Athleticism Fuels Member’s Love for Barrel Racing
by Rita-Lyn Sanders, Director of Marketing and Communication
GRAND JUNCTION, COLO. - (May 8, 2024) The rider keeps her hands quiet and squeezes with her legs. Acknowledging the silent signal, the animal throws on the brakes, and her black body seems to defy gravity as she leans into the turn and skirts around the first of three barrels.
Barrel racing is all about connection, says Trista Linsacum. “We are very involved in getting our horse to move and giving them cues,” she explains. Linsacum, a Grand Valley Power member and barrel racer, has been focused on keeping her riding partner — Tyson — and herself healthy so they can enter the Colorado Stampede in Grand Junction over Memorial Day weekend.
A revival of a once popular Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association event held annually in Grand Junction, the Colorado Stampede is returning to the Mesa County Fairgrounds May 24-26. It will feature bull and bronc riding, steer wrestling and roping events, and barrel racing, among others. Laura Mendel, a GVP member who lives on the Grand Mesa, is managing the rodeo. She organized rodeos on the Front Range before moving to her grandmother’s homestead last year. Grand Valley Power is proud to sponsor the rodeo’s barrel racing event and is excited to support our community and rodeo competitors.
Linsacum remembers when her dad bought her mom a horse. The daughter of a United States Marine, she didn’t grow up in a rodeo family. She and her older sister spent a lot of time at the barn with their mom. When Linsacum started riding, she tried a variety of equestrian disciplines, from hunter and jumper to Western styles such as reigning and cutting. It didn’t take her long, though, to hone in on barrel racing. Linsacum loved to ride fast and she liked the adrenaline rush that came with the speed of racing around barrels. “While I was riding different disciplines to improve my horsemanship, I knew barrel racing was what I was going to stick with,” Linsacum says. She competed in her first amateur rodeo in high school and her first professional rodeo in her 20s. Over time, she has come to appreciate the bond between rider and steed. It’s a connection, a trust between athletes that transcends all else in the arena, she says.
During competition, Linsacum looks for and appreciates the athleticism of the animals. “They are athletes, too,” she says. “We ask them to do something that is not natural for them: run full speed then shut themselves down and turn a barrel, tight and efficient.”
Linsacum, who is also a wife and mother with three girls of her own, trains several days every week. She and Tyson engage in a variety of conditioning activities — including trails and hills — to keep the horse’s mind stimulated. Linsacum is hopeful they’ll be ready for rodeo season and to compete in the Colorado Stampede. “Success is different for everybody,” she says. “Sometimes it’s setting a goal to make a clean run and making that happen. Sometimes it’s placing in a go round. Sometimes it’s just showing up, staying confident, and competing against tough, strong women. It’s important to find what keeps you going and adds fuel to your fire.”
-Photo by Emily Prather of Hells Half Acre Photography.