitor at heart. 

I feel the same. I am lucky enough to have three young well-bred horses, but with the show prices rising in proportion to horse prices, it's becoming a rich man's game. It's sad. 

I am 70+. I raise my own horses because I like gentle horses. I worked my butt off teaching for 43 years. My husband died 20 years ago and left me with some large hospital bills. He didn't let me ride for 20 years. So after he died I bought a few horses. I have always trained my own horses but it sure is nice to be able to get on one that is really well trained. 45 years ago I decided I wanted to go to the AQHA world. I didn't get the chance until recently but with a trainer who goes prepared to win, she won one class and was 3rd in another. I have a total of 3 world champions in four different registries. I had a very savvy financial planner. I retired in 2003 but in Tx you can continue to teach so I did. I don't have anyone to leave anything to and I can't take it with me so I spend it on my horses. My tax accountant has a fit about how much I spend but what the heck.  I use my tax refund to buy my hay and pay breeding fees.  By the way, I still barrel race. As long as I can get on those suckers. Really, I started with a plan when I was in college

If you want to barrel race you can, all you need to do is decide at what level.  You can just start out trying to improve on your personal best.  If you like the barrel racing, you can enjoy it. 

I think half of the reason I have lost enjoyment in the sport is bad human transactions. If you breed to sell then you deal with stallion owners, breeding vets, normal vets, farriers, potential buyers. If you breed to train and either race yourself or sell, add in trainers to that list. That's a lot of human transactions. Along the years I've had to fire vets that were gouging me, trainers that starved my horses, trainers that weren't riding my horses (couldn't find their way to the first barrel at a trot after 9 months of training) or babies who can't walk a circle after 120 days at the colt breaker. I've dealt with some great stallion owners, and some really poopy ones. Ones so poopy that I wish I hadn't gone through with the breeding. I've had very poor to 0.0% live sperm arrive from the best stallion stations (meaning yet another cycle to wait, with all the related repeated fees), this is multiple times and many (MANY) thousands of dollars wasted. Trying to find a GOOD and RELIABLE farrier is almost impossible. No foot, no horse. My fast mare is so sensitive to bad angles that if she's just barely off on her feet she won't run a set. My farrier now is very average on the quality - BUT! He shows up every time, or if rescheduling is necessary is on that before the appointment is missed and is rescheduled in less than a week. So I've had to choose reliability in footcare and then wondering if Love will run any given pattern or if she's going to slam on the brakes at the first and tippy toe around the barrels. 

I don't mind spending 2D money for 3D runs, but I do mind spending 1D money and not getting good runs at all. I mind being ripped off. Contracts breached. Horses not being cared for when away from home at a trainers. That one is the worst and has seen me turn into a raging monster a time or two. DO NOT hurt my horses!! 

After enough really bad deals it sours the sport a bit no matter what level you and your horse/s run.

When my girlfriends told me how bad the prices were, I didn't believe them. I thought they were exaggerating. Then I needed a horse. There is no way I would pay some of those prices even if I had the money to blow on a hobby because first of all, I am just starting to ride again after breaking my back 5 years ago and even if I do get my sea legs back (it's really hard at 61-years-old!) I will be lucky if I do ANY barrel racing. I'll be happy if I can fart around at some local races and fun shows. So I just needed a good, all around, sound Quarter horse who could maybe run a little. Also, we all know how precarious their soundness is. ANYTHING can happen to any horse at any time whether he cost four grand or twenty-four grand. The idea of spending ten grand or more on a horse and knowing it's probably got SOMETHING wrong with it, lol, gave me agita. If you spend four grand and it turns out something is wrong with the horse, that's bad. But if you spend ten or fifteen or even twenty grand, that's REALLY BAD. So I kept looking. And I did get lucky and found something nice. Luckily for me, I was looking for a small horse (because of the back injury) and so this guy is really little. Also, he's green. And price reflected. One thing I wouldn't compromise on is it needed to be registered. I'm suspicious of those 17-year-old "grades" who look like they are bred to the gills but somehow have no papers. Meaning they are probably 24-year-old unsound and untraceable horses not unlike the three retired ones I already have and can't ride.  

