Sharon Orstad & Mister Be A Twister Repeat As World Champions!

  Sun 6/30/2013

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SHARON ORSTAD AND MISTER BE A TWISTER REPEAT AS WORLD CHAMPIONS.

BY LARRI JO STARKEY, PUBLICATIONS MANAGING EDITOR

For the second year in a row, Sharon J. Orstad of Wayne, Oklahoma, guided her homebred gelding Mister Be A Twister to a world championship in barrel racing through two rounds of competition. Sharon and "Twister" have been on the road for about two weeks, and Sharon was completely composed during her runs. Afterward, however, she admitted that the part of winning she doesn't enjoy as much is talking in front of cameras afterward. She graciously consented to talk to the Journal and talk about her runs.

View Sharon's interview live: http://vimeo.com/6438561

Q: Congratulations. Does it feel just as good the second time?

Sharon: It feels just as good the second time.

Q: Tell us about your horse.

Sharon: He’s a home-raised horse from Minnesota. I had his dam and his granddam. I raised him up there, and we moved to Oklahoma about five years or six years ago.

Q: What was his dam like?

Sharon: She was not very impressive. She was a little cold-backed, so I never barrel-raced her, but his granddam I did barrel race.

Q: What’s the biggest race you’ve ever won on him?

Sharon: Probably this one.

Q: What’s your training regimen like? How often do you practice with him?

Sharon: Well, I don’t practice him any more because he’s a finished horse at age 12, but I just went really slow from 2 to 7, and he seemed to come on after that.

Q: What’s your advice for someone else who’s training a barrel horse?

Sharon: Well, there are so many good bloodlines out there. You can’t really pin it down to just a few. There’s a lot. I guess just go slow for a long time. The horse’s attitude is much better, and they’ll run for you until they’re 20-something years old.

Q: How are you going to celebrate?

Sharon: Probably by driving to Waco.

Q: Are you going to be back next year?

Sharon: It probably will fit into my schedule.

BETCHA DIDN’T KNOW
AQHA Corporate Partner Smart Pak has been giving away treat samples at the 2009 Bayer Select World. When Twister started rooting around for a treat, Sharon said he had developed a taste for them.

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Contact/Location

Jolene K Jones
Amarillo, TX
715-857-5505