South Dakota Barrel Racer Competes at Huge Texas Event

We've been following 16 year barrel racer Shelby Vinson and her quest to become one of the best barrel racers in the world. Shelby is from Sioux Falls, but this past week you would have found her competing in The Martha Josey Jr. World in Marshall, Texas. That's a long way to go, but when you want to be one of the best you have to travel!

Anyone who's followed rodeo or barrel racing has heard of Martha Josey. I remember reading about Josey in Western Horsemen and other magazines when I was growing up. Her name is synonymous with Barrel Racing. She was one of the best and now she spends time helping young barrel racers find their way in the sport.

• More on Shelby Vinson here!

Shelby recently traveled to Texas to take part in the Martha Josey Jr. World. Now, if you've been following the weather you know that parts of Texas have received copious amounts of rain in recent weeks. Shelby said it had rained 4 plus inches of rain during the week of the event, but they still had to water the arena. Seems the red dirt of Texas has to be quite wet to make for ideal conditions for barrel racing.

Speaking of conditions, Vinson said they still took the time to pack the arena after every two runs in order to give the contestants similar riding conditions.

Barrel Racing takes a lot of work and c ordination. Yes, it takes a fast horse, but unless horse and rider are on the same page times will be slow. Little things, little adjustments can make a huge difference in a run and the smallest change can make the difference of 1st and 10th place or not placing at all.

Shelby was excited to tell me about her weekend. She said the first day there were some hitches in the giddy-up, but on day two her 6 year old mare Fergie was firing on all cylinders. The video is a bit grainy, but you can get an idea of how fast she can be.

We'll be following Shelby Vinson throughout the year and keep you up to date on what she's up to and how she's doing.

By the way, her run on the second day put her in fourth place for the day. At an event with over  500 barrel racers, in the heart of barrel racing country, that's pretty darn good. We can't wait to hear what's next for Shelby!

Are you, or someone you know going all out in search of a goal or dream? If you are, I'd love to hear from you and what your story is. Maybe we could share it with our readers. Send them today to jdcollins@kikn.com.