An unsung hero in the growth of the barrel racing industry, Equi-Stat provides a plethora of information to breeders, barrel racers, producers and sponsors.

by Tanya Randall 

Equi-Stat, the statistical division of Cowboy Publishing Group, has been around longer than Barrel Horse News and longer than the divisional race system. Yet, surprisingly, a large number of barrel racers, event producers and even some breeders don’t understand the purpose of Equi-Stat, how the system works and what it does for the industry.

Equi-Stat and Barrel Horse News are discussing some major changes in store for 2009. So to better explain these changes, we thought an explanation of Equi-Stat and its mission were much overdue.

Tracking History
 
Equi-Stat was created to fill a void in the cutting horse industry. While the National Cutting Horse Association was keeping track of weekend show money to determine its world champions, it wasn’t tracking the purses of its lucrative aged events.

“Equi-Stat was created because no one was keeping track of money won in aged events,” says Equi-Stat Director Temple Read. “The NCHA wasn’t keeping track and there were many high-paying aged events that weren’t sanctioned by the association, and none of this money was being kept in one place. Equi-Stat complied that data and all monies won in cutting events. From there it grew into other disciplines—reining, working cowhorse, Western pleasure, barrel racing, halter—and now we’re doing ranch horse versatility.”

The database was the first of its kind. The system tracked money based on the official show results, which provided the horse’s registered name, rider, owner, money won, the number of horses in a class as well as added money. From that information, earnings records were created, pedigrees were tracked and breeders noted.

“We want data by event so we can track the shows, the horses, the riders, the owners, the breeders, the sires and dams and so forth,” explains Read. “Equi-Stat has everything from how much the show paid and how many horses in each class to who owned them and who rode them.”

By tracking the money through official show results, Equi-Stat could insure the accuracy of their database and be a trustworthy source for statistical information for the consumer.

“The sole purpose of Equi-Stat is to maintain a historical database that is as complete as possible for the industry,” says Read.

Currently, Equi-Stat’s staff of five obtains and enters results from all aged events and jackpots that have a total payout greater than $20,000. The $20,000 limit was imposed because Equi-Stat didn’t have the manpower to enter every show submitted in time to have statistical information ready for the yearly statistical review that appears in BHN.

A jackpot series with a cumulative total of $20,000 paid out may also be entered if complete results are submitted to Equi-Stat in a compatible format on a disk by the producer of the series. Complete results have the name of the show, when and where it was held, the number of entries broken down by class, the added money broken down by class, payoff broken down by class, registered or noted grade horse names and rider names. If they included owner names and addresses that would be the icing on the cake. This allows the statisticians to incorporate the data without having to type in all the information so they can spend their time researching pedigrees.

Equi-Stat at Work
 
Most readers of BHN are familiar with the annual and 10-year statistical reviews and the occasional earnings information that crops up in various articles and advertisements throughout the magazine, but that’s just a small sampling of what Equi-Stat does.

Domestic and foreign buyers and insurance companies call Equi-Stat to verify earnings of horses and offspring earnings of sires and dams. Equi-Stat can also take earnings data and generate “magic cross” reports to show what mares and stallions match up to produce the richest money-earning foals.

An individual horse report will break earnings down by year and event. It also tells you who owned and rode the horse when the money was won, if the money was won in a go-round only or was the total for the event, and tells you when and what the money came from. For example, a lifetime earnings report can tell you that Designer Red earned $53,898.32 from 2000 to 2005. The money is broken down by year and recorded by event. So, I can tell you that Tanya Steinhoff rode the Victory Farms stallion to a second place check of $1,156.40 in the 1D of the second go round of the All American Youth Race which started on June 22, 2004. I can also tell you that Alona James rode the stallion at the Victory Farms Fourth of July Race, which started on July 2, 2004, and placed second in the 1D, earning $1,515.22 in the second race of the weekend.

