Positive thinking works. If you believe you are a winner, you will be a winner. Being a winner doesn’t mean winning every time you enter, it means knowing that you are prepared, learning from each run to help you improve the next one, and being a gracious person, win or lose is what makes you a real winner.
The first thing you do when you arrive is to go to the office and check the running order. This is also the time to find out any special rules that apply at this barrel race. It is much easier to prepare for anything special at this point and not when they call your name. Walk around the arena, familiarize yourself with the entry gate and the warm up area. This will make you more comfortable in a new arena. This is no different from home once you know where everything is located.
Socialize only before the barrel race starts. Once it starts, focus on your run. Make your run in your mind the same as you have at home in practice. Relax, stay away from the gate until one or two runs before you are up. Have your horse warmed up properly. Be ready to run when your name is called. Know who you follow in order.
Once you enter the arena, take a deep breath and relax. This will keep your horse relaxed also. Line up for the first barrel the same as you do at home. Go and make your run and have fun.
Once you have completed your run, take care of your horse. Take him back to the trailer. Unsaddle if you are done. If you have to run again in less than an hour, take off the overreach and splint boots. In either case, give him a drink of water. After your horse is taken care of and cooled out, now it is time to go back and watch the rest of the barrel race. You can learn a lot from watching your competition. If someone has taken a video of your run, watch it while the run is fresh in your mind. There will be plenty of time to analyze it later.
If you have had a bad run, always remember, everyone has done the same thing, even the best in the world. By not letting that one run bother you, makes you a winner even for the day.
Until next month, God Bless and enjoy the process.