Tuesday afternoon saw the pee wee barrel racers, children five to seven years old, out in their finest at the Saskatchewan Barrel Racing Association’s 2023 provincial championships.
A total of 38 pee wee riders competed in the event, with all riders revive a prize at the end of the two days of competition.
Here are some photos of Tuesday afternoon’s pee wee event. The per wees also competed on Monday afternoon.
Pee wee competitors are typically the children of competitive barrel riders who turn the provincials in Moose Jaw into a family holiday said Nicole Hicks one of the organizers of this years provincial championships.
“Lots of people turn this into their family holidays. They stay off site in a hotel where they go for meals and use the pool and the water slides,” Hicks said.
Offering pee wee and youth divisions at the provincial barrel racing championships allows the event to be a family affair.
If a child is able to ride safely on their own through the barrels they are welcome to do so she said but it’s no problem to have a parent help out.
The large crowd on hand for the pee wees’ is a good thing, Hicks said adding, “Yeah it’s important (to have fans in the stands). It’s important, it’s exciting and the kids enjoy it I’m sure.”
Asked about the number of pee wee competitors, she said “We usually have about 30 to 40 pee wees competing so it’s about average this year.”
This year there were 38 competitors in the pee wee division.
“So this is the only thing kids at the age of five, six or seven (years of age) can get you into the arena. This is there first start which is barrel racing.”
She said many of the boys who compete at barrel racing, go onto other rodeo sports.
“It’s pretty important we host Pee Wee each year and get them to have that opportunity,” Hicks said.
Although it might seem that Pee Wee was a way to develop future barrel, racing competitors, Hicks said that is not always the case and people have entered the sport as adults.
Hicks herself competed in the Pee Wee races as a youngster, but when asked if she would still enter the sport even without the young beginnings, she replied, “Probably.”
For Hicks, Pee Wee is more of a family thing.
If your mom and/or dad is a barrel racer, chances are you will have the opportunity as a five, six or seven year old to ride barrels in the arena.
It’s a tradition in barrel racing. That is likely not going to stop anytime soon.
All events are taking place indoors at the Golden Mile Arena on the Moose Jaw Exhibition Grounds (250 Thatcher Drive East)
Competition kicked off this morning at 8 AM with the Bonanza Horses - five, six and seven year old horses from Saskatchewan.
These horses are seen as the up-and-coming horses in the sport.
“They are the young horses and they are Saskatchewan bred only,” she said.
There were 51 horses entered in the Bonanza which will mean it should take just over an hour for the event.
Immediately following the Bonanza Horses, the second round of the Open Draw started.
The top times from the two days of competition advance to Thursday
Following the approximately five hours of Open competition, the Youth Short Go will take place to end the day.
Youth riders range in age from eight years old to 18 years of age.
Barrel Boosters
The 2023 provincial championships boast 80 to 100 more horses than last year, something which Hicks sees as a good indicator of continued growth and popularity in the sport.
Although the economic impact of the event is not fully known, an unofficial count was made on Sunday evening - after competitors arrived - and 1,400 people left in vehicles from the grounds. Since it was the evening before competitions, the likelihood of the majority of those people were going out to spend money in the community.
Although there is no accurate count in all likelihood, the Saskatchewan Barrel Racing Championships is economically the largest event putting money into the community that is held on the Moose Jaw Exhibition Grounds.
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