From North Dorset to the American rodeo circuit, Luke Burridge turned a teen family holiday discovery into a high-speed international barrel racing career
Based in North Dorset, Luke Burridge has been riding for 30 years. He has been around horses for most of his life and rode English (the style most of us here in the UK are familiar with) into his teens.
At 19 he went on a family ranch holiday in Tucson, Arizona… and it changed everything.
‘I loved every second of it,’ he told me. ‘The idea of being on horseback all day made me feel like I didn’t want another day to go by when I wasn’t riding.’
He soon returned to the ranch as a volunteer wrangler, working cattle and helping guide guests on rides into the Arizona desert. It was there he first discovered barrel racing.
Each week, the wranglers hosted an exhibition rodeo and Luke’s role was to carry the Union Jack.
‘We would parade the national flags of all of our guests,’ explains Luke. ‘We’d also barrel race two horses – one was usually a horse a guest had ridden (to show them what they’re capable of) and the other would be a Belgian Draft – which may not be very fast, but absolutely love the game!’
(To anyone not familiar with horse breeds, this is the equivalent of racing a Ford Mustang against a Land Rover)
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Unlike any other
If you’ve never come across barrel racing before, it’s one of rodeo’s best-known speed events. A horse and rider attempt to run around a triangle of three barrels in the fastest time. Riders can start by turning either left or right around the first barrel, but will usually begin on their horse’s weaker side: if your horse is stronger turning right, you would start on the left because the turns around barrels two and three would then be on the right rein.
Competitions are decided by the fastest time, although some venues operate under slightly different rules. Some add a five-second penalty for a knocked barrel, in others that results in disqualification. There are various classes to suit all levels and any tack, from walk-and-trot classes suitable for lead rein combinations through to jackpot classes with prize money.
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The barrel pattern is also adapted to fit each arena: they are always positioned three metres from the arena edge and five metres from the back wall.
Although rooted in the American West, the sport has established a loyal following in Britain. The main UK venue for barrel racing is in Lincolnshire, where there is a purpose-built arena with an ideal surface depth, similar to those used in the USA.
‘There’s even an alleyway to run in from to prepare riders for what they’ll face abroad,’ Luke says.
Barrel racing is unlike any other equestrian discipline in the UK. Horses need speed but also the suppleness to turn on a dime without becoming too strong: ‘To do it well you need finesse and softness from the horse,’ says Luke. ‘It’s like doing dressage but at 25–35 miles per hour.’
(Maybe, on second thoughts, the Sass Queen might not excel at it, given that she’s rather opinionated)
For Luke, the appeal goes well beyond racing against the clock: ‘There’s the obvious adrenaline rush from galloping a horse as fast as they can go’ he says. ‘But there’s also the atmosphere and spectacle it creates for the crowd at the larger events. There’s such a supportive nature between riders too – there are no judges or individual opinions. Each rider genuinely wants everyone else to do well. If I run my personal best but finish last, I’m still happy because that’s an achievement for me and my horse.’
Hired horses
Working for a time in France proved pivotal. There, Luke worked across various Western disciplines, and had the opportunity to try reining and cattle penning, but barrel racing remained the sport that stood out. ‘My experiences over there led me to compete in the French Cup, the European Cup and the European Championships,’ he says. ‘It was really educational and I learned a huge amount.’
In 2024 he returned and won the European Cup 3D Open Barrel Racing division. Since then, he has been coaching in the UK and regularly helps take teams abroad to competitions, including coaching teams in Malta, France and Italy. He has also supported riders travelling to South Africa and the USA.
Luke is not only helping coach the British team – he’s also competing alongside them at the 2027 World Championships in Atlanta.
To qualify for the World Championships, riders need to have competed in official NBHA competitions during the previous year, allowing time to organise travel, horse hire and fundraising. The team is currently looking for sponsorship to help with those costs. One challenge many spectators don’t realise is that the British riders don’t compete on their own horses.
The team has hired horses from the same trainer in Georgia for the past three years, so the horses are familiar with the riders and the trainer understands which types suit them best.
‘The horses we hire are generally much faster than anyone is used to riding here,’ says Luke. ‘So we encourage our riders to attend regular clinics to prepare beforehand.’
However, if the competition wasn’t challenging enough already, they have very little time to get used to their new mounts.
‘We arrive two days before the first runs,’ he says. ‘We have allotted arena time and three minutes where we can have a practice run on the horses the day before the competition. Other than that, we can only ride and work the horses in the warm-up arenas dotted around the site.’
At the competition itself, riders can potentially have three runs leading to the finals. Each is a qualifying round, with the top riders progressing.
‘For anyone who’s looking to get started, my advice is “don’t run before you can walk”,’ says Luke. ‘It’s easy for people to think barrel racing is all about speed, but it really isn’t – it’s all about accuracy.’
Having a horse and partnership that produce smoothness and fluidity is key, and that beats speed every time. Horses learn the pattern quickly, so to begin with you leave plenty of space between yourself and the barrels. As they learn their job, they naturally start bringing you closer.
‘Just don’t hit the barrels though,’ is Luke’s parting advice. ‘Knocking them over hurts!’
