Posts tagged “Ladies Barrel Racing”

Barrel Racing at the Calgary Stampede

I had a chance to shoot the rodeo midweek for a little while. I was happy to catch the barrel racing as it’s one of my favorite events to photograph. With the rider and her horse leaning hard into the barrel turns, the dirt flies and the images can be amazing. When they make the last turn and takeoff for the finish line, there are few long shutter, motion blur opportunities that I enjoy more.

A cowgirl in a red shirt and cowboy hat riding a brown horse at high speed on a sandy surface.

Above Carlee Otero from Perrin, Texas sprints towards her winning time of 16.79 seconds on Day 6 of the 2026 Calgary Stampede Rodeo.

A rider in a cowboy hat competes on a light-colored horse during a rodeo event, kicking up dust on a dirt track.

Katelyn Scott from Odessa, Texas corners around the second barrel on her way to a 17.05 second run.

A rider on a brown horse competes in barrel racing, making a tight turn around a barrel marked with the Calgary Herald logo on a sandy track.
A rider in a turquoise shirt speeds on a chestnut horse across a sandy arena, captured in motion.

Jordan Driver from Garden City, Texas coming off the barrel in the first image and then racing to close out her run on Wednesday, July 8th in the image above.

A rodeo participant riding a horse around a barrel, showcasing western horsemanship skills.

Blake Molle from Chauvin, Alberta kicks her boot and stirrup over the barrel on a tight turn.

A cowboy riding a horse at full speed across a sandy arena.

July 10, 2026 | Categories: Alberta, long exposure, motion blur, Rodeo, Sports | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Calgary Stampede – Lindsay Sears tearing up the Ladies Barrel Racing on Day 7

Lindsay Sears is a local barrel racer from Nanton, Alberta.  She won the Barrel Racing event at the 2008 Calgary Stampede as well as being a two-time Barrel Racing World Champion (2008 and 2011).  The crowd went crazy when she raced today and it was well deserved.  She is the best in the sport right now and is rightfully the hometown favourite.

She has been getting faster with each day through the qualifiers at the 100th Calgary Stampede Rodeo this year.  She won the Thursday Group B qualifier, with a time of 17.62 seconds.  She is currently tied for 4th place in Group B with the last qualifier on Friday.  I would expect she will keep getting faster and should earn her spot in the Sunday finals without rolling the dice in the Wildcard Saturday event.  When the finals are run on the 15th, her track record would suggest it might be foolish to bet against her walking away the centennial champion.  I can’t wait for that race – good luck Lindsay!

July 13, 2012 | Categories: Alberta, Calgary, Rodeo, Sports | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment