Horse Barrel Races Without Rider

This is something I've always wondered about. After practicing barrel racing over a hundred times, does the horse know what to do without any help from the rider? At some point is the rider just along for the ride?

In the video above, you'll see that, after a while, the horse no longer needs any instruction. They know exactly what to do. They even seem to be having a great time doing it. I wonder if they miss the rider?

In the video below the rider falls off. But the horse continues on and finishes running the barrels.

That means we should try this with a few other sports.

Lets run the Kentucky Derby with nothing but experienced horses and no riders.

That might make you wonder if it has ever happened. Well, to some extent it has, as the video below will show you.

In the Preakness Stakes of 2019 the rider fell off right out of the gate. But the horse knew what to do, and finished the race. The horse actually did rather well by himself, finishing in the middle of the pack.