Yee-haw! In about the time it takes to tie your shoes, Reghan Bollinger won a state championship. The 13-year-old is a barrel racer. Her 14.277-second run is sending her to this year’s National Barrel Horse Association World Championships.
Barrel racing is a rodeo event. Horses and riders race to complete a cloverleaf pattern around three large drums or barrels. The fastest time wins. Times depend on the horse’s speed and nimbleness as well as the rider’s handling.
It hasn’t always been all horses and barrels for Reghan. In 2013, she won an Illinois state champion title for goat tying. She’s also done some calf roping. But a few years ago, she started focusing on barrels. She was just 12 when she and her horse Redneck won the Illinois State Championship.
Someday, Reghan hopes to become a professional rodeo rider. “I get so much adrenaline from it,” the seventh-grader says. “If I have a good run, I come out shaking. I’m so happy.”
“She has no fear when she’s on a horse,” says Reghan’s mother, Kim. Mom isn’t quite there yet. “Sometimes I just close my eyes,” she admits.
Kim and Kyle Bollinger didn’t encourage their daughter to take up barrel racing. But they’re proud of Reghan’s accomplishments and determination. She works hard to keep fit. If someone isn’t in good shape, Reghan says it’s hard for the horse to perform. “You’re all over the saddle. It throws the horse off.”
Horses are part of Reghan’s heritage. Both of her parents ride. Years ago, Kyle also did some bull riding. Her brother, Brennon, is a calf roper. But Kim says it’s Reghan’s grandfather, Mike Stutz, who is the “old-school, true cowboy.” Stutz shares Reghan’s passion for horses.
“His family always had horses,” Kim recalls. “She gets her natural riding ability from him.”
Stutz gave his granddaughter her star horse, Redneck. Stutz originally bought the nine-year-old male for himself. At first, he feared the horse might be too much for Reghan. But she soon proved him wrong.
Now, Redneck is Reghan’s favorite of her five horses. “He’s superfast, has the best personality, and he’s so cute,” Reghan gushes.
Cute, maybe. But Redneck is also the nervous type. The horse shares a tendency toward pre-race jitters with its owner. “If my horse and I are by the arena, we both get nervous,” Reghan says. “If I’m nervous, it’s going to be a mess; if my horse is nervous, it’ll be a disaster.”
