A barrel racer who cut her teeth growing up in Millarville has hit the jackpot circuit.
Jenna O'Reilly, who qualified for her first Canadian Finals Rodeo in 2019, is giving her primary horse XRey a rest this season as she hits a more informal barrel racing tour in 2020 due to COVID-19.
"We haven't had any rodeos but we have just now started to be able to go to barrel races, which are jackpots,” said O’Reilly, a Holy Trinity Academy grad. "They have done it so we are socially distant at all times.... You get a special time, you work your horses and then you get out of there.
"It's different, but we are going."
So far, she has competed in jackpots in Brooks, where she is currently residing, and Strathmore.
She said the jackpots have strict regulations concerning physical distancing and hygiene requirements in regards to COVID-19.
The jackpots are needed for barrel racers as pro rodeo in Canada is on hiatus.
The Canadian Professional Rodeo Association has cancelled nearly all of their 2020 rodeos. As a result, barrel racers are doing things a whole lot different to get some competitive patterns in — including just staying at home.
"About a month ago, they had virtual jackpots,” O'Reilly said. "You set the pattern up at home or at individual arenas. You can get an app at home that times it for you."
The barrel racers from across the province submit their times and the video for the jackpot.
"It's just nice to be able to enter something and now that we are working on so many young horses we can see where they place," she said.
Training her younger horses couldn't come at a better time for O'Reilly. XRey suffered an injury near the tail end of the season.
Although XRey was deemed healthy enough to run in the Canadian Finals Rodeo last November, O'Reilly wasn't taking any chances with her star four-legged athlete despite it being her first trip to the big dance.
She chose not to use XRey at the finals in Red Deer.
"Ultimately, the longevity of his life is what is most important to me," O'Reilly said. "The fact that he has even more time off has been awesome. He is 100 per cent and he is going to come back really strong."
So, like many barrel racers, O'Reilly is focusing on her prospect horses during this weird jackpot season.
"For me, I haven't even rode him (XRey), he's been kicked out," O'Reilly said. "I have been working on my younger horse and a few others."
Being kicked out doesn't mean XRey is looking for a home — he's living the life of Riley by enjoying his life on the field.
As for her prospect, that is Powder, a six-year-old mare, who was found by O'Reilly's mother, Donna.
"Mom is pretty much my golden ticket," O'Reilly said of her mom who helps run the family ranch near Millarville. “She finds all my horses for me – cow horses, reject cutting horses, team penning horses…She finds all my good ones.”
Jenna, who is currently training her horses and living at a friend’s facility near Brooks, said it’s been a weird season – July 1 being a prime example.
“I have never thought of it as Canada Day weekend – it’s always been the Ponoka (Stampede) weekend,” she said. “I see videos on the Internet and I think: ‘Oh man, I really want to go,’ because they are rodeoing some in the States this week.”
