photo by: Amber Lemery

Mae Prouty riding Montana Flying Turbo on March 20, 2024, at the Douglas County Fairgrounds in Lawrence.

Lawrence sits at the center of one of the larger barrel horse racing associations in the country, and it’s easy to meet the riders and their horses at the Douglas County Fairgrounds.

The National Barrel Horse Association Kansas District 01 (NHBA KS01) is spread across 11 counties in northeast Kansas, and while races are held throughout the area, the Douglas County Fairgrounds offers a year-round riding experience with an indoor arena, right here in Lawrence.

But what is barrel racing? NBHA district director Melanie McKay said that it’s a lot simpler than it looks.

“You know, when people get nervous, I tell them, ‘Guys, we are riding farm animals around trash cans,’ and then it calms them down,” McKay said.

The race course is made of three 55-gallon barrels placed in a line. Racers take turns completing a clover pattern around the barrels as fast as possible, McKay said. Some courses are indoors; others are outdoors in an enclosed pen. Some are even in open fields, where part of the race is just finding the barrel.

“You’re going to see horses and riders of all ages, colors, and all speeds. You’re going to see, I would call it a friendly competition … The goal is tight corners and straight lines and just hope that your horse was fast that day,” McKay said.

photo by: Amber Lemery

Betsy Frazier riding Mags on Sept. 2, 2024, at DWN Cattle & Quarter Horses Arena in Spring Hill, Kansas.

Not all of the horses are asked to be fast, though. Some horses are meant to be reliable and even-tempered, as some of the Pee Wee League riders are quite young. McKay said her son started riding with help when he was just 1 year old, and has just started riding unassisted at age 5. In contrast, she said other riders are around 80 years old, and there’s every age in between. She said both men and women can compete in NBHA KS01.

“The Pee Wee horses are maybe my favorite thing to watch all day, because these are the old reliables that just take care of their kid, and that’s fun to watch,” McKay said.

The riders aren’t the only wide variety of personalities in the sport; the horses vary quite a lot, too. McKay said some horses are so gung-ho for the races, you had better get out of the way in order not to be run over. Other horses might be in it just for the attention and the chance to get petted by spectators.

photo by: Amber Lemery

Two girls riding around on Aug. 11, 2024, at Circleville Saddle Club in Circleville, Kansas.

“I try to set every horse up to be successful, and that’s the fun challenge of riding different horses, is that they all need something a little bit different,” McKay said. “I think when we let their personality shine, they’re a little bit more confident. They’re happier, and I think they perform better when they’re like that.”

Riders can often be seen at the Douglas County Fairgrounds, and McKay said that curious spectators shouldn’t hesitate to approach them. She said all someone has to do is find a horse’s owner for a chance to meet and pet one of the animals.

“We’ve got some horses that that’s kind of their highlight, to get petted by somebody that doesn’t see a horse every day. It’s important for us with horses to keep that in perspective, that we are very lucky to have these animals in our lives, and not everybody gets that opportunity,” McKay said.

By mid-November, the regular points portion of the barrel racing season had ended, and McKay has been calculating the season’s results so that the winners can get their payouts. Over $10,000 in awards has to be divided out.

She said that the points season is only a small portion of the NBHA’s run of races and activities. On Sunday, Nov. 24, McKay said she will be helping host the largest barrel race of the season.

Sunday’s race is equal parts sad and inspiring.

photo by: Amber Lemery

Christina Mann, Skyler Mann’s sister, running Lota Frenchlace on Sept. 2, 2024, at DWN Cattle & Quarter Horses Arena in Spring Hill.

The race is to benefit Skyler Mann, is a college-age member of the Colby, Kansas, rodeo team and a barrel racer. Mann has been diagnosed with brain cancer. McKay said that there were a lot of people in the community who wanted to hold a benefit event for Mann, and McKay jumped at the opportunity to help.

“Maybe the coolest thing about our western community is that when somebody has something happen like this, we jump in and put something on to support them to help with some bills and kind of show a little bit of love there,” McKay said.

She said the NBHA KS01 has held about three of these types of benefit races this year, but this one is set to be the biggest. In addition to the race, there is a silent auction, a bake sale and food vendors. She said an online auction ahead of the race has brought in over $13,000 with items that include stallion breeding opportunities and an African safari.

“Unfortunately, we are getting kind of good at benefit races. We’d like to take a break from it mainly because we’d like for everybody to be healthy,” McKay said.

Joining the barrel riding community as a spectator doesn’t cost anything. McKay said you can just find the NBHA KS01 on Facebook to find upcoming events, of which there are several in December. She said from the group, people can connect for different riding opportunities, including people who just want to give and take horse riding lessons.

She said no matter what your experience level or interest, the barrel riding community has a place for everyone, and although many of the races are for money, you’ll see everyone helping everyone.

Sunday’s races start at 9 a.m. and are expected to last through late afternoon to get through all of the hundreds of riders scheduled.

photo by: Amber Lemery

Three women stop to pose for a photo during a barrel race on March 20, 2024, at the Douglas County Fairgrounds in Lawrence.

photo by: Amber Lemery

Desiree Billings on March 30, 2024 at 2M Ranch in Tonganoxie.