LITTLE CURRENT—There is a lot more to winning barrel racing than going hellbent for leather through the course and National Barrel Horse Association racing champion and coach Laurie Fisher was holding court this past Saturday and Sunday at the horse ring in Little Current, taking Manitoulin Horse Club members from age 10 on up to… well, we don’t need to go there… through exercises aimed at helping them get the very best performance from their mounts.
Ms. Fisher’s workshop was hosted by the Manitoulin Horse Club (MHC) and such is her reputation as a coach and barrel racer that the weekend slots were filled in short order.
“We have riders from not only Manitoulin, but all across the North Shore and beyond,” said MHC director Kayla Jansen. “Laurie is an amazing coach.”
Ms. Jansen explained that, in addition to learning drills and skills, balance and horsemanship and ways to get their horse working around a barrel racing pattern, “it is not just about barrel racing, it’s about confidence and horsemanship for the horses, it’s about how to move body parts,” she said, “being able to maneuver their shoulders and hips while staying calm. Not just about how to push for the win, but how to make you and your horse a better team. These drills are lots of bending maneuvers and lots of halting. It’s amazing how slow you must go to get a really, good fast time in a barrel race.”
“Laurie is teaching where your body position should be, how to open doors to allow the horse’s body to move as they are going through the pattern and make the horses comfortable so competitions can be fun and not scary for the horse and rider.”
Some challenges in barrel racing can be overcome with some simple knowledge of horse psychology, for instance taking the horse into the chute and simply moving around in the space, rather than launching directly into a race around the barrels.
Horses can experience anxiety if they always associate going through the gates of chute at the start of the race. By becoming comfortable with the chute, the horse can be more relaxed and focussed when they are actually about to engage in a competition. If the horse is more relaxed, that allows the rider to also be more relaxed, and then both can become a better team and experience better results.
The MHC also held a barbecue and welcomed spectators and supporters to come out and help support the club.