Keep looking. I think the prices are going to come down. I kept looking because I decided not to give up on my dream, even if I had to tweak it a little, otherwise, it ocurred to me, I might as well start dying. 

I know if something happened to my horse (or my 2005 Chevy truck for that matter) lord knows when/if I would be able to barrel race again. I only paid 2K, 4 yrs ago, for the horse I am running now. She's a nicely broke (sidepass, counter arc all the stuff they are supposed to do) now 17 yr old grade paint mare. She is 3D on a good day but she gives me 110% and she sure is fun to ride. And she allowed me to gain my confidence back after health issues forced my abscence from barrel racing and riding in general.

Just hold on, just like in 2008 our economy is going to crash.  Then people will be dumping everything they can dump to pay bills.

I am so with you guys on this! I had the exact conversation with mu husband. If the horse I am running goes down or when she gets too old to run I am done for in this market. I purely run for the enjoyment of barrel racing. I am a solid 5D lol. I am 42 and won my first buckle 2 years ago, I do not have anything fancy horsewise but she is mine and I love her dearly. I take care of her. She is 13 and knock on wood had not had any major illness or injury so I am hoping to have several more years of running. I am glad I am not the only one that feels this way. Best of luck to all of you!!!!!

I am in the same boat and actually came on here today to see if there were any topics on this subject.  I have been barrel racing for 20 year and do it for fun.  I am not looking for a 1D horse but something I can have fun on and get into the 3D.   Something that rides decent at home and just nice to be around.  Its kind of sad because the whole reason the barrel racing got so big was when they implmented the 4D format and made it fun for everyone.  I can't find anything I like that is just broke and riding for less than 15K and I just cannot justify that.  I want everyone to make money but its getting a little crazy at this point.  I guess I will just hope mine holds out a few years and wait it out and see if prices come down at all.  I also think all the incentives are driving people to just those studs and I sure hope people remember to look outside the box some to keep that gene pool from getting too limited.  

I'm fortunate to be able to afford it but it is getting so expensive I'm contemplating getting out of it. When I look at how much $$$$$ I have invested in horses, saddles, truck, trailer, horse property, feed, vet care, farriers, and so on.......I ask myself am I really getting that much enjoyment out of it.   I could do a whole lot of other fun things with that money.  Someone close to me quit and they made a profound statement "it's a whole lot of time and work all week to go run for 15 seconds on the weekend".  It seems to be in a vicious cycle spinning upwards. The stallion owners have inflated their fees due to vets raising heir fees and all of the expensive incentives.  So it costs a fortune to get a colt on the ground. You can easily have $7500-10,000 in a newborn foal if everything goes right. That said, by the time they are riding you have $12-15,000 in them and they have not even seen the arena yet.  I don't have an answer but follow your heart and do what makes you happy. If it is too much of a burden, get out. Sell out while everthing is high because it looks like our economy should crash any day. When it does, people will be selling much cheaper to dump them.  In a way I think the Big $ incentives have hurt the industry more than help.  

Easy answer to that is I don't. I quit a few years ago due to my kids being so busy with their hobbies. Now one is graduated and the other is a junior in high school I thought about getting a new horse. Right now all I have is my almost 30 year old retired mare. After looking at things and cost I decided I'm good. I'd rather spend my money elsewhere and I've picked up way cheaper hobbies over the last couple years. It's not that I couldn't afford it if I really wanted to but I choose not to at this point in my life. I truly never thought I'd ever feel this way. 

I struggle with getting out of it too. Soooooooo much money tied up into paying for and maintaining the horses and equipment.

For the last 20 years I bought unstarted coming 2 year olds and did all the training myself.  A year and a half ago when I decided it was time to give my older gelding a break I started looking for a younger horse.  I knew I didnt' have the time nor do I bounce anymore to start 2 year olds.  I felt like I was going to have to look for someone else' problem horse and refit it but that was kind of okay too as that is what I grew up on. When I really started looking the only thing I found in my "real" price range were weanlings who were out of a mare and by a stud who was a cousin of a brother of an uncle to so and so if you get what I mean (again that didn't bother me, I've never had the money to worry about how a horse was bred anyway) or unstarted 3 year olds (typicAlly there is a reason they are unstarted and I think I mentioned I don't bounce so good anymore) or older horses needing quite a bit of maintenance ( I have those already so if I am going to pay for a lot of maintenance I'll pay for it for the ones that have already earned it for me) Anyway, that was quite an eye opener to what the market is for horses.  I had to go out of my real price range somewhat but also lucked into knowing a person that had a nice gelding whom she had for sale AND wanted to go to a home that would understand his simple quirks, nothing much really other than he wants you to ride him like he is an old broke ranch horse which took me a little longer than you would think it should, LOL!!!

