The 30th Annual Putnam County Classic hosted by the Manley family was in full effect this summer.
The event took place from June 3-6 at the Manley Arena in Putnam County. This event has been taking place since the tornado of 1992. The Manley’s property was full of trees then the tornado knocked the trees down which made way for them to build their arena.
The Manley’s host three different classifications in their annual barrel racing event; these are the peewee group, the youth group, and the open group. The peewee class is for ages 10 and under, the youth class is for ages 18 and under and the open class is for everyone who wants to enter. The event starts out with the peewee class, which was about 20 participants, then the youth with around 77 participants then the open which included 150 participants. Within each class, riders can enter several horses and choose whether they want to be the one to ride them or if they want to have someone else ride. This year veteran barrel racer Sherri Hamilton, who has not missed a Manley event in 25 years, entered two horses. One horse was raced by her, and the other horse was raced by a student. Hamilton is originally from Massachusetts and moved to Dawsonville, Georgia where she trains younger students to barrel race. One of her students raced in the youth class Saturday against Lanie Brown (17), who had the fastest recorded time in that class.
“I’ve been riding horses since I was 2,” said Brown. “My favorite part about barrel racing is the people; the people at this event are like family. I love being able to come to these events and compete around the same people who are practically family.”
Barrel racing is a competitive sport that people will train themselves and their horses for years. At the Summer Classic, the time starts in the alley where the electric eyes start the time. They then go into the main arena and round the barrels which are in a clover leaf formation and try to record the fastest time. If the horse knocks a barrel over or breaks the pattern, then the run is put down as a no time. In order to complete the course successfully, the horse must round each of the three barrels twice and finish at the alley where the electric eye stops the clock for the recorded time. Dr. Brenda Manley, the host of the event, mentioned that horses can be right and left-handed like people. This is how the horse chooses if they want to take on the right barrel or the left barrel first.
Host Dr. Manley practiced veterinary medicine in the Eatonton area for years. She is also a triple dawg as she obtained three degrees from the University of Georgia. Manley herself does not barrel race but her nephew barrel raced but has since given that up to be a professional roper. Now she has a younger member of the family in five-year-old Skylar, who competed in the peewee class this summer. The entire family was in attendance, and they were all geared and ready for the best barrel racing east of the Mississippi.
“We love barrel racing,” said Dr. Manley. “We love being able to host this event and have everyone come out, especially returners like Sherri. The people who come to these events are like family and we love to watch the kids compete through the years. This is such a family-friendly event; we always have lots of kids running around.”