Magic cross reports are a breeder’s delight. They can tell you the crosses that have won the most money from either the stallion or dam’s sire. For example, if you have a daughter of On The Money, a magic cross report says the best cross is with Dr Nick Bar. The three Dr Nick Bars out of On The Money Red mares have won more than $50,000. That cross has produced three money-earners of more than $50,000. Other successful crosses were with Easy Routine, Nonstop Locomotion, Deep Sixum, and Hesa Gay Dreamer.

The same report can be run from the sire’s side as well. So if a person were interested in breeding to On The Money Red, the report would state which mares produced the money-winning foals.

Producers also use Equi-Stat reports to gain sponsors and estimate entry numbers.

Undocumented Upheaval
 
Equi-Stat has tracked barrel racing money earnings since 1988. It started out with aged events and later added open events that included all horses’ registered names such as the All-American Quarter Horse Congress. In the 1990s, divisional races were included with the creation of the National Barrel Horse Association.

Fast Fact
 
Equi-Stat’s Leading horses of all time are Nate Shilabar, $485,915; Dial A Red Rooster, $280,438; SR Red Ryder, $246,703; Sissys Little Coin, $242,259 and The Key Grip, $236,163.

Since 1988, Equi-Stat has tracked more than $111 million in barrel racing earnings from aged events and jackpots. Unfortunately, the widespread use of barn names has left almost $17 million of that total unassigned to horses, sires, dams, grandsires, breeders and owners.

“Without registered names, the database is pointless,” laments Read. “Right now, the only ones getting full credit are the shows and riders because we can’t track the horses, owners, breeders and pedigrees.”

Consequences
 
The consequences of using barn names are legion, and they all result in the industry losing money.

Pedigree specialist Robin Glenn, who does many of the industry’s sales catalogs simply gave up trying to provide barrel racers with the same services she does for the racing, cutting, reining and reined cowhorse industries.

“We had a database full of pet names,” explains Glenn. “We had no idea who the horse was. It was obvious we weren’t going to be able to have a complete database to do pedigrees and catalogs with so we quit.”

Glenn says it’s hurting the barrel racing market. She points out the other industries like cutting and reining were in the same position as the barrel racing industry. Once they started tracking horses by registered name, those industries flourished.

“Before the cutters and reined cowhorse people got the idea, their sales didn’t amount to much either,” she says. “Using their real names and giving people the opportunity to assign this money to the horses and give the horses credit for what they’ve accomplished will change this market from a hobby market to a real business market – a global market that others will be interested in, not just hard core barrel racers.”

The market is indeed going global with more and more barrel horses being exported to Italy and Brazil. Recently, the Brazilian barrel horse market has been the talk of the industry. The Brazilian buyers have contacted Equi-Stat almost on a weekly basis. They want to build their industry on proven stock and won’t buy anything without strong performance or production records. Equi-Stat is their verifying source.

Fast Fact
 
Grade horses are great and Equi-Stat tracks them too! Just let them know by noting it on your entry blank with a (NR) for non-registered or (grade). BUT, be sure to use the same verifiable name every time! The top five grade horses in Equi-Stat are Roni Terry’s Lexus, $68,304; Brandi Harris’s Sawyer Brown, $40,399; Lisa Lapsley’s Cody, $30,434; Marie Autrey’s Hat, $23,762 and Annesa Self’s Sassy, $14,240.

Even if you never have plans of selling your horse, it’s important for the industry to know what you’re riding because your horse affects the earnings of those in its pedigree. This benefits others in the industry, who might have horse related to yours.

By using a registered name, you've helped a breeder who might dump more money in the industry. You've influenced other buyers who might dump more money in the industry.

More buyers and active breeders make the industry more attractive to outside investors and sponsors. This means more money to be won for all from the futurity level down the 6D rider.

Simply put, that registered name means more money for the industry. Barrel racing could hands down be one of the most lucrative sports behind horse racing because of the sheer number of people of involved if we would just professionalize our sport with the simple use of registered names.

All “D’s” Count
 
Many barrel racers that consistently place in the lower divisions often use barn names because they don’t feel their horse’s registered name is important—after all who cares about the bloodlines of a 4D horse? Truthfully, they’re more important than you think.