As for the rest of it, I pretty well stay close to home, no 2 and 3 races unless they are in my "backyard" so I don't have the cost of stalls and hotels.  I ride my horses so save the cost of sending them to have them swam or on the eurociser walker thing.  I have an older truck that thankfully my BIL is a mechanic and he keeps on the road for me.  I don't go as much as I'd like to but that's okay.  I hate weeknight races during the winter anyway, I save those for summertime. Basically I will never run at the Extreme or at Pants on Fire or any of those big races, added money isn't what makes me enter a race anyway.  Being able to afford the entry with no expectation of winning anything back is my deciding factor, simple minded I know but it beats paying $650 in entries and needing to win 4+ to eat and feed my horses the rest of the month.  Maybe I'm okay with it because I traveled a bit as a gymnast and don't really feel the need to do that now as well as I suck at pulling in from a long weekend at 2 and 3 am and having to be at work by 8 am, LOL!!!

"it's a whole lot of time and work all week to go run for 15 seconds on the weekend".

I'm at that point too. I'm not even willing to drive more than 2 hours for a barrel race. It's so much time and money. I'd rather spend a day camping with our horses with friends than sitting at a horse show waiting for my few seconds of fame. Or sort. Found I really enjoy sorting. Although everyone is different. If I had a 1D horse, that time and money may be worthwhile! However, if I spend money on a 1D horse, I'd feel obligated to show and ride ALL the time. Yeah... I'll just keep my weekend trail rides, sorting and my local jackpots. Works for my lifestyle and my wallet. At the end of the day, everyone should do what makes them happy and just enjoy their horse.

I got out of horses about 10 years ago when I started college. Though I miss it sometimes, I'm kind of thankful to be out of it. We buried my horse in 2016, and my sister's horse in 2018,  and for the first time in 25 years, the family farm was (and still is) horse-less. Seeing the prices is a little shocking...the barrier for re-entry is pretty much impassable for me on my own.

Im not rich by any means, but I have a really good life. I've found other hobbies that have given me a lot of joy. I can travel with absolutely NO worries. I don't have to freeze my butt off to go out to feed. I'm not worried about soundness issues or other horsey health problems that cause so much heartache. Not to mention all the money saved and/or well spent on other things. I have a little house in town that is really low maintenance compared to the farm. I think my love of horses will be transferred to my niece when she is old enough. It will probably take a little from my entire family to make that happen, if it's possible. I hope it is. 

I haven't owned a horse since 2015 and question if I'll ever be able to again. We have the land, but will need a barn, fence, trailer.. We are in the process of starting to build our house and 12 weeks pregnant, so the purchase of diapers is over whelming enough

I just turned 40. I think for me I started losing interest in barrel racing a few years ago. I sold the gelding that I had bought to replace my mare so I could justify breeding her a few times. Then we moved, then moved again, I went to two races in 2019, the first one I knocked a barrel, the second I Came off. After that it just wasn't fun anymore. We moved again, then got custody of the nephews for a year, and with both of us working full time jobs and trying to deal with the mental anguish of the nephews and the one's suicide attempts, I sold my mare last year because I wasn't able to go ride and I didnt feel she should just sit at home. I still cry every day about that decision, especially now that we don't have the boys anymore. We sold the trailer before the horse so we could have a down payment for the house. My husband is pushing me to get back into horses and rodeoing again, shoot the non-horsey husband wants his own horse so he can learn how to ride and rope. He doesn't want me to barrel race anymore he would rather see me breakaway and team rope. I seriously don't see this happening before I'm 45. We are building lean toos this winter for storage and whenever we get animals again. With the price of horses and trailers right now, its absloutely crazy. I seen  20+ yr old trailer for sale for $45,000. Shoot the guy we sold our trailer to for $9500, turned around this year and sold it for $18k. I am kinda hoping the market crashes, but at the same time not. I would really like to see it even out for a while. 

