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BLAZIN’ BARRELS KICKOFF WEEKEND SIZZLES…
The total cash payout for the weekend was an awesome $10,401.20 and there was another $1,500 in awards which were handed out! The Youth 4D, Senior 4D and Open 4D were all American West 4D sanctioned which made it even more beneficial for those AW4D members in attendance. There was a total of 394 competition runs during the two day event, and daily awards were given in the Open 4D. Lucky winners received goodies from donors such as: Bits N More, Classic Equine, Cowboy Magic, Justin Boot Company, Rainbow Path Ranch Products, The Equine Touch and Wrangler Jeans. To add even more excitement to the weekend, a random draw was performed each day out of the Open 4D contestants. The lucky winner won a gift certificate good for one pair of Justin Boots! Saturday’s winner was Kandy Hathcock and Sunday’s lucky contestant was Nathalie Bonnet. Don’t be sad if you didn’t win! We will be giving away two free pair of Justin Boots each weekend of the series – you could be next! Shining with beauty at the entry office were (no, not the secretaries) the Bob Berg buckles which were on display! After the first weekend of the series, Kathy Van’t Hul is in the lead for the 1D buckle, Carla Wakefield is ahead of Cindy Thompson by only 1 point for the 2D buckle, Kaycee Nelson and Janice VanGroningen are tied for the 3D buckle and Danielle Johnson and Kirsten Vohland are neck to neck for the 4D buckle. This year, not only do you accumulate points for placing 1st-5th in each division, but you also gain points just for entering. So, in the end, it could come down to who has attended the most races! For those of you who were unable to make it to the kickoff weekend, remember, you must enter 6 of the 8 Open 4D classes in order to qualify for the buckle. So, mark your calendars NOW for the remaining races to be held NOVEMBER 2 & 3, JANUARY 4 & 5 and MARCH 15 & 16 all at the Penrose Equestrian Center Indoor Heated Arena. There will be $200 added each day in the Open 4D, except for January when we will have $500 added each day in the Open 4D. The January 4 & 5 race will also be worth TRIPLE POINTS for all of those American West 4D contestants. Thank you to all of those who help make the TNT Events races a success! We couldn’t do it without you! We especially tip our hats to the sponsors for this series: Meek’s Rhinestone Ranch, Corona Light, The Midnight Rose Hotel & Casino, Hitchin’ Post Trailer Sales and The Lazy H Ranch. To catch up on all the latest TNT Events information, log on to their new web site, www.BarrelRacingNow.com, where you can find out about upcoming events, results, press releases, photos, links, polls and much more! If you have any questions or comments, you can call Nancy at 303-688-7777 or email her at Nancy@BarrelRacingNow.com. Keep blazin’ those barrel patterns until the next TNT Events production! |
The sun was warm and the times were hot at the
kickoff weekend for the Blazin’ Barrels Winter Buckle Series presented by
David and Windi Meek of The Rhinestone Ranch located in Peyton, Colorado.
October 19 & 20 was the first of four weekends for the series produced by
TNT Events at Penrose Equestrian Center in beautiful Colorado Springs,
Colorado. Local resident, Kathy Van’t Hul, was the hi-dollar winner of
the weekend, riding away with nearly $800! She was second in the Open 1D
both days and ran her fastest time of the weekend, a 14.87, to win the
WPRA Divisional Tour on Sunday. Kathy has had her 8-year-old Palamino
gelding, “Smooth As Doc”, for about 5 years. She has been riding her
whole life and trained “Sunny”, as she calls him, to run barrels. She
says, “I have never known a horse with such a courageous heart! He had a
rough start on life and really had to fight hard to survive. But, he has
always been very determined and tries his hardest at everything he does.”
She says that he also loves to run barrels. He squeals with delight and
shakes his head when it’s his time to shine. In fact, she doesn’t even
have to coax him into the trailer, he practically runs her over to get
in. We should all be so lucky to have a horse with determination and a
love of barrel racing! When we asked Kathy, a long-time participant of
the TNT Events barrel races, what keeps her coming back, she said, “Let me
see, Bob Berg Buckles!?! Actually it’s a combination of great ground,
nice payoffs and the positive attitude of the producers and staff.”
Although Kathy is going to be running for that Bob Berg Buckle, she told
us that she actually looks to her horse to see how often to go and how
many runs to make. She never wants to do more than that for which Sunny
is prepared. When she’s not busy running barrels, Kathy is busy training
young minds as the Principal of Beacon Elementary on Fort Carson. She
looks forward to attending the remaining 3 weekends of TNT Events, Blazin’
Barrels Winter Buckle Series and hopes to be wearing a new buckle when the
dust settles. 
