Monday, Dec. 6

We’re now half-way through the 2010 NFR, and what an amazing performance it has been. Here are a few of the things that have surprised me so far:

—Defending world champion Brittany Pozzi has not won a round—or even earned a check—and is currently 9th in the Average and out of the money.

—Lisa Lockhart has already topped $50,000 in NFR earnings, the most of any barrel racer, on a horse she didn’t view as her primary mount.

—Three barrel racers have placed in four rounds—Lockhart, Jill Moody and NFR rookie Sydni Blanchard.

—Four barrel racers have placed in three rounds—Sherry Cervi, Lindsay Sears, NFR rookie Kelli Tolbert and Brenda Mays.

—Only six teams have yet to hit a barrel.

—Sydni Blanchard has moved up six places in the championship standings thanks to nearly $30,000 in NFR earnings.

—At least one NFR rookie has earned a check in each of the first five rounds—2 in the 1st, 1 in the 2nd, 3 in the 3rd, 3 in the 4th and 2 in the 5th.

—Five of the seven NFR rookies have earned at least one paycheck.

Hang on to your saddle horn because the next five days are going to be awesome.

I admit it. I did not grow up a horse person. In fact, before I started working for Barrel Horse News, I could count the number of encounters I’d had with horses on one hand. The first was as a high school student when I helped a friend try to gather up his yearling colt so he could give him de-worming meds—video of which I’m sure would be highly entertaining if it existed. The second was seeing the Budweiser Clydesdales up close when I was in college—which was very cool. The third I can credit to one of my closest friends, who introduced me to the horses at her family’s ranch in Oklahoma—and did her best to show me the overall awesomeness of horses.

So why did I take a job writing about horses if I knew almost nothing about them?

Because the more I found out about horses, and barrel racing, the more I understood I already knew more about it all than I realized. I understood the desire to compete. I understood that you could have a bond with an animal that could impact your entire life (mine just happened to come with a Siberian Husky named Morrison). And being a lifelong sports fan, I instantly saw why barrel racing appealed to both barrel racers and fans alike. There is intensity, drama, action. Anyone with a horse and a saddle can compete, and any team has the same chance to win as any other on any given day. Plus, it’s fast!

It didn’t take long as an outsider in this new world of barrel racing to see that there was something special going on, and the more I learned about the people and horses involved, the more I wanted to know.

I’ve learned more about horses and horse people in my time with BHN than I ever thought I would know—and I’m a better person for it. I see now what my friend meant about horses being possibly the coolest creatures on the planet. Their owners and riders aren’t half bad either!