The WRANGLER Horse and Rodeo News is an equine and rodeo publication with circulation in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota, Utah and Idaho.
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February, 2023 • The WRANGLER • 11 BARREL RACING retirement in the roping pen with Trent. Wargo started out riding mostly her own futurity colts with the help of her husband, who along with being a great horseman himself, is also a very talented farrier in many of the big reining barns in North Texas. With time their program evolved into taking a few outside horses for clients, and from there it just took off, creating the successful training business they have today in Collinsville, Texas. Everyone needs someone to learn from, and we are never done learning. "While I've been in Texas I have had a lot of different mentors, maybe not in the classical internship way like lots of girls do these days. But I spent a lot of time working for a snaffle bit and cow horse trainer," Wargo spoke of her past mentors, "and I would always spend a lot of time watching and studying the big name barrel racing trainers form the fence in the warm up pen. I was also very lucky to spend a lot of time riding with Latricia Duke and Jolene Montgomery early on during my career." Wargo is a firm believer in having mentors and people to learn from, people in your corner that will help you develop and improve your horsemanship in the saddle, and encourage you to be a better rider and horseman. "Some people are born with natural talent on the back of the horse, but the reality is that most of us have to learn how to be good, so if you're not studying the guys that are winning, you're definitely missing out and doing a deserve to yourself. Sit on the fence at the races, watch the videos that get posted on social media; there is always a way to learn." It is this attitude of having a growth mindset that was the birthing place for the online barrel racing education sensation; Between The Reins (BTR). Joy Wargo joined forces with Jolene Montgomery and Ashely Schafer; two colleagues, friends and excellent barrel horse trainers. They wanted to create a resource that was accessible to every barrel racer and give back to the barrel racing community that has given so much for them. BTR has members not just across the country, but across the world, from Canada to Brazil, and from the United States to Europe. The constantly growing online library of BTR videos can be accessed by members online for just $30 a month or $299 a year. There are hundreds of videos in the library vault, from starting horses on the pattern for the very first time, to schooling seasoned finished horses. The videos showcase the raw, real truth behind training futurity barrel horses, and viewers get to watch step by step in real time as Wargo, Montgomery and Schafer work through their training processes with each individual horse in their programs. "Between The Reins was a way we could reach more people that didn't necessarily have access to clinics," Wargo explained, "Jolene, Ashley and I have been very fortunate. The barrel racing industry has treated us very well, and to me I think it's important to give back. That's how BTR started out, it's about being able to help people, and we couldn't be more excited with how it's taken off." What are you doing today, for the Legacy you may leave tomorrow? "I also think Between The Reins is about leaving a legacy," Wargo reflected, "for me, I'm not the person that's going to win the most at the barrel race, and that's ok. But I wanted to leave a legacy too and affect positive change in our industry. The more we can grow and learn and change for the better, is only better for everyone; the animals and for us." "I also think it's important to note that some people think it's a great day every day when you're training horses," Wargo laughed, "but the reality is that there are more bad days than good, and with BTR we can really share the real stuff. We get into the trouble shooting and problem solving behind each horse as an individual, and we can share how we train those horses as individuals. People get to see the raw reality behind what we do, and it expands the amount of people we can reach and help learn by having it all in one place." "We have huge goals and dreams for BTR," Wargo admitted, "but at the end of the day I also think it's important to note that BTR is about elevating our game as barrel racers. Encouraging us to be better in everything we do, to have pride in our sport, from taking care of our horses to keeping our stall fronts clean at shows. To put our best foot forward in everything we do, because being complacent will bleed into the rest of your life. And when you're chasing excellence, consistency is what shows up when motivation isn't there. That's the real important stuff." "It's also important to remember to cheer for each other," Wargo added, "barrel racers get a bad rap for being petty. With Between The Reins, we want to encourage our "I believe horsemanship is an art of communication"-Joy Wargo. Photo Credit Bee Silva.