A mother and daughter from Bienfait each came away with saddles in their respective divisions at the end of the 2010 SEBS (Southeast Barrel Series) season. The SEBS uses the 3D system where three divisions are determined by one second time brackets.
For example, if the fastest run in the open division were 15:00 seconds, 1D would start at 15:00 seconds and go to 15.99; 2D would be 16:00 seconds to 16:99; and 3D from at 17:00 seconds and over.
The riders race in a number of events over the season, accumulating points, and then at the end of the year, they have what is called the "saddle series" where the winners of each division are awarded saddles.
Nina Lonsberry and her horse, "Ali Bubba" won the 2D series, while Lonsberry's daughter, Jordan and "Dezzi" came out on top in the 1D.
Lonsberry, who used to race years ago, just got back into it this year after a lengthy layoff. Her daughter, who has been competing for the past decade, and some of her friends convinced her to get back into racing.
"They said, 'Why don't you just come out and have fun?' So I pulled my horse off the pasture, and he's 14-years old, he's an old guy," she said. "He's a purebred Arabian, which is odd because everyone races quarter horses, and he was probably only ridden seven times in his entire life. "
Nevertheless, she started training with him, and he ended up being an excellent horse to compete with.
"I'm very competitive so I practised a lot before my first event, and I was almost throwing up because I didn't want to look like a fool," said Lonsberry. "I hadn't done this since I was 18, but I ended up winning the saddle at the end of the year so it's a crazy story."
According to Lonsberry, she didn't even realize she was in the running for a saddle and was "surprised" to find out she had won because she hadn't been paying attention to the point standings.
Jordan was however, but she wouldn't tell her mom just how well she was doing in fear that she would get too nervous before the final race.
"My daughter said to me at my last event, 'Don't tip a barrel, you cannot tip a barrel.' She only told me I was in the top 10, but I had no idea I was that close to winning anything," said Lonsberry. "I just go along and they tell me if I win or I lose."
Lonsberry says she has a theory as to why she and her daughter did so well this SEBS season; they try to ride everyday, and they train a little differently than other riders.
"We live on the edge of Bienfait, and there are hills right outside our property so we'll practise in the indoor arena one night, and the next night we go out trail riding and we climb hills," she said. "That builds muscles in the horses back-end, and I truly believe we do so well because we do that kind of thing."
