Page 141 - May 2022

HOW CHALLENGING IS IT TO CONVERT A QUARTER HORSE FROM A TRADITIONAL RACER TO BARRELS?
“I think it would work for more people if they tried it. I think the one thing people would be surprised by, they are broke much different than you break a Thoroughbred. Most trainers start them under stock saddle. They ride them outside the round pen. They back. They have steering. A lot more training goes into them before they go under race tack. When you get them back off, it’s so easy to take them back to the basics, if you do it properly. I like to give
the horses I take 90 days to just be turned out and be a horse, come down off everything from the track and just learn to be a horse again. You bring them back, you start them in the round pen, those basics come back real quick. They know a lot of things already, so they’re used
to all the commotion on the backside of the racetrack. They know to move their feet and
go forward. Once you get those basics and you teach them to come off the bit and whoa, the pattern is nothing. Knowing how to run, to gather themselves and collectively run, it makes training so much easier. The breeding is so far advanced in racehorses, but in Quarter Horses, there’s still those old lines. ... You can’t compete at the top nowadays without those running lines. A lot of these top horses can make a mistake on a barrel pattern or take a bad step and because of their speed coming home, they can make it up.”
DO YOU PREFER TO WORK WITH RACEHORSES OFF THE TRACK OR HORSES HEADED STRAIGHT TO THE BARREL PEN?
“I prefer racehorses. Even at a young age they’ve done so much more. They’ve been hauled, they’ve seen crowds, they heard the noise and then they know how to drop the hammer and run. That’s a lot of skill that come in handy when you bring these horses to a rodeo or a barrel race. They’re not concerned. When you take a horse who’s not a racehorse, you have to teach the horse to run. That’s very difficult to do. It’s a challenge to get a horse that’s not running-bred to learn to run, and they have to be taught that.
FOR THE RACEHORSE JOCKEYS, THERE’S ALWAYS THE RISK OF MAJOR INJURIES. IS THERE THAT INJURY RISK THERE FOR WHAT YOU DO?
“Not to that caliber because obviously they’re running in groups and you’re dealing with nine other horses, and you run the possibility of getting under foot. There’s
a degree of danger. Most of the danger in barrel racing is the tight turns. Should the ground give out and they take a bad step, and
you go down. I see so many girls walk away from wrecks, and I go, how? If you’re going at that speed and take a bad turn, it can be a pretty serious wreck. Ground conditions are always a hot topic with barrel racers. They have a joke: if a barrel racer dies, you can’t bury her in the ground, because the ground won’t be good enough.”
DO YOU CUT WEIGHT LIKE THE QUARTER HORSE JOCKEYS DO?
“I can tell you it does make a difference
at different levels. The futurity riders, it has become so competitive. It’s not so much the weight but being an athlete the way a jockey is. They work out, they diet, they do everything.”
IS IT A DIFFERENT KIND OF ATHLETICISM?
“I think so. The jockeys are more worried about weight. Barrel racers are worried more about core strength and balance, so you can be with your horse through the turns. It happens so fast. A Quarter Horse race runs down the straight lane. Barrels, there’s so many things you have to do. You have to have good cardio, good core, and good timing is so important.
IS ATHLETICISM MORE IMPORTANT NOW?
“I think in the last 10 years it’s gotten to be very important. A lot of these girls have personal trainers. There are apps for your phone for a personal trainer to give you a program, watch your runs on the phone and tell you where you’re losing your balance.
It’s gotten very demanding. The good thing with barrel racing is there are so many levels. Everyone can enjoy it no matter the level you run at and run and pay well and win some great stuff. It may keep you from going to a certain level, but age doesn’t matter.”
DO YOU HAVE FAVORITE TRACK OR PLACE TO RUN?
“I got into the new incentives, so the Pink Buckle races are super exciting. And the Ruby Buckle. They’re new barrel racing incentives paying out half a million, a million. Those are very exciting. They’re regional, but I’m blessed enough that they have two at the Lazy E. That’s my territory so I don’t have to do a lot of hauling.”
WHAT’S LEFT ON YOUR BARREL RACING OR YOUR HORSE RACING BUCKET LIST?
“I’d like to get back into rodeo. I do open rodeos now. I’d like to make the circuit finals out here. I’d like to not only have a circuit qualifier in the Southeast, but I’d also like
to qualify in the Prairie circuit. And I hope
someday to have a couple more racehorses. I’d like to win a futurity or a big race and have
it be won under my name, not an assistant trainer. The biggest kick for me is finding these horses on the track, finding these barrel races to put them under. When they’re on the cover of a magazine, or they win a world title, and I picked that horse, I can’t say how proud that makes me. Maybe that horse wasn’t the fastest on the track. They can go to a home, win a title, win something for a family. There’s no better feeling because I know that horse has a forever home. That’s what I would like to do forever.”
THE BACKSIDE
LaVerne and This Bully Raps running in the WPRA Open 5D Jackpot.
Before running barrels, This Bully Raps made four starts on the track.
SPEEDHORSE May 2022 139
Courtesy LaVern Fein Courtesy LaVern Fein