The Retired Racehorse Project (RRP) and The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Incentive Program (T.I.P.) jointly announced today that the inaugural T.I.P. Barrel Racing Championships will be hosted at the RRP's flagship event, the Thoroughbred Makeover and National Symposium, this October at the Kentucky Horse Park.
T.I.P. was created to encourage the retraining of Thoroughbreds into other disciplines upon completion of careers in racing or breeding. The annual T.I.P. Championships features competition in a variety of disciplines, including hunters, jumpers, English pleasure, Western pleasure, and classical and Western dressage. T.I.P. champions in eventing are determined at the American Eventing Championships held each year. The 2021 T.I.P. Barrel Racing Championships will be the first time a championship event has been offered in the discipline. The event will feature thousands in prize money and additional prizes for the top horses.
“Thoroughbreds have made their presence known in recent years in Western disciplines, particularly barrel racing, so we are happy to be able to showcase yet another area in which these horses excel through the inaugural T.I.P. Barrel Racing Championships,” said Kristin Werner, senior counsel for The Jockey Club and administrator of T.I.P. “Hosting this event in conjunction with the Thoroughbred Makeover will provide the deserved spotlight for these Thoroughbreds that are excelling in careers that may not be typically associated with the breed and will allow us to potentially grow the Championships in future years if there is enough interest from barrel racing participants.”
Featuring competition in 10 different disciplines for recently retired racehorses and over $135,000 in prize money each year, the Thoroughbred Makeover (Makeover) and National Symposium, presented by Thoroughbred Charities of America, is the largest and most lucrative retraining competition in the world. This year, the event will feature two competition years, including horses from the postponed 2020 event as well as 2021-eligible horses. Makeover entries in the Barrel Racing discipline will have the option to cross-enter the T.I.P. Barrel Racing Championships and roll their time from their Makeover runs into the championship standings.
The T.I.P. Barrel Racing Championships will be sponsored by The Western Thoroughbred, a grassroots organization that recognizes the contributions of the Thoroughbred to the Western horse industry and celebrates the achievements of Thoroughbreds in Western sports. The Western Thoroughbred's founder, Katelin Bradley, is serving as organizer and steward of the event, and The Western Thoroughbred will be sponsoring buckles for average round winners.
“I am honored to help T.I.P. and the Retired Racehorse Project in organizing and hosting the inaugural T.I.P. Barrel Racing Championships,” said Bradley. “This event will be the biggest all-Thoroughbred barrel race in the country. We hope to attract open competitors and encourage Thoroughbred Makeover trainers to participate as well. It should be an excellent showcase of what these horses are capable of achieving in all levels of barrel racing!”
Entries for the T.I.P. Barrel Racing Championships will be open to qualified and declared Thoroughbreds in August. Thoroughbred Makeover Barrel Racing entrants for 2020 and 2021 will have the option to cross-enter at the time that they make their Final Entry to the Makeover. Outside non-Makeover participants for this inaugural event will be invited to enter, with preference given to horses that were declared for the barrel championships by the early declaration deadline of June 30, 2021. All participants will need a T.I.P. number to enter.
“We're excited for the opportunity to partner with T.I.P. and the Western Thoroughbred in this way,” said the RRP's managing director Kirsten Green. “The work of our three organizations is so closely aligned and we're happy to come together to offer more recognition to those who are blazing a path for OTTBs to become more of a staple in Western show pens. Katelin and the Western Thoroughbred Ambassadors have contributed heavily to improving the level of competition we offer for our Western Makeover disciplines and we're grateful for her assistance organizing this special event.”
More information about the T.I.P. Barrel Racing Championships can be found here.
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