Barrel racing in Brazil
How would you feel if this was presented at your barrel races? 🤔
A few interesting facts about Brazilian barrel racing that you may not know.
1. At races all riders in the open classes must weigh 165 lbs (75 kg) or more. Rider and tack.Â
Youth classes have no weight limit and female classes AND RODEOS have a weight requirement of 143 lbs (65 kg) or more.Â
There is available here in Brazil weighted saddles and weighted saddle pads for those that don’t weigh enough and need to make the weight requirement.Â
2. At every race and rodeo there is a judge at the exit gate. All riders must exit the gate and get off the horse. Take off your bridle and show the horses bit to the judge where he makes sure there is no blood on it. The judge then also looks over your horse for injury or blood. If he finds any, you are immediately disqualified. Then you must weigh to make sure you are over the required weight limit - if you are not, you are disqualified.Â
It is also the judge that marks the barrels and measures the pattern. It is NEVER the contestants or the producer of the event.Â
And all judges are also veterinarians.Â
3. Rubber bands are totally banned. You can not use rubber bands on your feet at rodeos or open races. If you do, the judge will disqualify you.Â
4. All of our horses are microchipped. At races the judge also waves a scanner over your horse as soon as you are done running to confirm it is the horse you entered. Rodeos do not have this.Â
5. We have to pull blood on our horses every 60 days. Coggins and glanders testing is mandatory to travel. You must present these exames to your local federal ag agency and pay $35 to get a travel permit paper known as a GTA. At every race or rodeo when you arrive, as soon as your horse is unloaded a vet is there to check these papers and make sure they match the horse. You must then pay another $35 to $50 to get those papers back to go home. EVERY EVENT has this. So we budget $85 to $100 just for paperwork for each event.Â
If you are pulled over without all these documents your rig and horses can be impounded and it’s an $8000 Brazilian dollar fine.Â
6. Most large or important races do have drug testing. Sometimes they test the winners and sometimes it’s a random draw.
7. While in the arena you are not allowed to touch the horse in front of the saddle. So no slapping his shoulder while running home. And theoretically no petting your horse in front of the saddle until you have exited the arena.