Saturday night, Sylvania resident Tracey Perryman will “turn and burn” as she competes in the Kiwanis Rodeo, doing what she usually does on weekend as a competitive barrel racer. But come Monday, she will be in class, teaching social studies at Langston Chapel Middle School.
Perryman has always loved horses, starting with a pony named Penny that “Santa” brought one year when Perryman was six. Today, at age 41, she has seven horses in her barn, (two belong to her parents) and spends most of her spare time caring for and riding “Legs, Shorty, J.L., Dinero and my main rodeo horse Rocky.”
In the rodeo Saturday, she will most likely be riding Rocky, the registered American Quarter Horse whose official name is Easy Rocking Six.
Perryman has won numerous barrel racing awards and was featured last year in the Barrel Horse News magazine. The International Pro Rodeo Association (IPRA) member stands rather high in rankings, as well as holding the #5 slot in barrel racing with the Southern Rodeo Association.
As a school teacher, Perryman loves sharing her pasttime with students. A 19-year veteran in the education field, she spent 14 years as a media specialist and started teaching social studies to sixth graders when she moved back to the area two years ago, she said. “I love teaching and sharing my experiences with my students. Each week my students ask if I will be rodeoing. I have shared videos from my travels across the southeast and they always seem genuinely interested in how well I do.”
Having a teacher with such an active hobby intrigues the young students, she said. “Most of them think that it is pretty awesome that I ride horses and then some of them think it’s scary to go that fast on one. Either way, it is a way they can connect with me on a personal level.”
Hearing about her adventures in the saddle is also a good lesson, she said. “It shows them that no matter how old you are it is okay to follow your dreams. I also remind them that following this dream would not be possible if I had not gotten my education first.”
Perryman started “running barrels” at age 12. In a typical barrel race, a rider runs a “cloverleaf” pattern around three barrels placed in a triangle, seeing how fast she can make the run, cutting as close to the barrels as possible without knocking one over.
She has racked up a number of ribbons trophies and other awards over the years, including being a repeat winner at the Georgia Federation of Saddle Clubs State show. This year Perryman won the Ladies 39 and over State Championship in three out of five events.
Those events were pole bending (weaving in and out of a line of poles at top speed without hitting any); the Arena Race (trying to get top speed in a run around the arena); and Cloverleaf (barrel racing). They placed 2nd in cones ( racing around cones placed in a pattern).
When she was featured on the cover of Barrel Horse News, she had just won a round at the National Barre; Horse Association President’s Cup show in North Augusta, in February of 2018.
“I placed 12th in the world at the WBRL (World Barrel Racing League) World Championships which was a major accomplishment considering there were 1,200 other horses competing,” she said.
Most of these competitions were at horsed shows, not rodeos, and there is a difference, she added. “ At a rodeo you have so much more happening that can make you and your horse lose focus. “
The physical layout is different as well. “The set-up of a rodeo is always interesting because the placement of the barrels can sometimes be precarious,” she said. “There are so many more variables at rodeos that make each one of them different.”
Perryman used to rodeo just for fun, but when she realized she was good at it, decided to compete more seriously.
“Prior to this year I had just rode in rodeos for fun and not really cared about the association standings. However when I won my first rodeo in September of last year in Lake Waccamaw, NC, I kind of starting thinking that maybe if I tried harder and attended more rodeos I could make the SRA Finals,” she said.
So far this year she and Rocky have placed at four rodeos. Last weekend in Tennille, GA a downed barrel cost them the win.
Rocky, who is 17, came back to her a few years ago after she had sold him to someone else. “I had the opportunity to purchase him back a couple of years ago and I am so glad that I did,” she said. “Rocky has a much different style than any of my other horses and riding him is much more of a challenge. He has a huge heart and tries to do his best every time. Each of my horses have their own personality and each has a particular thing that they are good at.”
This goes for her students as well, she said. “Each has a different background and brings a different set of skills to my classroom. Just like with the horses, I have to recognize that and adjust my teaching to see that they succeed.”
While barrel racing sounds like fun, it is also hard work. “Having a full time career and keeping my horses fit is also a full time job,” she said. “My day starts at 5 a.m. with feeding, cleaning stalls, turning horses out and then getting ready to go to school. In the evenings I attend class at CrossFitBoro, because I also have to be in shape to compete and then home to ride three, sometimes four horses. Then after that they have to be fed and “tucked” in for the night.”
Perryman learned at an early age that “to be successful you have to work hard, and to be a winner you have to put in more work than the next person,” she said. “I try each day to let my students understand that you get out of life what you put in and that hard work truly does pay off.”
Look for Perryman and other local riders as they join other competitors from all over during the Statesboro Kiwanis Rodeo, which takes place tonight and Saturday night at the Kiwanis Ogeechee Fairgrounds on Hwy. 67, south of Statesboro. Perryman will be competing Saturday.
Herald reporter Holli Deal Saxon may be reached at 912-489-9414.