Gene Genies - Behind The Barrel Horse Breeds

As professional barrel-racing becomes increasingly lucrative, breeders add new tools and techniques to proven methods in their quest to produce agility and speed.

- Susan L. Ebert

When the curtains rise on the 2019 National Finals Rodeo this December at Las Vegas’ Thomas Mack Arena, the top barrel racers in the nation will be streaking around the cloverleaf on equine athletes that have been many generations in the making.

That wasn’t always the case.

When the Girls Rodeo Association formed in 1948—and for many years thereafter— cowgirls often competed in a variety of events, such as roping, cutting, and running barrels, all on the same mount. By the time the GPA changed its name to the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association in 1982, established barrel horse bloodlines were emerging, with top pedigrees often including AQHA Hall-of- Famers Leo and the Thoroughbred racehorse Three Bars—by then, sometimes four or five generations back.

Breeding horses specifically for barrel racing arguably reached its watershed moment in 1992 when the National Barrel Horse Association first established divisional barrel racing, opening the gates to riders and horses beyond those who could compete in the top levels. Around the same time, barrel horse futurities swelled in popularity—becoming more lucrative, as well— and provided a new springboard to launch a barrel horse’s career. In the decades to follow, breeding for the barrels would become increasingly sophisticated, increasingly lucrative, and increasingly competitive.

Any short list of barrel racing royalty would include Sun Frost among its luminaries: He sired Pro Rodeo Hall of Famer Kristie Peterson’s magnificent gelding French Flash Hawk (Bozo) that propelled her to four World Championships in the ’90s; Sherry Cervi’s PC Frenchmans Hayday (Dinero)—that sired Cervi’s MP Meter My Hay (Stingray) and Hailey Kinsel’s DM Sissy Hayday (Sister). Lisa Lockhart’s Rosas Cantina CC also traces back to Sun Frost on her dam’s side.