Having already gone quickly around two barrels, Wardsville resident Catie Dampf raced her horse toward the third and final barrel, losing her white cowgirl hat in the wind. Her friends and competition watched from all sides of the arena, cheering her on as she raced toward the finish line.
Dozens of Missourians competed in Tuesday night's rodeo at the Jefferson City Jaycees Cole County Fair.
This is the first year the Cole County fair hosted the Ozark Rodeo Association, which is based out of the St. Robert area.
"We're excited to be here and promote our association in front of new people," ORA President Jason Huffman said. "We're going to see a lot of new faces, get to be in front of a lot of new people, so we're so grateful to have the opportunity to do that."
ORA had several events including bareback, calf roping, barrel racing, calf riding, pole bending, ribbon roping and goat tying. Many of those categories were split into divisions - 9 years old and under, 10-14 years old, 15-19 years old, 40 years old and over, and an open class.
Dampf, 18, has been rodeoing at the Cole County fair for the last four years, but she began barrel racing when she was 7 years old.
"I remember just being a little girl and watching those girls barrel race and being like, 'That's it. I know that's what I want to do,'" she said. "I just fell in love with it the first time I saw it and I knew that's what I wanted to do. I love it so much, and I wouldn't change this for the world."
Dampf will continue to follow that dream to Missouri Valley College in Marshall, where she will be part of its rodeo team.
The music died off as 28-year-old Cody Worley guided his horse around the barrels, many people cheering for him. The Cherryville resident has been physically challenged since birth and trained his horse, Dan, to go around the barrels.
"I worked with him every day, hours on end," he said, adding hard work is the key to competing. "If I can do it, anyone can do it. It's as simple as that."
His grandfather, Charles, also competed in barrel racing Tuesday night. Racing around the barrels, his horse slipped slightly in the muddy arena, but he recovered.
"You just go out there and do the best job you and your horse can do," Charles Worley said. "Sometimes you have problems with your horse, (but) you just got to work with your horse and hope and pray for the best."
Like every sport, rodeoing comes with the risks. Several competitors Tuesday night limped out of the arena. Lexie Kasper, 14, of Iberia, said injuries should not scare people away from the game.
"I tell myself not to be scared because it's going to heal," said Kasper, who competed in various categories like barrel racing, goat tying and pole bending. "The pain will be gone within a short amount of time."
Like her friends, Dampf said the adrenaline and challenge drew her to the sport.
"You never have the perfect run and that's what makes it so fun because you could barrel race your entire life, working toward that perfect run, but there's always something that you can keep working on, so you never get tired of it," she said, patting one of her horses, Cheyenne, before the competition. "Different horses, different arenas, everything changes. It's so exciting."
While the competition gives contestants a thrill, Miss ORA 2018 Maddy Benson said, it's also a way to make friends and become part of a "rodeo family."
"Many times, I'll call Tyler and be like, 'I just want to give up. I'm done. I got hurt. I had equipment break. I couldn't put a run together to save my life,'" Benson said, looking at 21-year-old Tipton resident Tyler Stayton, her ribbon roping partner. "But having people who have your back all the time, it always helps make this a tremendous, tremendous experience."