NSPRA member, Toni Horkley – Amanda Dilworth
story by Terry Rhodes
It would be difficult to find someone that has more passion for barrel racing and barrel horses than Toni Horkley. Whether at her home in Idaho or wintering in Arizona, Toni has horses and barrels on her mind. Not only does she have that passion but she passes it on and encourages others in the game. “I try to help people and tell them, ‘Good job’. I know some are just getting started and some of them are older and need a boost. I tell them, ‘If I can do this, you can too.’ My daughter and I put on barrel racings every Monday night in the summer. We have a nice county arena that we use. We like to help out some the local girls by having a place for them to run.”
She has been in the association since she became eligible 10 years ago. The new enter-down rule allows Toni to run different horses in both the 50’s and 40’s age divisions. She likes the NSPRA because of the laid back atmosphere and slower pace of things. “There’s not so much pressure and everybody is friendly. It’s all easy going.”
To get horses trained and seasoned for high level competition takes a lot of time and a lot of experience in the arena. That’s why Toni also belongs to the IMPRA and WPRA, besides the NSPRA. “You can’t get horses seasoned unless you go to a lot rodeos and barrel racing events. I have a lot of futurity colts that I’m training and they need that kind of work.” She likes the Streakin Six and Dash Ta Fame bloodlines for barrel horses.
When Toni is getting prepared, she takes time to plan her run. “I watch the conditions in arena beforehand. You don’t always know what young horses will do so you want to be sure that you are mentally ready and the horse is mentally ready for the run. I try not to listen what everybody else is saying because that can mess with your mind.” Toni has five open horse and futurity colts to run so she tries to match the horse to the given arena conditions. “I am fortunate that I have that many horses to run.”
Toni is a third generation cowgirl and has been competing in rodeo since her days growing up in Buhl, Idaho. “I started in junior rodeo and then went on the high school rodeo. My mom and dad were involved in rodeo and my grandpa did a lot of horse trading so we always had a lot of horses around. He’d buy them, we’d ride them and then he’d sell them.”
She and her husband, Jim call home Rexburg, Idaho and they spend the winter months in Arizona where she can train and work horses outside. Toni has four step-children and one daughter, Brandy. “Jim is retired and my biggest supporter and sponsor. I take all my horses with me and we leave in October and don’t come back until April. Brandy takes care of my brood mares and takes care of our place while we’re in Arizona.”
She says that her daughter is her biggest influence. “She keeps me going and keeps me motivated. That helps me out a lot. She’s my good traveling partner and we go to a lot open barrel races and pro rodeos together. She teaches school in Idaho Falls and lives next door to us.”
Leisure time gets her away from the barrels for something different. “My one diversion (from barrel racing) is antiques. My husband and I love to go to antique shows and collect. We collect a lot of Conoco and Coca Cola signs.” Goals for the future are to keep producing futurity prospects and staying in the saddle. “You see people riding when they’re 80; that’s what I want to do.”
