Jen Dube has been working at Boyer GM for the past five years, but for nine she’s been working to achieve her dream of becoming a barrel racing world champion.
Dube has been riding for the past 20 years, but over the last decade has set her sights on getting to the National Barrel Association World Championship that’s held in Georgia. “Mojo and I have qualified several times throughout our nine years, but have never made it to Georgia yet because it’s such a big trip,” she says. That’s where Boyer comes in because they are sponsoring her this year and handing her keys to a new Chevrolet Silverado HD.
“Ever since I’ve known her it’s been a goal of hers to get to the world championship,” General Manager of Boyer GM Brandon Boyer says. “I’ve been pushing her and urging her to do that over the years and finally this year she decided to go, but she needed a way to get there so we’re happy to send her there in style.”
Dube explains that barrel races are 15 seconds or less. You go through three barrels as quickly as possible with the judge being the person who is timing you. The way you get seeded is based on the fastest time. In theory, if the fastest time is 15 seconds, that person would be in the first division. The rest of the top riders would be everyone within a half-second of that rider’s time. The second division would be everyone half a second behind, the third division would be made up of the horses and riders that are one second behind, with the fourth division being the riders that are two seconds behind. “They try and help and grow the association by having different divisions within your class,” Dube explains. “This helps people who are learning versus people who are doing it professionally.”
She qualified for the second division after competing in multiple events in 2018 to qualify for this year’s world championship. She will be leaving Thursday morning so she can have a practice run of the course this weekend. Her first official run will be Wednesday with her second shot happening Thursday.
“There’s a lot of training involved,” Dube says. Mojo is her main horse, but she has another one in her stable. “They are athletes so there’s lots of supplements and special feed,” she explains. Dube says she gets out and trains with them a minimum of five times a week. That consists of a 20 to 30 minute ride out in the bush or in the pen.
“There’s a lot of money to be won,” she tells My Bancroft Now. Dube adds that companies have also donated other prizes like feedbags, cowboy boots, and horse trailers for the top riders.
Dube says win or lose, this will be her and Mojo’s last show of the year. “I usually give my horses the winter off to rest after a long season,” she explains. Including next week’s world championship, Dube and Mojo have taken part in nine other events this year.
My Bancroft Now will be following Dube on her journey to the world championship in Georgia. You can follow along online or listen to 97.7 Moose FM for updates.