Breaking Down the Ds: Deciphering the Divisions in Barrel Racing
Barrel Racing has grown more and more popular every year. From peewee four-year-old to 75-year-old grandmas all wanting a chance to race around the cans. In a rodeo the goal is to be the fastest to get around all three barrels in a clover leaf pattern without knocking any over.
The fastest ten or so riders get paid the prize money in rodeos. Now in a jackpot, barrel race super show, open barrel race etc. where there are only barrel racers and no other events, the results are split into divisions. You will see a barrel race advertised as a 4D or 5D race, four divisions or five divisions, respectively. The race is run the same and all the results are put in order from fastest to slowest just like a rodeo but the payout is different.
Fastest times vary at different arenas because pattern sizes are changed to best fit that particular arena.
So for example, let's say the fastest time of the race was a 15.0 second run. The divisions are determined by half second splits of time. There for the winner of the 2D or second division, would be a 15.5. The 3D winner a 16.0 and so on. This was created to open up barrel racing to everyone and give beginners all the way to professionals a chance to compete together.
The splitting of the times based on the fastest rider is also beneficial when it comes to buying and selling barrel horses. When people are shopping for one they will know exactly what skill level a horse is because of the stats given. A horse advertised as “clocking one second off of Stevi Hilleman and Sherri Cervy in North Texas” would be a 3D horse.
The location also matters because some states and areas have a higher concentration of professional rodeo and futurity barrel racers. The divisional barrel races have opened up not only the chance for everyone to gain experience and a piece of the money pie but the opportunity to mingle with the greats.
I don’t know of any other sport that allows this.
Getting to compete next to your idol, see a great stallion run and pick him to be the sire of your next champion, meet a fellow competitor and them end up being your once in a lifetime best friend. It's all possible and even commonplace in this sport.
There are so many people involved in this sport and I truly believe so many of these connections are made possible because our sport is open to every skill level.
