LOCAL rider Kerrie Holder has placed runner up in the first division of the Australian Barrel Horse Association national finals, held in Tamworth on August 22-24.
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Kerrie finished the weekend with an average time of 17.484 on her first horse QXH Jazza Lena, leading eventual winner Nichole Fitzpatrick after her second run before Nichole put in the fastest time of the event.
Nichole finished with an average time of 17.346, beating Kerrie by .138 of a second- less than half the time it takes to blink.
Kerrie also placed fourth in the second division on her second horse Roc Solid, and Wagga rider Vicki Schiller won the third division with a time of 19.321.
The national meet also hosted the inaugural Patsie Holder Memorial Classic, named after Kerrie’s mother Patsie who passed away in May last year.
Patsie was an icon and ambassador for women in rodeo, serving as secretary of the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association and later the ABHA for many years.
Adele Edwards of Gundagai won this race and publicly thanked the Holder family on her Facebook page.
The weekend was the largest ever barrel race held in Australia, boasting over 300 competitors including a junior division, and $65 000 of cash and prizes awarded.
The sport requires racers to complete a clover leaf-pattern run around three barrels and is timed to the thousandth of a second by an electronic eye.
Different events may dictate single or multiple runs, and the national finals were based on the average time of two runs.
The fastest time of the event then marks the start of the first division, with as many divisions as needed dividing on one-second increments.
Local businesses Cootamundra Oilseeds, Weed Masters, and the Holder family’s 4H Ranch were all sponsors of the event.
Kerrie has also been selected to compete at the Equitana in Melbourne at the end of November, an invitational event for the top 26 riders in Australia.
