A Need for Speed
A
schoolteacher and her halter-bred gelding win big at the NBHA
Florida State Finals.
By Tracy
Williams
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In
the more isolated areas of New Mexico, a state that has clung
to its Old West heritage, to be in the horse industry is to
barrel race. Nonetheless, I regarded the new discipline with
caution since my latest equine acquisition was an abuse case
and prone to panic. A casual observer at this backyard barrel
race, I hung by the fence debating the possibility of bringing
my sensitive gelding into the fray. In the still August heat,
horses’ hooves stirred clouds of dust that hung suspended
before clinging to the foaming lather collecting on nervous
withers. Children, legs barely straddling their prancing mounts,
clung to the saddle horns as they careened around the barrel
pattern, galloping for the finish in a way that spawned fear
they would crash headlong into the fence. Unconcerned parents
anxiously watched the time clock, ticking the chaotic seconds
down to a winner. I quickly disregarded this sport that seemed
likely to snap my horse’s thin grip on sanity, but I
little realized the depth of horsemanship demonstrated by
the sport’s true enthusiasts.
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Lisa
& “Charlie” are the 2007 Florida State NBHA
Open 1-D Champions. |
Because
of a thriving backyard circuit, barrel racing has earned an
ill-deserved reputation for being an out-of-control experience
requiring little more than a quick horse and a good saddle
horn to hang on to. However, in Lake City, Florida, miles
from my western playground, a young school teacher with an
excellent work ethic, a halter-bred gelding and a firm reliance
on the basics of good horsemanship has risen through the ranks
to excel in the upper crust of barrel racing.
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A
Simple Beginning
Despite possessing two parents who shied away from the horse
industry, Lisa Malphurs, a Florida native, began riding when
she was about five years old thanks to a grandfather who “always
had me up on a horse” and an aunt who dabbled in Western
Pleasure, English Equitation and Dressage. “My father
considers horses just ‘hay burners’, and while my
mom is supportive, she also has a healthy fear of horses,”
Lisa explains with a smile in her voice. However, under her
aunt’s guidance, Lisa enjoyed a gentle equine education,
punctuated with an adherence to the basic principles of good
horsemanship.
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To
keep Charlie mentally versatile, & fit for barrel racing,
Lisa works him at the long-trot, takes him on trail rides, and
even team ropes with him. |
But
it wasn’t until she earned her first horse that she delved
into barrel racing full throttle. Zotts Wondergirl was a former
barrel racer who had retired to broodmare status until Lisa
acquired her, and on this experienced beast, she learned to
race. “She taught me the ropes,” Lisa remembers
fondly. “She’d go into the arena, and I would just
hang on.” Buoyed by a supportive community, Lisa began
running the barrels and poles in local horse shows, but never
had one horse dominate…until now. While she has sporadically
trained a few horses for outside clients, she earns her income
in the teaching – not the equine – realm. “I
don’t want to have to ride someone else’s horses,”
she says. “I want to keep riding a hobby, something to
enjoy instead of a money maker.”
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From
Bronc to Barrels
Rulla Rebel, a 9-year-old, solid APHA gelding better known as
Charlie, has a glossy showroom quality that hearkens to roots
solidly steeped in the Halter discipline. Although his dam,
Valentines Breeze, had a brief – and unspectacular –
barrel racing career, she was primarily a broodmare, and his
sire, Technicolors Rebel, was a halter horse, a product of specific
halter horse bloodlines. Thus, Charlie’s pedigree did
not destine him to run barrels; furthermore, he was impeded
by an unruly nature, making him difficult to train to any purpose,
much less one he was not bred for. |
Lisa
credits her success to good solid horsemanship, and steady
unrushed training.
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As
a 3 year old, Charlie was described as “the bronciest
horse the trainer had ever seen in his life and the worst
3 year old he had ever ridden,” Lisa says. Fortunately
for Charlie, he was born to Sandy Woods, a strong, determined
woman who battled Charlie’s temper with the same tenacity
as she fought her own cancer struggle. Despite the trainer’s
opinion and chemotherapy treatments, Sandy rode Charlie off
and on until he was about 5 years old, when the reins fell
into Lisa’s hands. Lisa purchased Charlie from Sandy
and found a completely different animal: “He had come
a full circle; he was easy to work with and athletic,”
she remembers.
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Although Lisa readily gives credit to Sandy for Charlie’s
turn around in personality, much is also due to her steady and
unrushed barrel training. Although in barrel racing, speed is
key, Lisa refused to bypass the fundamentals to achieve that
end. “I let him work at his own pace,” she says.
“Soon, we were running 3 and 4D barrel races – not
bad for a former bronc! When he was about 8 years old, I started
putting some speed on him, and something just clicked.”
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With the foundation laid and speed gradually increasing, Lisa
decided to add a little finesse to her barrel runs. For this
it was Dodie Ralph who helped Lisa take Charlie to the next
level. “Dodie taught me how to keep his feet moving,
to stay balanced but keep momentum going – picky horsemanship,
the little things that take the seconds off,” she says.
