Friday's Internet Edition, July 25, 2008.
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“It’s an exciting feeling having that horse under you and going as fast as you can go,” Nelson said.
Scott added, “It’s probably like the feeling people get when driving a race car. It’s a feeling you can’t get nowhere else.”
At times, Nelson wanted to ride so fast that her grandfather was concerned for her safety.
“When she was five, I made a seatbelt for her, because she rode so fast she could barely stay on,” Scott said.
Scott, who is employed with the City of Thomasville, kept his granddaughter in the seatbelt until she was nine years old, which was much to her disliking.
“She didn’t like it at all,” Scott said. “When she was in the Thomasville parade when she was little, she would hide the seatbelt so no one knew she had it on.”
Now, at age 15, Nelson hopes to turn her love of fast-paced riding into a career of riding professionally as a barrel racer. In barrel racing competition, riders speed is timed as they maneuver around three barrels. A laser beam marks the moment riders exit the gate and when they return to accumulate the time, usually between 15 and 18 seconds.
Her first attempt in the arena was to come two weeks ago, yet Mother Nature washed out the race. She hopes to enter some local competitions in the near future, before moving on to a bigger arena.
“I’d like to go to some of the bigger tournaments in Georgia and Memphis, Tenn. in the future,” Nelson said.
Helping to make her dreams of competitive riding was a good friend of the family, who at 88-years-old, finally hung up his reins and gave his horse trailer to Nelson. The trailer now enables Nelson to travel with her quarter horse Zoey to different competitions.
Her grandfather has also been a big supporter and contributor to her riding.
“He’s been the greatest supporter, and he’s backed me up the whole time,” Nelson said. “He’s my inspiration.”
“I support her 100 percent,” Scott said of her riding. “I’m as excited as she is, I think. I can’t wait to see her bring home the trophies.”
Editor Lisa Wall can be reached at 472-9500, ext. 229, or at editor@tvilletimes.com.