Consider the mare Sold On Silver, a daughter of Gray Pie Too out of Mistic Red Bar by Mistic Bar. The late gray mare has produced four barrel racing money earners in Equi-Stat. Those four horses, by two different sires, earned $11,287 from placings in the 2D to the 5D. Only a single check of $77 came from a 1D placing.

A little further investigation shows that two of Sold On Silver’s get were ridden by senior riders, thanks to the information provided in the Equi-Stat report that notes the class in which they won money. More digging reveals that one also belongs to your average weekend barrel racer who doesn’t get to go as much as she would like. The last one I know was a solid high school and college rodeo horse in both the barrel racing and roping, because his picture graces the wallpaper on the computer on which I type.

While those numbers don’t mean much to Jud Little, Danny Ray or any breeder looking for a high-dollar, brand-name product, they mean a lot to someone like me, a working mother who barrel races when I can and would dearly love to raise a replacement to my all-around steed. I don’t have a lot to spend on a prospect or a broodmare, but it’s easier to turn loose of that money knowing that my horse wasn’t a one hit wonder out of Sold On Silver.

Change is Coming

We barrel racers have to start somewhere if we want the barrel racing industry to continue to grow. By accomplishing this small goal of widening the use of registered names, Equi-Stat hopes to set the stage for future changes that will have an even greater impact on the industry—tracking money from the smallest jackpot to professional rodeos. However, in order to do that we must first gain the help of the vast majority of barrel racers and producers—those that attend the larger, added money, open divisional races.

In 2009, Equi-Stat may no longer enter shows that fail to provide results with registered names or the official name of a grade horse if the remainder of the 2008 season sees the rash of barn names continue. This will eliminate many of the shows that have been entered in the past and perhaps limit the statistical reports to aged event monies only.

Gold Buckle Producers:
 
The following producers have recently earned Equi-Stat’s Gold Buckle distinction by submitting results with greater than 70 percent of registered horse names documented: Renea Bolling with Double B Productions is currently working at an 85 to 90 percent success rate on gathering registered names; the Barrel Racers National 4D sanctioned Tough Enough to Wear Pink Race, the most recent Wrangler Heartland Tour, most recent Lone Star Arena event and Destrys Free 4 All in August.

Those in need of Equi-Stat reports or information on submitting a show or barrel racing series may contact Tysha Franklin at Equi-Stat via phone at 817-737-6397 or e-mail at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Equi-Stat’s online address is: http://equistat.com.

Additionally, classes within shows that fail to provide adequate horse names will also be eliminated.

Take the World Championship Futurity for example. While the Super Stakes, Juvenile Futurity, Futurity and Derby have good names, the open 4Ds, the youth and junior races, in particular, do not. Should the 2009 event hold to this trend, the aged events with the good names will be entered into the statistical database, but the results of the opens, youth and juniors will not. This also means those monies will not be reflected in the event’s total purse.

How You Can Help
 
Barrel racers and producers can help the industry by simply using registered names in results. Double B Producer Renea Bolling has increased the use of registered names at her shows by requesting registered names on her entry forms.

“We put on there that they have to use the horse’s registered name,” says Bolling. “I’ve even sent entries back that have had Horse 1, Horse 2. We also try to tell people why we have them do it. We tell them we’re sending our results to Equi-Stat. Not everyone does it, but we try to catch it when we can. With late entries we try to ask them for the registered name. Some people act likes it’s a big deal for them, but really all it takes is a couple of extra seconds.”

Should producers and barrel racers continue with the use of barn names, Equi-Stat will be forced to discontinue future statistical information such as the leading divisional riders and horses, the leading youth riders, the top divisional horses and riders by region.

This would mean that horses like Nate Shilabar, View This Jet, Rare Fred, Designer Red—horses who won more money in open races than they did in aged events—will no longer have documented earnings in Equi-Stat and the aged event industry, rather than the industry as a whole, will continue to have disproportionate influence.

Tanya Randall is an avid barrel racer and frequent contributor to Barrel Horse News. She resides in California with her husband Matt and young son, Colton. E-mail comments on this article to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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