Photo essay: Horses and their humans compete in the Ultimate Bayou Gold Barrel Race

By Eric J. Shelton | Originally published by Mississippi Today

Journee Herrington circled outside the arena at the Mississippi State Fairgrounds with her horse, Turbo, waiting for her turn to weave through the barrels and race against the clock. 

“I love barrel racing, and I love coming to Jackson,” said Journee, a 10-year-old from Natchez. “We’ve been doing barrel racing for a long time now.”

For Journee, the competition is about more than racing around barrels. 

“My brother died a couple of years ago, and that’s what makes me want to work harder,” she said. “I do this for him and God.”

She is one of many competitors who traveled to Jackson for the Ultimate Bayou Gold Barrel Race, a three-day competition running Thursday through Saturday at the Kirk Fordice Equine Center, a facility named for a former Mississippi governor who, himself, loved riding horses.

Riders from Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana and other states brought their horses to compete in an event that tests speed, timing and control as they race around a three-barrel pattern. 

The event, put on by Bayou Productions, is part of the larger competitive barrel-racing circuit and draws riders and horses from well beyond Mississippi. 

Journee’s father, Jeremis Herrington, has also connected her competition to her brother’s memory. After one of her runs, he wrote on social media that he saw “her big brother’s smile shining through her.”

Near the horse stalls, Dan Cattani and his 8-year-old daughter Leah Cattani, of Franklinton, Louisiana, gave their horse, Thunder, a wash before entering the arena to compete. Cattani watched and smiled as Leah moved around the stalls, tending to the horse with the familiarity of someone who has done it many times before. 

“I am so proud of her,” Cattani said. “She hasn’t gotten off the horse since I first put her on a pony with her riding instructor.”

Leah has been riding horses since she was 3 and competing in barrel racing since she was 5. Traveling to competitions has become part of the father and daughter’s life together. 

“We’ve been to more competitions than we can count,” Cattani said.

When Leah entered the arena, Cattani watched from behind the fencing, calling out as she and Thunder took off around the barrels. 

“It was awesome to see,” Cattani said after her run. “There is always something to learn from every run.”

Her first round took nearly 18 seconds. The time was less important to Cattani than what Leah could take away from the run. He told her she needed to pull Thunder’s head around the barrel faster to cut time. 

“It’s a learning experience for her, but we learn from every run,” he said. 

Leah offered a short assessment of her own. 

“This is so much fun,” she said. 

Dawn Hawkins traveled from Walker, Louisiana, to Jackson with her new horse, Baby, looking to see how they would measure up against some of the best barrel racers in the region. 

“The best of the best usually come here to Jackson,” Hawkins said. 

Baby had fewer than 10 runs under her belt when Hawkins brought her to the competition. The pair had a few mistakes during their first run, but Hawkins was already looking ahead to another chance.

“We had a few bobbles, but we will try again tomorrow,” she said. 

Asked what it feels like to compete, Hawkins described the connection between herself and her horse.

“It’s magic,” she said. “Taking a horse that didn’t know anything before and teaching it to run barrels. You’re asking a 1,200-pound animal underneath you to give everything it has to turn a barrel as fast as it can.”

That connection between riders and their horses was on display throughout the competition as they raced around the three-barrel pattern, chasing fractions of a second. 

Dust flew behind the horses as riders leaned into the turns, and an occasional cowboy hat flew off in the wind. Some riders celebrated their runs while others walked away disappointed. 

The announcers introduced each rider as live play-by-play echoed through the arena. After their runs, riders climbed off their horses, some wiping sweat from their brows before walking or trotting back toward the stalls to wait for another chance to beat their previous times. 

Before leaving the competition, Journee stood next to Turbo, gently petting her horse as riders continued to prepare for their runs. 

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This article was originally published by Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Source: Original Article