A professional working cow horse trainer was willing to brave turning a few barrels over the summer and fall. As a result, Alissa Mackay and her horse Nic won the first-place buckle in the premiere Brave barrel racing series at the Okotoks Agricultural Society outdoor arena. It’s getting the chance to turn barrels so close to her Millarville area home that meant so much to the champion. “This series it’s quite close to my heart because it is nice to compete against local girls and they (the ag society) did a really great job of keeping the arena very nice for our horses, which is beneficial,” said Mackay, an Oilfields High School grad. When you combine the words “local” and “barrel racing” in this neck of the woods, the outcome is “talented.” Longview’s Kendra Edey, a multiple CFR qualifier, took a few runs during the series. As did members of the well-known Shields family out of Cochrane. There were more than 300 runs made during the eight-week series among the approximately 80 competitors. The series was ideal for the talented, but not professional barrel racer Mackay. “I am not actually a barrel racer, I train working cow horses — so I jackpot (barrel race) on whatever cow-horse I am not showing that year,” said Mackay, who operates Mackay Performance Horses in the Millarville area. A working cow horse has to be smart, quick on his feet and get along with the rider. Kind of like Nic. “It’s nice to take a horse that wasn’t made by someone else on a barrel pattern and kind of do it myself,” Mackay said. “I absolutely enjoyed it, it’s nice to get out and do something different with your horse and be with great people.” It was familiar territory for Mackay. As a youth, she was a member of the 4-H Okotoks Outriders out of the Ag Society under the guidance of Jackie Miller. Giving Foothills area riders a chance to turn barrels and have a good old-fashioned chinwag is exactly why the series was started, said ag society president Dale Kakoschke. “There’s hundreds of ladies who drive around Alberta and Saskatchewan for rodeos and mini-series and I thought this was an opportunity to have something here,” he said. He said there were barrel racers in their teens to one racer who is 75. Nic will be back to the Ag grounds in the not-to-distant future. This time in his specialty. A working cow horse series will take place at the ag society indoor arena in the near future. For more information on the Okotoks Ag Society go to okotoksag.com
