Choctaw run for the Bucks
Durant, OK
June 3,4, & 5

          Producer: Bobby Barter World Barrel Racing Productions 

Draw            Results          Photo Gallery            Story

Other news:  Kathy Bitzer our BHW reporter, is on location and said the opening ceremonies were literally "red, white, and blue, and the excitement is high".  Awesome was the word she used.  It's a classy event with excellent marketing.   The next Run for the Bucks will be a three day event on Labor Day weekend in Waco Tx.

Leader Story contributed by Kathie Bitzer                                                                                               May 2005

I had just gotten back from Josey’s Reunion Round-Up when I saw an announcement from World Barrel Racing Productions on the Internet. Their first barrel race, "Choctaw Casino Run For the Bucks", was going to be held June 4^th and 5^th in Durant, Oklahoma at the Choctaw Casino.

My first reaction, I rolled my eyes and raised my eyebrows at the same time. Now you have to understand I’m 55 - years old and I’ve been doing this since I was 20 years old. I’ve seen a lot. I’ve witnessed a lot. There’s a lot of things I wish I hadn’t witnessed or been a part of.  I guess you could say, “ I’ve been there and done that!”  I also confess I wanted to hear more even though I had decided I wasn’t going to be a guinea pig. It was over 400 miles one way and I thought it would be a very long trip home if I went and was disappointed.

I signed up for e-mails and as I was reading the, “Why Should I Attend The Choctaw Casino Run For The Bucks” newsletter, I started shaking my head. Here were my thoughts:

 1.     Team Roper! What does a Team Roper know about putting on a barrel race?

2.     6-D! Isn’t that just crazy!

3.     Guaranteed money! I’ve heard that before! I can remember contestants walking away with great checks in hand to find out later they bounced!

4.     Two days with just one run!

5.     1-D to 5-D to be an equal payoff!

Wow! My heart started to pound. I wasn’t sure I liked what I was reading. This race was different. It was very hard to go from a straight race to a 3-D!  Took me years to overcome that step!  Now the 4-D was much easier since I had a horse that ran in between the 1-D and 2-D! (I told you I’m honest) Then American West came along with the 5-D! It didn’t take very long to overcome that one when I was having problems and my horse picked up a check in the 4-D. It paid for my whole weekend and I was able to put entry fee money back in my horse account. I started to think that Merlin Jones, founder of American West 4-D, was pretty darn smart and all those D’s weren’t such a bad deal after all. Maybe this change wouldn’t be so bad after all.

 I’m old school and I’m still not sold on the equal layout. Unlike the team ropings, you have to lure the best to come to set the pace. The fastest time is what makes up the times for all of the other divisions, unlike ropings.  We also don’t have cattle and partners to tend with. Our three barrels stay in the same spot for everyone! We don’t have to try to run around a moving target and with the ground being worked every five, everyone is giving an equal shot. Bobby already had made a change regarding that. He upped the first division payoff. Trying to understand where this man is coming from, I’m sure he will have all kinds of changes for us. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him change the amount of places being paid in the different divisions. Like we all know, the third division is where the majority of riders fall into and that’s the reason Merlin Jones added a division between the third and fourth to accommodate the majority of contestants, his paying customers.

One run doesn’t bother me but I do prefer the 3- day barrel races when it doesn’t run into the wee hours of the morning. I like to go and stay the whole weekend. I will do it here but I just won’t be running every day. I look at this race being a perfect race for people having more then one horse to run. If I had two I would run one each day.

The awards are also a nice change from just money. I started to see his reasoning. He’s giving us a different slant on our barrel racing. I was starting to get won over but the entry blank was still sitting on my desk.

 Now the investigator came out in me. My husband has a lot of team roping clients. A roper from my town has been sporting an awesome Ford Truck around for the last few years that looks like a moving bulletin board. Booger Barter and every sponsor’s names are all over this truck. The artwork is quite amazing! He won it at a Booger Barter Team Roping. Another client won a gorgeous saddle and it’s a trophy saddle you can ride in!

 Every team roper that crossed my path was bombarded with a few questions. The first of course was, “Have you ever gone to a Booger Barter Team Roping?” The majority answered, “YES!”  The adventures and what they did how they did it and how much they won spilled out! It was like they were dying to tell their story to fresh ears and I had real fresh ones! The more I heard the harder it was for me not to go home and fill that entry blank out. My numbered reasons for not going started to dwindle. I now knew this man’s word was good. All prizes and monies would be paid. I stood fast! It was too far and too far for one run. I still had 4 more reasons not to go. I told myself, “Get over it! Wait and see how it goes. Maybe he’ll have one closer to home.”

In the meantime, discussions went back and forth on the barrel racing chat lines. Many thought we should all quite complaining. If we didn’t want to go, don’t go! I looked at it as discussing! It’s through discussions that things get changed and it’s usually for the better. Again, you have to remember, the older crowd has witnessed many changes and sometimes changes are hard. We love our sport! We don’t want anyone messing with it!

It was through these discussions that I saw a personality come true to life. I’m quite sure by this time Bobby L. Barter was shaking his head, wondering what he had got himself into. With a great sense of humor, he sent out an update explaining his agenda. Just like so many team ropers told me, this was about having fun!  He nailed us when he said, “Some of you barrel racers are wound up too tight.”  I wouldn’t say some. The majority sounds more like it and I can say that! I’ve been wound so tight some times I’m surprised I could get on my horse. Age does mellow you somewhat but not a whole lot!

My feet were now itching. I kept talking myself out of it. It was still too far and still a few doubts went through my head. It wasn’t long when I received the e-mail that clinched it! Bobby was having D&G take care of the dirt and Tanner Time was doing the timing! I guess he knew barrel racers a lot better then I had imagined! He just got the best of the best to handle two of the most important details!  I called my sister. Meeting her there would be an excellent excuse for going! It wasn’t long when I received an E-mail from her saying, “I want to go to Durant!” I could hear the whine in her words and I whined back in my head, “So do I!”

I needed more then just; I want to go excuse for going. I knew I really needed to do a story on this event. That’s what I write about! The experience! How could I even think about missing this one?  I took the plunge, I e-mailed Bobby to make sure I could get stalls and run on Sunday leaving me Saturday to take everything in, take pictures etc.

My sister faxed our entries in and we’re so ready!

 I have just recently put barrel racing and fun back into the same sentence. I’m going to find out firsthand what the team ropers had been experiencing. Instead of Booger Barter it’s, “ World Barrel Racing Productions.”

I’m going with an open mind but I write from the heart and tell it like it is. Stay tuned for the REAL story. Until then, I hope you can join me! See you at Durant or read about it when I get back!

Until then…Kathie