Eighteen year old Tomi Thomas says she could spend all day with horses and she wouldn’t be bored one bit. This is because she’s a hardcore competitor who has won a lot of barrel racing horses competitions at such a young age.

The Spring Hill native said that she started riding horses at the age of two. In the latter years, she started competing in events specifically in barrel racing.

As a clear proof of the 18-year old’s expertise in the field, she and her horse Junebug won a national title in the recently concluded Youth World Championships in Jackson, Mississippi which was organized by the National Barrel Horse Association. Thomas said it was her biggest title to date, having won huge cash prize money and champion jacket.

Her mother revealed that Tomi Thomas was named for her late father Tommy Thomas, who died before she was born. Barbara Thomas said that she worked two jobs in order to finance her daughter’s horse riding interests and she’s glad that her efforts paid off.

As for the young rider, the journey still continues with several tournaments lined up in the coming months.

Sixteen-year old Kortney Cleveland of Menifee County clinched the California High School Rodeo Association state barrel racing title held from June 16 to 21 at the Californian city of Bishop.

Barrel racing horses and the riders converged in this prestigious event. In the end, it was Cleveland who dominated overall at the finals with recorded time of 52.882 seconds for the three runs she conducted. She placed first in the two runs and third in the other.

In an interview, the young rider shared that it took a lot of effort on her end during training and she’s glad that it all paid off. Aside from her passion in barrel racing, she’s also an active student at the Calvary Chapel Murrieta High School where she’s currently on her junior year.

For winning the aforementioned event, Cleveland will take part at the National High School Rodeo Association (NHSRA) barrel racing finals from July 17 to 25 in Farmington, New Mexico where thousands of participants all over the country will converge and compete.

The top finalists in state competitions usually qualify for the national finals. Joining Cleveland are sisters Macy Devenport and Destri Devenport who clinched runner-up berths in the competition.

The championships for barrel racing horses have finally opened upon the arrival of the Washington Barrel Racing Association in the city on October 11, Saturday morning. The barrel racers were welcomed with a parade of horse trailers along with Washington’s most talented cowgirls.

The WBRA is this year’s host for the annual state championship for barrel racers. The championship took place at the ground of the Ritzville Rodeo for two days, October 11 and 12.

150 competitors converged on this year’s barrel racing horses’ championship and they faced each other head to head as all these competitors were ready to show off their skills in the said competition but this weekend was the most exciting as only those running for the top spots in their division were featured. Karla Gust, WBRA’s outgoing president and U.S. Bank Ritzville branch manager later confirmed that the event featured only the top riders in the state.

The first race for the 2009 season officially began on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. and the third race, also a part of the 2009 season race began the next day at 11 a.m. The best thing about this year’s event is that the admission to the entire barrel racing horses’ competition is free to the public.