Birds of a Feather: Lydia Walker

In her free time, junior Lydia Walker participates in barrel racing events in rodeos across the state.

Q: What is barrel racing?

A: The best explanation of it is that I run around three barrels with my horse and try to do it in the least amount of time.

Q: What is your best time?

A: My best time is 15.9 seconds.

Q: How long have you been doing barrel racing?

A: I’ve been doing this for four years, and I plan to keep racing after high school. I also run poles and I’m starting to breakaway rope and goat tie.

Q: Have you ever won anything?

A: I’ve won five buckles for barrel racing so far.

Q: What kind of maintenance is involved with your racing horses?

A: You have to take care of your horses like you would any other athlete: feed them well; take care of their muscles, ligaments, and joints; and warm them up before a race, so they don’t pull anything.

Q: Can you tell me about your horse?

A: Altogether I have 10 horses. My barrel racing horse is named Laney. She’s a quarter horse and she’s seven years old.

Q: What inspired you to start barrel racing?

A: I’ve been riding for a while and always liked running. I used to watch barrel racing and thought it looked fun, so I tried it and loved it.

Q: Do you have any advice for younger kids that might want to get started barrel racing?

A: Barrel racing is hard to start up, so my biggest piece of advice would be: don’t give up because once you get started it’s really fun to do.

Q: What else do you do in your free time?

A: I’m in FFA and I really like to play softball, but I quit all sports to focus on barrel racing.

Q: Do you have any plans after high school?

A: I want to keep racing and hopefully join a rodeo team while I’m at college.