Hannah Bugg and Andrea Smith are bringing barrel horse racing back to Oglethorpe County.
The Oglethorpe County Saddle Club (OCSC) will host a barrel racing show at 2 p.m. Saturday at 364 Center Church Road in Stephens. The show will feature a variety of competitions.
“I can’t tell the last time that the NBHA has had a show in Oglethorpe,” Bugg said. “What my friend Andrea and I are trying to do is to provide different places for our members to run. We don’t like to run at the same arenas all the time.”
Bugg and Smith work together to produce shows as a duo under the name “The Can Chasing Cowgirls.” They’ve put together shows at different venues, but have yet to produce one in Oglethorpe County.
Barrel racing is a sport where riders attempt to navigate their horse through a clover-like obstacle pattern filled with barrels. The events are timed, and points are awarded based on performance.
Events, like this one, are sanctioned by the National Barrel Horse Association (NBHA) and are officially judged and recorded for national competitions.
“We will produce about 12 shows this year,” said Smith, who is the director for the NBHA’s 02 district. She said there are other counties in the state that also have saddle clubs and host events similar to this one.
Holding multiple events throughout the year in new locations keeps events fresh and provides revenue for different saddle clubs.
Bugg said she hopes a successful turnout will help Oglethorpe County to host more events.
“We’re hoping that if all goes well on the seventh, then maybe this can be an annual kind of event,” she said.