COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — The prestige of the Pikes Peak or Bust NFR Open Rodeo brings in cowboys and cowgirls from across North America. For most, it is a very long haul where they have to consider the athlete animals they haul with them.
Super-size RVs are part of rodeo life. They are the homes for most cowboys and cowgirls through most of the year and the way they get their animals around.
Emily Beisel and her palomino mare, Chewy, ran at the Pikes Peak or Bust NFR Open last year and are back with champion goals.
"Chewy is gonna be awesome here. She went 2nd at this rodeo last year so we're hoping for a little redemption and maybe get that title," said Beisel.
Beisel is among the best. She has been to the National Finals Rodeo 7 times. A barrel racing run typically happens in 16 to 17 seconds. A win happens by a fraction of a second.
"Just by the blink of an eye. When you think about the difference between a 16.9 and a 17.0, I mean that's just a 10th of a second and that's literally as fast as you can blink," said Beisel.
To compete for seconds at this rodeo, Beisel hauled her horse for nearly 20 hours.
"I was in Calgary on Sunday, and so today is Tuesday, so it was quite a long drive. Canada is not close to Colorado, especially when you've got horses in tow," said Beisel.
All the competitors travel day after day, one rodeo to the next. More than simply getting to the next event, they have to consider the horses they haul.
"We let them off the trailer every couple hours, water them and give them a break," said Beisel.
Beisel says her horse's needs always come before her own.
"We just gotta make sure that when we get them here that they're still 100% because they are the equine athlete and it's very important to have them as competitive as this sport is. You and your horse need to be 100% in order to win," said Beisel.
One of the pluses with this rodeo is that competitors compete one day and then the next, which means they get to hang out a couple of days rather than their typical half-day stop before moving on.
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