Donald “Ducky” Keller outrode the competition at Miller Coliseum Saturday to win the International Barrel Racing Association event. Photo by Brent Puhl (Puhl’s Photography)
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Last weekend, some of the best barrel racers in the nation came to Miller Coliseum as both men and women with their horses raced the clock to see who could master the “cloverleaf” pattern the fastest without making a mistake in the event sanctioned by the International Barrel Racing Association.
By the end of the weekend, the fastest ones traveled back home with some prize money.
One of those winners was Donald “Ducky” Keller, who is a Virginia farmer, native of the Volunteer state and long-time veteran of the sport.
In the first go of the Futurity event on Saturday, Keller and his horse “Jet-O Red” flew the fastest around the cloverleaf pattern that is made up of three barrels in a time of 15.770.
“It went really good,” Keller said after his run Saturday afternoon. “It’s hard to complain about finishing first.”
Sunday’s time was a little bit slower, but “Jet-O-Red” still had a fast time at 16.232. The second race went to Bubby Skimehorm on “Make My Moonshine” with a time of 15.653.
Also an award was handed out for the best average and that went to Troy Crumrine on “Costly Crystal” with a total time of 31.750. Keller’s “Jet-O-Red” was second in the average with an average time of 32.202.
The horses that compete in the Futurity division are categorized as being 4-year-old animals as of Jan. 1 of this year.
Along with Keller, a lot of the riders brought several horses from its stable from farms or ranches that are located across the country.
Including Keller, those same riders competed in several different divisions on many of those horses throughout the weekend.
Keller’s stable included nine of horses from his farm in Bedford, Va., which included his winning horse previously mentioned and another 4-year-old “Blackberry Smoke.”
Each rider in this class raced the course twice over the weekend, once on Saturday and once again on Sunday.
The key to a successful run is mastering the course without knocking down the barrels that line it. Depending on the class, the penalties vary from having seconds added on to the final time, or the whole run being wiped out.
In this class, each downed barrel adds five seconds to the final time. Also, not following the pattern resulted in a no time.
The course surface, however, remained the same.
Also, with last weekend’s event being indoors the weather did not affect the dirt. Keller said the mostly clay surface that the horses race on sticks really well.
“It’s the best we run on every year,” Keller said. He added it is one of the longest courses he runs on each season, so Keller tries to get that little extra out of the horse.
Keller has seen it all in the sport that he has been a part of since 1967. He fell in love with the sport growing up working on his grandfather’s farm.
“I’m too short for basketball, so I figured I (would) go ride horses,” Keller added.
He also added he had several influences that helped him get into the sport.
Now, he is using those same skills to train the next generation of barrel riders.
As for the future, Keller is adding another farm in Farmville, Va., in which he will use as a training center and hold clinics for those wanting to learn how to become barrel riders.
“I get the biggest kick of out working with people,” Keller said. That’s the most enjoyment seeing kids that I’ve train succeed and not only be good riders and good competitors, but good people. There is nothing like it.”
As for the nickname, “Ducky,” Keller has no idea how he got it. That is something that people just call him. |
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