Senior Brielle McIntire is all too familiar with saddles, spurs and dusty arenas. For the past ten years, she has been riding horses and eventually training them to barrel race and pole bend. Throughout that time, she has seen much success, especially with one of her horses named Katie, who won every single race she competed in.

“She was a wonderful horse and it makes me proud to hear that she has been very successful with her new owner,” McIntire said.

The horse she currently competes with, Bonita, is pregnant and her baby will be McIntire’s first horse to train with.

The barrel racing and pole bending events are both speed competitions that require intense practice and dedication, and McIntire typically has to prepare for her races on the weekends when she has more time. Practices usually consist of a warm-up and working on turns to make sure the horse is bending its body in the correct way. McIntire also has to work on timing to make sure the horse bends at the right moment and doesn’t knock the barrel down.

According to McIntire, her favorite aspect of barrel racing is going fast.

“I love that barrel racing gives me that adrenaline rush and how it builds up as me and my horse walk through the shoot and see the barrels ahead of us,”  she said. “If you’re not scared when you’re running toward the first barrel, then you aren’t going fast enough.”