Buckles and Barrels for Bailey: More Than Just a Barrel Race

One family turns tragedy into an opportunity to help others

South Point Equestrian Center in Las Vegas, Nevada will host the fourteenth annual Buckles and Barrels for Bailey August 30 - September 1, 2024. The race draws such an impressive crowd that it has to be limited to 700 contestants. In 2021, all of the stalls at South Point were sold out for the event and they have continued to sell out every year since.

In 2024, the race has $20,000 added each day to the Open 5D, along with Usher Brand saddles for the average winners in each division. With fun additions like a men's race, mares versus geldings sidepot, and a virtual race, there is something for everyone at this event.

What is unique about this exceptional barrel race is that 100% of the proceeds are donated to families with sick, injured, and terminally ill children.

The cause is personal for the family of baby Bailey Stevens, who was born on July 8, 2010, in Las Vegas. Her arrival was a bit early and she developed an intestinal infection, resulting in emergency surgery. The infant spent the next four months in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

During her stay in the NICU, Bailey's family had the idea of producing a charity barrel race to help other families in similar situations, as well as the doctors and nurses from the unit that had become their home. They began discussing the idea with the owners of South Point Hotel, Casino, and Equestrian Center, Michael and Paula Gaughan.

The Gaughan's donated the use of their facility in November 2011 for the first annual Buckles and Barrels for Bailey. Raising thousands of dollars that were donated to the very hospital that saved little Bailey's life, the event was able to pay for specialized training for NICU staff, equipment, and a new parent's room.

After this life-changing first experience, Bailey's family knew they wanted to keep helping others and created a 501c.3 to continue what they had started.

Tragically for the Stevens family, by age three and a half, Bailey seemed to be struggling. Multiple frustrating misdiagnosis led the family down a difficult path. After the Buckles and Barrels for Bailey event in September 2016, Bailey was admitted to UCLA Children's Hosptital and was diagnosed with a rare degenerative terminal illness, Battens Disease.

In a heartbreaking revelation, Bailey's family was told that she did not have much time left and her condition would deteriorate quickly. They began to research and learned of the Charlotte and Gwenyth Gray Foundation. With two daughters suffering from the same disease, the Gray family funded research for a clinical trial.

Bailey was admitted to the trial and was the fifth person in the United States to receive a gene transfer. While the goal was to stop the progression of the disease, it was only able to slow the damage. Precious little Bailey lost her fight with Battens Disease on October 4, 2021.

The Stevens family is committed to keeping Bailey's memory alive and helping other families faced with similar trials. Over the past fourteen years, the non-profit organization has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for families across the US and partnered with Ropin Dreams to maximize their impact.

We wish everyone luck at this event and extend our gratitude to Bailey's selfless family for all that they have done to make a difference in the lives of so many.