I think some would sell their kidney to buy one lol....its crazy.   I found a reasonable 2 yr old filly I liked under 10K...some incentives but not the BIG ones...those are ridiculous.  And lets not mention how much it takes to put one in the incentive programs.. 

i had my mare bred this year. Paid the stud fee of $750.00 and that was dicounted from $1000.00. by the time i got all of the vet bills paid to culture, AI, and all the other extras that go with it, i have over $3000.00 in a $750.00 fee. i don't know how some people can breed mulitple mares at these costs. i have a decent job and my husband is retired and gets a pension, soon to get SS so we are doing ok, but man!!!

Don't let your age get in your way!  Age is a number and if you feel old you will be old....  I'm 69 and have a 2 coming 3 y/o that I'll be riding this coming year...

I'm hanging on to my current horse to try to make him and I into a good pair, because I sure as heck cant afford to replace him with something more finished. That's my dilemma. It "should" make me a better rider though...so maybe that's a blessing. lol

Interesting to see everyone's thoughts on this. I bred a mare of mine this year, because I wanted a younger prospect and couldnt justify the prices! It was more worth it to me to take a gamble and hopefully like what I get out of my mare. As stated above, it was still expensive to breed and we're only halfway to having one on the ground. But still cheaper than spending what this market is calling for! Helps too that I already have the mare sold, soon as the foal is weaned she will be gone. Definitely easy to downsize right now. I hope everyone finds happiness, no matter the path they choose! 

I just got a smoking deal on a nice stud in a stallion auction so I can raise my next prospect.  Otherwise even the stud fee & vet costs would have been a bit of a pinch for me.  I'm thankful I have a really nice mare that has good bloodlines.  But this is my hobby & I can't see spending 10k on a prospect.

Honestly, I think its a matter of shopping around and be willing to go to other states to look. When I went shopping for my mare before the market blew up, I shopped for 6 months over 6 different states.. took a plane ticket down to Oklahoma and shopped down there in Oklahoma and Texas to find my horse, within my price range. Finally found my mare..granted she has lines I have never heard of before(they are oldie but goodie lines) but she is honest, fast and loves running barrels, I really hope she will last a while before I have to go shopping again. Browsing just now I found a few 3-5-year-olds, decently bred for 6K or less. They are out there, you just need to find them. 

Honestly, I just do the best I can with what I have.  I was without horses for about 15 years.  I went to a barrel race saturday and had the best day ever with my (step)daughters.  I have a mare that is blind in one eye and she loped a clean pattern and I am ecstatic about it.  My paint mare needs an adjustment, so she just stood at the trailer and got brushed and braided by the horse crazy little girls.  My daughter had perfect exhibitions and her pony ran some laps around the arena during her open run. It happens - she was distraught at the time, but by the time I took her back to her mom sunday she is ready for the next one. LOL   I will probably never run at a big show like some of y'all, but I WILL go (within my budget) when I can and have fun. And I don't have to travel more than 30 minutes or so to find a race on any given day or weekend.

The mare that is blind in one eye was given to me by someone who couldn't afford to board her anymore.  My paint mare and my gelding I paid less than 1100 for each and my daughters pony is a free lease from a friend that outgrew her. so there are no popular bloodlines or anything like that.   

My horses keep the darkness of my depression and anxiety at bay and put a lightness in my heart and soul - that's what i'm here for.....

I think a lot of time we forget to have fun and enjoy our horses.  Cut back if we need too and have fun and not stress about it.  If I can't afford entry fees, we go on a nice trail ride and just have fun.

AWESOME!!!!

Best advice ever.

