Running free Goldsmith enjoys life as a barrel racer

“I think I’ve had a passion for it. I’ve had a passion for horses,” Goldsmith said. “The rush that you get right before you’re about to run, it’s pretty cool how excited you get.”

The rising Enterprise sophomore got another taste of racing excitement when she and her horse, a paint named Doctor Bombay, competed at the 2012 National Barrel Horse Association Youth World Championships in Perry, Ga., recently.

Goldsmith and Bombay ran against more than 1,000 competitors in the event’s teen division, according to a press release.

“When you walked in just to watch other people is really intimidating because there’s (what seems) like a million people watching, but it was pretty cool,” she said. “When you’re warming up there are (about) 1,000 horses around you.”

The crowd and competitors didn’t dampen Bombay’s excitement before the race.

“Right when you even walk into the first 10 to get ready, you can feel him start shaking,” Goldsmith said. “Then, when they open the gate, I just tell him to go. He knows that word.”

Bombay heard the command, tore from the chute and ran a 16.363, placing the duo in the middle of the division.

Though the time didn’t qualify Goldsmith for the finals, she cut nearly two seconds from her time at last year’s event — which she competed with the help of another paint named Chief.

“With Chief it was pretty cool,” she said. “He broke the pattern both times but, like with Bombay, just being there and competing (with) him in qualifying was pretty cool.”

Aside from barrel racing, Goldsmith is also an Enterprise softball player. She has learned lessons from both sports since she began racing.

“It was very intimidating, because with softball you dealt with humans. They were teaching you,” Goldsmith said. “The horses really teach you, and you teach the horse as well so it’s very different.”

The joy of competing in big events gives Goldsmith confidence, no matter how she and Bombay fare.

“It’s absolutely amazing,” she said. “I get disappointed when we knock over a barrel, and then I think of how many people were there (who) we just ran against and competed against.”

When the time comes, Goldsmith hopes to compete for the Troy University rodeo team. For now, though, racing and riding freely at a gallop is enough.

“When you open him up, that’s probably one of the best feelings when you’re on a horse,” Goldsmith said. “You just feel like it’s just you and the horse in the whole world. It’s a good feeling.”