Canadian Barrel Racing & Rodeo News & Views

It was an exciting weekend at the Ponoka Ag Events Centre May 17th through 19th.   The first stop on the Canadian Barrel Futurities tour was a profitable stop for Alberta based trainer Rusty Quam.    Rusty ran two client owned horses to a short go qualification ending up first and second in the futurity average.     The winning horse was ALG I Got Dat Look owned by Lisa Groves.

-What is ALG I GOT DAT LOOK’s barn name?

Shadow

-How long have you been running barrels on her?

I put a couple months barrel work on her as a 3 yr old. Then had her again for a month last spring. She then came back to my house in Aug and has been there since then. She was running in the 1D in late dec. i put alot of foundation in my colts so i dont put alot of speed on right away.

-What is the training background on this horse?

She had 30 days before she came to my house the first time with Randy Christianson and then Aaron and Lisa rode her some at home after that.

- How would you describe this horses running style?

Shadow is very hooked on a barrel so she needs to be hustled through the whole run.

-What is it you like best about her?

The best part of Shadow is her aggressiveness and how gritty she is. Every run she tries her hardest. She has very fast feet which makes her quick in a turn. She is also very sensitive. She doesn’t like spurs or need to be woke up before her run. She is all business.

- Of the 3 runs you made on this horse, which was your favorite and why?

Probably our second run was the best or the smoothest anyway.

-How do you prepare for your runs (warm up etc.)?  Does this change having to make three runs in a short period of time?

My warm up on her consists of long trotting and some loping. I don’t do a lot or next to no bending. She needs to stay sharp in my hands and when i pull or bump she needs to react to it. If i do a lot of bending in my warm up they will sometimes get dull to it. Before the third run i set her down a couple times just to back her off the bit. She will sometimes get pushy.

-What kind of saddle and pad do you use?

I use a Martin Crown C with a 7 inch gullet on her and a best ever pad.

-What kind of bit do you use?

She runs in a twisted o ring snaffle.

-Are there any specific goals you set for yourself and your horse this season?

Its hard to set goals on 5 yr olds. They are just babies so i just try to keep their confidence high and keep them loving their job.

-If you were to share a futurity horses training tip what would it be?

I guess my training advice would be don’t just look at the colts futurity year, you have to look at the big picture and the years to come for that colt. If the pressure starts to get to them they need to be backed off even if they are winning. If your colt is confident in their job they will run for a long time.

Rusty has a few people she would like to thank an a bit more insight on the futurity game.

I need to Thank the people that believe in me to take their colts and futurity them. I’ve been very lucky over the years and this year again to ride some outstanding athletes!  Also have to Thank my Mom and Dad for all they do and especially need to Thank Dale. I’m gone a lot so if he is with me he is helping and if not he is looking after everything at home. I have a lot of support which is what makes it all happen because there are a lot of ups and downs in the futurity deal.

Check out one of Rusty’s runs and the Average results below.

The Classic Futurity Average :
35.104 ALG I GOT DAT LOOK ~ RUSTY RAE QUAM
35.493 KATS STOLI ~ RUSTY RAE QUAM
35.537 HOPES UNLEASHED ~ MARCI LAYE
35.549 GOOD LITTLE NICK ~ RAYEL LITTLE
35.595 REAL EASY OLIVIA ~ RAYLEE EDWARDS
35.684 PREPPIES LAST JUDGE ~ RENE LECLERQ
35.932 CUZ IM A ROCKET MAN ~ COULTER GOULD
35.714 ALG MAJOR FLIT BAR ~ COLBY GILBERT
36.188 SAVANNAH BLUE FAME ~ VERONICA SWALES
36.231 SOUTH DAKOTAS SECRET ~ RAYLEE EDWARDS
37.656 ADD A FIRST ~ KERRI BABCOOK
NT BLAZIN LITTLE MIXER ~ RAYEL LITTLE  (Barrels down)

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