Moran excels in barrel racing across the country

Savannah Moran, of Ripley, continues to climb further in her success in barrel racing across the country. The number of states she’s competed in has continued to expand; she’s participated in rodeos all along the east coast as well as everywhere in Ohio. She has surpassed the 50 mark in the amount of rodeos she’s participated over her barrel racing career. Starting eight years ago at the age of 10, Moran’s passion for barrel racing has only grown, and so has her skill.

Barrel racing is a thrilling, fast-paced event in which participants ride horses in a cloverleaf pattern around barrels. It is exclusively a woman’s sport; however, the youth of both sexes are welcome in amateur rodeos. It is a timed-event with placing correlated through the thousandth of a second between competitors. Horses enter the area at full speed, circling around the first barrel closest to them then curving left or right to loop the next barrel. After looping all three barrels to create the cloverleaf pattern, the horse heads to the finish line where the time is slammed to a halt. If any barrel is knocked down during the run, an additional five seconds is tacked onto the rider’s time. With the competition being judged down to a thousandth of a second, a whole five seconds is a massive weight on the rider’s finishing time. Coupled with the personal satisfaction and accomplishment of victory, winners also receive a cash prize. The riders and the horses aren’t the only ones who feel the adrenaline rush. Crowds linger at the edges of their seats with each passing fraction of time, hollering to cheer the competitors on. There’s mutual agreement that sports fans are just as passionate as those actually competing.

One would think that the speed of a horse is the key element to success in barrel racing. There’s more to it than that; horses must be kept in top condition mentally, physically, and athletically. While competing, horse and rider become a single unit by working perfectly in tandem with one another. Daily practice is necessary to build and maintain the bond between rider and horse. Moran rides mostly “finished horses,” meaning that the horses have already been trained to do their job. On the weekends, Moran keeps the horses at their best by trotting and riding them, sometimes around the barrel pattern. Spending ample time with them secures the relationship between Moran and her horses so the familiarity doesn’t dissipate.

Moran was introduced to barrel racing by one of her middle school teachers whose daughter was already participating in the sport. She tagged along with the teacher to watch the daughter compete and instantly fell in love with sport. After that, Moran was introduced to various connections who took her under their wing to learn barrel racing. Starting the sport at such a young age made it much easier for Moran to learn, since she had more flexibility with her time and schedule. Witnessing barrel racing for the first time drew Moran in, but once she began competing her passion ignited. In the heat of the small number of seconds Moran sprints into action, avid adrenaline accelerates throughout her veins. The feeling is blissful, comparable to the thrill felt when plummeting from a hill on a roller coaster. Not only does she adore the adrenaline rush, but she also enjoys reaching new milestones on her horses.

Barrel racing comes with its fair share of challenges. Moran’s greatest challenge in the past year was how her horses kept getting hurt or having different things wrong with them. She had to turn to borrowing horses, which complicated things as she had to get acquainted with an entirely new horse who rides different and doesn’t hold the same synchronization that Moran had already built up with her own horses. Over the course of 3 months, Moran rode six or seven different horses. It’s like she’s back at the beginning, having to experiment to learn what works for each horse through diverse setups 5 or 6 days a week. It’s an added challenge on top of the rodeos having different terrains and different pattern sizes to compete on, something she already always has to face when she uses her familiar horses. With the years of experience Moran has, she navigated the issues with diligence and skill. One of her horses hadn’t been rode over the past six months, having been hurt twice in two different months. Moran has just began riding that horse again. Currently, she cares for four horses while balancing school.

“There’s a lot of challenges that come with it. But I guess if you love it enough, you just kind of keep the challenges behind you and work towards better goals.” Moran said.

Moran’s devotion to the sport has brought her grand success, filling her with a humble sense of pride at what she’s achieved. She was inducted into the International Professional Rodeo Association (IPRA) in 2022, a huge honor for an individual so young and telling of how hard she has worked to earn it. She’s currently in contention for the “Rookie of the Year” title. Starting off the new 2023 year strong, Moran was also invited into the International Finals Rodeo (IFR) just this January. IFR invites the best of the best cowboys and cowgirls worldwide to compete for the champion title.

“It took a lot to get there. And it just felt like it really paid off once we got there.” Moran said.