The Business of Barrel Racing

Dr. Beau Whitaker specializes in Lameness and Sports Medicine, Equine Rehabilitation, Regenerative Medicine and Diagnostic Imaging at Brazos Valley Equine Hospital in Salado, TX. Brazos Valley Equine was onsite for the WPRA Finals and Dr. Whitaker agreed on an impromptu podcast interview to talk about pre-purchase exams.

I feel like a good pre-purchase exam is a non-negotiable part of buying a performance horse or any arena prospect. There is enough risk between the time you acquire a horse until the time they reach the arena that I try as hard as I can to start with a good clean slate. It’s an expense that I know I have to just eat if the horse doesn’t pass the exam, but in the end it’s going to be a lot cheaper than buying a horse that could fall apart or have an unforeseen issue in the future.

Maggie Poloncic rides one of the northern Great Plains’ up and coming equine superstars, “Puff,” aka Aint Seen Me Yet. While Puff is undoubtedly great, Maggie herself comes from creative beginnings, has an infectious personality, and has a talent for developing young horses.

Last week we finished up a series of interviews with folks involved in the breeding side of things, and this episode kicks off a few interviews with competitors.

You’re going to hear a brief rundown of Maggie’s horses, she has a neat palomino futurity entry and of course the famous “Puff” is running in the open. Most of this episode though is focused on one of my favorite topics, personal development and the mindset that it takes to achieve your own personal goals and greatness.

As Maggie rides one of the stallion, Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet’s, first and biggest rising stars (and also owns several more), we talk just a little on what Maggie thinks of this bloodline after riding several.

We also touch on Maggie’s start in this industry…We discuss how things that seem like overwhelming hurdles can turn into assets, how to handle negativity, and how Maggie has worked on her own methods for dealing with social media critics.

Maggie has some really great advice on how to learn from those who have found a lot of success in this industry. She takes advantage of the exhibitions at big events by taking the opportunity to watch other competitors and learn from how they work their horses prior to their run.

We also talk about how valuable basic horsemanship skills are and tips for reaching out and making connections.

We left Memphis before the first round of the open and are now laying over for a few days in Ardmore, Oklahoma, so this episode is coming to you a day or two late… Editing while driving on Arkansas roads is not very inefficient!

I had an awesome visit with Lisa Miladinovich and talked details of  the meteoric rise of her stallion and what it’s like in the trenches of not only standing a stallion, but doing it all in-house, on-site, hands-on. We discuss how mare owners can do their part to ensure success in the breeding shed and Lisa's perspective on incentives. Lisa also shares some pet peeves and frustrations as well as how to overcome common misconceptions and hurdles encountered in the world of reproduction.

The cat is out of the bag and my guest today, Lisa Miladinovich, has won the cover of the next Barrel Horse News with her stallion Ain’t Seen Nothin Yet. Actually after meeting this stud I think HE believes it’s the other way around, and Lisa belongs to him.

If you follow barrel racing at all you are probably well aware of the impact that Ain’t Seen Nothin Yet’s offspring are having on arena records and leaderboards.

• Ain’t Seen Me Yet and Maggie Poloncic were the leading 1D money earning horse and rider for 2020 and I’m constantly seeing five-figure payouts behind their names in results
• Amelia McCumber and Ain’t Seen Famous Yet who just topped $300,000 in earnings
• Promise Me Fame Guys formerly owned by Tenley Epperson and ridden by Sam Flannery who was tearing up the futurity world this year until the gelding was purchased by Teton Ridge and placed in Lisa Lockhart’s equine lineup.

Lisa just placed in two rounds and the average of the Badlands Circuit Finals riding Promise Me Fame Guys, and my money is on seeing that horse at the NFR here in the next few weeks.

I had an awesome visit with Lisa Miladinovich before I headed to Florida—more on that later—and talked details on the meteoric rise of her stud and what it’s like in the trenches of not only standing a stallion, but doing it all in-house, on-site, hands-on.

This is an extended interview with great information from start to finish. If you’re limited on time, I will put some chapter markers in the show notes which you can find at TheBusinessofBarrelRacing.com, just click on the latest episode on the website.

While you’re there please subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already. There are handy buttons to your podcast players of choice, everything from Apple Podcasts to Spotify, Audible, Stitcher, you name it. As I said, this is an extended interview, so let’s get right into it.

For today’s episode I sat down with Bill and Deb Myers. This is the second of a series of three interviews on the breeding side of things. When I’ve tried to think of who could I talk to that really knows how to make a living in the horse industry, Bill and Debbie are the first ones I think of. They started from scratch riding colts like a lot of us have, and they’ve built not only a financially successful operation, but they’ve really made an impact on the barrel racing and rodeo industries as a whole that will felt for decades. They haven’t just made a mark on the barrel racing world, they’ve developed one of the cornerstones on which many other programs have been built. They’ve actually made a difference.

Bill and Debbie were so generous with their time. They stand the following living stallions:

• Mr Sassy Frenchman
• Ima Special Kindaguy
• Cowboy’s Cartel  
• Lucky Wonder Horse  

For full show notes, visit https://thebusinessofbarrelracing.com 

We have an awesome interview with Alan Woodbury of Woodbury’s Performance Horses. He is the breeder and owner of the great Rosa’s Cantina currently being ridden by Lisa Lockhart. Lisa just qualified for her 15th NFR and Rosa was a big part of that effort. Woody also had two mares that went to the NFR in 2012, Dash Ta Vanila and Telle Em Belle. These two mares formed the foundation of Woody’s breeding program.

We also touch on the feeding of prospects and Woody’s opinion on some of his picks of sires in the industry. We hear what drives him nuts and the one contribution he still wants to make to the industry.

Full show notes at https://thebusinessofbarrelracing.com/Woodbury 

The Business of Barrel Racing is a podcast that will dissect the opportunities in the barrel racing industry, including breeding and prospect selection; training and campaigning; horse health and soundness; business principles and more.