Exactly!!!  20 years ago I worked in the school system and had summers and long weekends and tons of vacation days so having 2 year olds was not a big deal, I had the time to put into them myself and have 3 pretty nice horses to show for that and spend a whopping 3700 total for them.  They aren't Pink Buckle or Ruby Buckle pedigree but I can't afford to go to those types of races anyway so big deal.  They are now older horses and 2 years ago when I started looking for a younger horse to ease into taking some of the work load off my now 20 year old gelding I was shocked to see what prices of horses are.  What I could find in my real budget was older horses that required quite a bit of maintenance or unstarted 2 and 3 year olds or some weanlings.  A) I have 3 older horse that require maintenance so if I'm paying for maintenance its going to be for the soldiers that already worked for me and B) I no longer have the job or the ability to physicAlly put enough rides on a 2 or 3 year old (I do not bounce well anymore) nor do I have 6-900 a month for training hence the reason I did it myself.  And all I have to say is thank the good Lord for people like Diane Guinn who are honest and also do their level best to put the horses she has for sale with people she feels will suite them or like in my case just straight up took pity on me and let me buy a gelding from her that she could have made another 5K easily on. 

Thank you for posting this thread.  I have felt these same things as you've posted.  I'm still able to go right now and have two decent horses that are both sound.  However, I've watched many of my friends get discouraged because of the expense and competition.  I put together a 6 weeks local series for those who can't complete with the "big dogs" anymore.  It was a 5D with .7 splits.  It was a hit. We ended up giving 5 Star pads out to each division winner.  I'm pasting in the overview of it in case anyone would like to do something like this in your area.  

Welcome Canchasin’ Association Alumni!
We’re going to try it again! Canchasin’ will be having a 6 weeks series beginning May
11, 2021 and continuing every Tuesday until the final day of June 15, 2021. All races
will be held at Cutter’s Corner (formerly Lazy D in Sapulpa). Details on start time,
entries, etc. will be posted soon.
With this series we will continue our tradition of having fun in a Christ-centered
atmosphere with a short devotion and prayer before starting the race. The race,
however, will be focused in a new direction. While we believe competition is relevant,
after all it IS a barrel RACE, we feel that there are many out there who have become
discouraged and given up or are thinking of giving up the thing that used to bring them
joy because the competition keeps getting tougher and the draw lists keep getting
longer. If you are a fellow or aspiring barrel racer that needs something more than a
playday but have been discouraged because age, health, job responsibilities, family
obligations, etc has taken precedence, this series might be for you!
? Races will be for MEMBERS ONLY. To become a member you must complete
an application and pay a $10 membership. The membership will be good for the
6 week series. NOTE-YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO FILL IN A MEMBERSHIP
AT THE BARREL RACE AND YOU CANNOT ENTER WITHOUT A
MEMBERSHIP.
? Former Canchasin’ Association members are encouraged to apply. Riders who
compete at a professional level will not be awarded membership. This is not to
discriminate but rather to provide a venue for those who are trying to get back in
the game. If you are a former Canchasin’ Association member and you can run
1D at most local barrel races, we welcome you. If you’ve taken it to the next
level and can compete with the “big dogs” we applaud you but we’d rather you
come enjoy our company and leave your horse at home! You have plenty of
venues in which you can attend and we will be cheering you on while we watch
from your sidelines!
? If you know of a barrel racer or aspiring barrel racer that needs the opportunity
this new format provides, please share! They do not have to be former
Canchasin’ members but will need to fit the parameters we’ve set for this series.
We do not plan on advertising this series on anything but the Canchasin’
Facebook page and “word of mouth” since it will be a members only series.
(Continued)
? If we have 30+ members we will run on a 5D format WITH A SEVEN TENTHS
SPLIT (.7). This allows a wider gap between the fastest horse and the start of
the 5th division.
Example:
5D Traditional .5 second split 5D Canchasin’ with .7
second split
1D-15.0 1D-15.0
2D-15.5 2D-15.7
3D-16.0 3D-16.4
4D-16.5 4D-17.1
5D-17.0= 2 seconds off fastest time 5D-17.8= 2.8 seconds off fastest time
? If we have less than 30 members we will run off a 3D format with full second
splits.
? We will not be guaranteeing any prizes, added money, etc*. Those who want to
join us will be doing so because they want a place to come enjoy Jesus, their
horses, fellow barrel racers, and a taste of the “good ol’ days”. *If our
membership size allows, we will have prizes.
Come enjoy the gifts God has blessed us with; horses, family, friends. Expect fun,
laughter, fellowship while we compete in the sport we love!