And since they have fine-tuned their technique, Charlie and
Lisa keep fresh by training in different ways; long trotting,
trail riding and even roping with Lisa’s husband of
five years, Kurt. “Charlie is a good heading horse as
well, and he is one of those horses that loves cows,”
Lisa says. This approach keeps Charlie versatile mentally
– able to do more than simply sprint around barrels.
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| These
three women who created Charlie’s barrel racing persona,
have established a horse far from the speed junkies I witnessed
in the New Mexico backwoods. He epitomizes the best of the
sport. Until he enters the arena, Charlie is calm and collected;
he performs his task with a burst of speed and energy, then
leaves the arena with the same gravity as when he entered.
“After our first 1D division win, we put my friend Loretta’s
granddaughter on his back as soon as we left the arena,”
Lisa says. “He started walking really slowly, and we
thought ‘Oh he’s hurt!’ So, we took her
off his back, and he started walking just fine again. |
Charlie is
as calm & collected as a pleasure horse until he enters
the barrel arena. |
|
How many barrel horses are that sensitively calm after a run?”
His demeanor and work ethic contribute to his consistency.
Each time Lisa slides into the saddle, she can expect the
same type of performance from this horse who knows his job.
“Charlie has always been honest from day one, and that
just makes it so much fun to ride,” she says.
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A
Payout Well-Earned
“My mom always told me that hard work pays off,”
Lisa says, and the payout came during one of the biggest barrel
races in Florida, the National Barrel Horse Association State
Finals, this year held in Kissimmee. Seven hundred competitors
flooded the three day event, and the top 25 from each division
in rounds one and two vaulted to the finals. In Round 1, Lisa
and Charlie were second in the 2D; the second day, Round 2 of
competition, they were fourth in the 2D. These showings bumped
them into the finals where they seared the competition with
a winning time of 14.491 seconds. “I knew I had a really
good run; I came out of the arena and everyone was cheering,
but I didn’t think a 14.9 would win anything. (A fellow
competitor) corrected me with ‘No honey, you ran a 14.4!’
My mouth just dropped open. It was one of those moments you
just get chills all over you,” she remembers.
From this showing, Lisa has earned a wildcard spot at the NBHA
World Finals in Augusta, Georgia. It is her first time to earn
such an honor, and she will be accompanied by her best friend,
Loretta Dicks, who also has a first time wildcard spot at the
event. |
Ingredients
of a Winner |
| Lisa
feeds all her performance horses Seminole Feed: Perfect
10 to the majority and Grass Balancer Mineral to those
horses that live on summer pasture. “We were feeding
a 14 percent pelleted feed, and it was making the horses
really hyper,” Lisa says. |
 |
| A
worker at Bailey’s Feed Store suggested Seminole’s
Perfect 10 because it was 10 percent protein as well as
10 percent fat.“We switched to Perfect 10, and we’ve
been happy ever since,” she says. Recently at a
horse show sponsored by a feed company competitor, Lisa
was urged to switch her feed to the competition, but she
was not to be swayed. “Stick to what got you where
you are,” Kurt said. And they are. |
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Teacher of the Year
In addition to her barrel racing domination, Lisa, a third grade
teacher, earned an accolade for her dedication to her students.
Although she had previously earned teacher of the year honors
for another school, this time she not only was awarded Teacher
of the Year for her school, Columbia City Elementary, but also
for the entire Columbia County.“Lisa was selected by fellow
teachers in January 2007 because of her outstanding performance
as a classroom teacher,” says Lana Boone, principal of
Columbia City Elementary. “She is a wonderful teacher
who is full of enthusiasm. She is as full of energy and spunk
in the classroom as she is on horseback. She is a real leader
in the school, and on top of all that, she is a very humble
and caring person.” |
“The best reward of teaching is when you see a child’s
eyes sparkle when they finally understand,” Lisa says.
“Or when a parent grabs you at the end of the year and
says ‘Thank you. You made such a difference in my child’s
life.’”
With children as her passion, if she ever strays from third
grade, Lisa has considered becoming a riding teacher to change
the semi-tarnished reputation barrel racing has garnered thanks
to a small group of undisciplined riders. “I want to
introduce children to the sport of barrel racing the right
way by teaching horsemanship. The best riders draw on dressage,
draw on good riding principles – all this comes into
play. They are people who know horsemanship and have taken
time, dedication and patience to rise to the top.” With
a humility that makes her passion for this sport sincere,
Lisa has become one of barrel racing’s finest advocates. |
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Barrel Racing Basics |
|
Since barrel racing has become popular, the shows
are now designed to offer more people a chance to win
money, even if their runs aren’t necessarily the
fastest times of the day. This is accomplished by breaking
the field into four divisions. The first division (1D)
starts with the fastest time of the day; the second division
(2D) starts with the times ½ second off the fastest
time. The third division (3D) starts with the time 1 second
off the fastest time, and the fourth division (4D) starts
with the time 2 seconds off the fastest time. According
to this method, the winner of the second division technically
has a slower time than any of the horses in the first
division but still earns a spot in the payout. “Divisional
barrel racing gives all competitors - from beginners to
professionals, from youth to seniors - a chance to compete,
learn and succeed in barrel racing,” says the NBHA. |
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Tracy
Williams is a gradusate of Colorado State University
with degrees in Equine Science and Journalism. She is
a freelance writer and photographer living in New Mexico.
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