30 SIDELINES OCTOBER 2013
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
Continued on page 32
e
Dressage
By Lauren R. Giannini
Haley Patterson considers her family as funny, quirky and
entertaining as the reality television show,
Duck Dynasty
. They
run a boarding facility at their Good Thunder Farm in Ohio.
Her vet-father Bill plays polo. Her mother Kim does grand prix
dressage, coaches about 10 riders and enjoys reining. Haley, who
just turned 21 in July, competes in barrel racing on the Pro Rodeo
circuit in order to finance her dressage ambitions. She hopes to
move her dressage mount, Never Say Never, to grand prix in the
near future. She’s in her rookie year on the Pro Rodeo circuit.
“When I was 13, I met a girl who had a pony and I had a pony
and we decided to try barrel racing,” recalled Haley. “We started
going every weekend after that. But I was always into dressage,
long before barrel racing. I didn’t do Pony Club and I have never
jumped in my life. I do trail ride on both my dressage and barrel
racing horses.”
Barrel racing is a timed western event run against the clock over
a cloverleaf pattern. Placings are often determined by 1,000ths
of a second. On the Pro Rodeo circuit, knocking over a barrel
imposes a five-second penalty to your time, effectively dropping
you to the literal bottom of the barrel. On the National Barrel Horse
Association (NBHA) circuit, if you knock over a barrel, you are
Haley Patterson –
Barrel Racing & Dressage Maverick
disqualified for that round. Barrel racing is fast, exciting and quick
– 13 to 14 seconds being very fast. Enthusiasts call it “turn and
burn” for a reason.
“I have six barrel racing horses, ranging in age from two to 14,
in various stages of training,” Haley said. “To race, I’m on the
road just about every weekend. I had hoped to go to Dressage at
Devon this year, but it conflicted with racing and I really want to
qualify for the National Finals Rodeo in December.”
Barrel racing and dressage make Haley’s riding life interesting.
“It’s a constant battle to keep myself riding well and not go back
to the cowboy way when I do dressage,” she admitted. “I like
dressage because it gives me structure and keeps my riding
sharp. I like barrel racing because I’m really competitive, there’s
no judge – it’s just you and your horse against the timer. If I make
a mistake, it’s my fault. Barrel racing is about getting the job done.”
Haley, who takes online college courses for her business major,
rides five or six horses a day. She does dressage with her barrel
horses to get them supple, attentive to the aids and moving readily
off her leg. “I think all my barrel horses should be able to go in and
do a training or first level test,” she said. “Every horse is different
and I like to find out each one’s style.”
Her dressage horse Never Say Never pricks his ears any time
Val’s Alive and Haley “turn and burn” en route to a fourth place
finish in the State Finals in 2012. While barrel racing, Haley
wears an approved helmet by choice!
Photo by Brent Puhl Photography
Never Say Never (Hollywood) and Haley earned the Reserve
Championship Young Riders Prix St. Georges at the regionals in
2012.
