Grantham woman brings barrel racing, a rodeo sport, from the USA to the UK with Fulbeck-based business

A woman has brought a rodeo sport from America to the UK with Fullbeck-based business.

Sally Heron, 47, competes internationally in the sport of barrel racing, which has rodeo origins in the USA.

She runs a barrel racing centre in Fulbeck called 4 Strides Equestrian UK Ltd, where the retired horses are used for therapy sessions.

Having lived and worked in America, Sally took up barrel racing in 2017 and has since represented the UK in China, USA, France and Malta in various international competitions.

Sally explained that barrel racing originally started as a female-only American rodeo sport in the 1940s and remains female-dominated in the USA.

She said: “In Europe, there are now men that ride. It’s much more inclusive and is the same in the UK.

“It’s a rodeo sport that involves racing round a pattern of three oil drums. The pattern is similar to a three leaf clover. It’s a single horse race, so there’s only one of you on the pattern at one time traditionally, and you’re up against the clock.

“It sounds very simple, but there’s an awful lot of skill and technique involved, because you are galloping but you’ve also got to be able to control that horse and get it to turn a two metre circle.”

Born and raised in Grantham, Sally said she got involved with barrel racing due to “a combination of things”, one of which was living and working in America.

She continued: “My original idea was to bring the full rodeo to the UK. The cows, the bulls, the entertainment.

“A series of events meant that I was connected to people that could get me started with barrel racing, and that took off and it grows all the time.”

Sally set up 4 Strides Equestrian six years ago and started competing in barrel racing at the same time.

“I wanted to rodeo and barrel race,” she said. “There wasn’t anywhere within my demographics that did it.

“There was nowhere to go that was feasible, so I set up [4 Strides Equestrian] first and foremost so that I could do it myself!”

Since 2017, Sally has competed in the World Championships in the USA, the European Cup in France, the World Cup in China and the Golden Buckle Barrel Race in Malta.

Sally continued: “It keeps me busy. We run events and competitions on 26 weekends of the year and we go all over England. I teach and coach all over the country.

“We also have a barrel racing demonstration team, which are available for county shows, fairs, private events, spectacles. Last year, we put on a display at Belvoir Castle’s Festival of the Horse

“I coach all levels from absolute beginners, tiny tots as young as four on the lead line, right up to international level and everything in between.”

There are eight American Quarter Horses currently at 4 Strides Equestrian, all with barrel racing backgrounds.

When any of Sally’s horses retire from competing, she gives them a second career as therapy horses.

Sally said: “We run an equine assisted therapy programme. We use them for adults and children who have mental health difficulties to support and assist with talking therapy through various activities that we do using these horses, giving the opportunity for people to heal.

"That’s a very important side of the business at almost the other end of the spectrum.

“We do small group work and also private work. It’s a very small business. Eight horses is not many horses, it’s a very quiet site. It’s just nice that these horses have a second career.

“They help anybody with mental health problems. People can reach out to us for more information, or for a site visit or a chat for more information.”

Sally now has her sights set on competing again in America in 2023, and has encouraged local riders to have a go at barrel racing.

She said: “It’s a new skill. It’s really really fun. It’s a fun way of riding.

“It is a real confidence builder, so if somebody is nervous or really wants to improve their riding, it’s brilliant for confidence building.

“It’s enjoyable because it’s such a nice, small community. Everybody knows everybody, it’s very friendly and supportive. It really is inclusive of everybody."

To find out more, visit: https://www.4stridesequestrian.co.uk/

Sally added: “It doesn’t matter to us what you are, it’s a level playing field, it’s a new sport for everybody."