to barrel race or not to??

Im not exactly sure where to put this so I guess it fits here. :]

This weekend my friend wants me to come with her to a rodeo and bring my horse.. she wants me to compete with her but I am not sure about it. I have owned Duke(the horse I will be riding) for three years. In those three years, we have maybe barrel raced 10 times(at home). Duke has been to a speed event show before but we did not compete.. He is 19 and a quarter horse, not sure if that matters..haha but to make a long story short.. I don't know if I should run him. If I do it will of course be for fun and it will only be one class.. But I have never been taught how to barrel race correctly. Im willing to try saturday but don't want to make a fool out of myself.. and be laughed at.. wow.. I sound like a young kid(no offence to anyone just saying).. I know Duke can do it.. he is willing to try anything I ask of him... do yall think it would be a good idea and learning experience?

We did do a mock barrel course today and he did great! Not too sure about me but he was awesome! A little too close to the barrels tho..

I am also considering just letting my friend(who barrel races alot) ride him and compete on him.. but I wana do it! Haha.. just scared of embarrassing myself I guess...

Any advice?

If you have done the pattern at home I wouldn't worry about it. Barrel racing is definitely one the easier western sports, but it is also one of the faster. That's the difficult part about it - controlling at high speeds. If it wasn't a speed event it would be easy as pie.

I would go for it. You never know if you never try. Trust me, NO ONE is going to run up to you and say "OMG you really suck" and besides, you won't do bad. I'm positive ^^

If you're not trying to do it more than just once for funzies, I say why not? You don't have to go hell bent around the barrels, but it could be a good experience for him (and you).

I say go for it. Maybe you'll decide you like it and learn how to do it properly :)

Hmm.. ok :] thanks girls for the advice! I guess I will try it and hope for the best.. haha.. now if I can just get duke to go fast but where I can actually turn him when I need to ^_^ haha

Another question.... say we both do love barrel racing after saturday and decide to train and do it once a month or so... would duke be too old to pick it back up?
Oh and before I owned duke, he did everything western, including barrel racing..

Why not? Go for it! No one will say anything if you don't finish with a perfect time, so don't worry about it. My friend who rides on the IEA team (English) convinced me to go to my first show (Western) next weekend. I'm nervous but excited! How 'bout neither of us worry about it, and we'll both be fine

Deffinately not to old he may need some supplements for his joints nd such but no he shouldnt be to old
At the ranch I rode at I was on a 20yr old tb mare who was blind nd still brought blues and theres also to arabian geldings in their late 20s who also bring blues in almost every event.
All three of those horses are still used and compete amazingly well none have artritis but all are on joint supplements nd grain for seniors

Think of it this way if you do badly, when you barrel race, you only have 20 seconds on average to think of what to do. Don't always blame yourself if you mess up.
Its a fast 20 seconds that go by quickly. I know from expierence.

That's a very good point, Bubbles. You are moving like a bullet and having to focus your energy and simultaneously steering with legs, seat, reins, and eyes. No one will care if you mess up.

Thanks everyone for the advice!! =]
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