Starting at noon on Sept. 22 at the Wycliffe Rodeo Grounds, the 30th Kootenay Barrel Racing Association (KBRA) sudden-death finals will take place.
The ladies of the KBRA have been working all year long in order to collect points by placing in different jackpot events at Wycliffe, Galloway and Idlewild. The day of the event there will be competition in several divisions: open, youth and peewee.
To compete in the event, riders must have a 2019 KBRA membership along with their membership forms and waivers available on the Kootenay Barrel Racing Facebook page. To qualify and race for prizes, open and youth divisions must have attended eight jackpot events per horse/rider combination. For peewee divisions that number is four.
In total, around 30 ladies from all over the Kootenay will compete. A concession, run by the 4H Club will be available, with money generated going towards the club, and the event is free for all to watch.
Carmel Danchella is one of the competitors and women on the committee who put on the event. She explained the finals are run by a committee of women, not just herself.
Danchella has been riding for most of her life but started out riding English.
“When I moved out to this area, there’s not a lot of English riding that goes on here, so I started barrel racing about three years ago,” Danchella said.
She picked up a horse in Salmo last year and trained her herself. She’s been competing with her since then running in a 2D pattern.