Barrel Racing At The Fairgrounds?

WAITSBURG - Waits­burg City Councilman Scott Nettles believes bringing barrel racing to the Waits­burg Fairgrounds could re­vive the facility and possibly bring back the horse races of Days Of Real Sport.

Nettles mentioned at the most recent city council meeting that he is working with some barrel racing contacts to start planning events.

Nettles told the Times that he has several friends involved in the equestrian sport and that the facilities in the area for this kind of racing are limited. He said the surface of the grounds in Waitsburg is great for barrel racing.

The main obstacle in making the Waitsburg Fair­grounds a barrel racing ven­ue is the softball field built by the Lions Club decades ago, Nettles said. In the late 1980s and early 1990s everyone was on a softball team, he said. However, now there aren't any teams using those fields.

"Now, they just sit there," Nettles said. "That facility was built for livestock, not for softball."

Nettles wants to go back to using the fairgrounds facility for what it was de­signed for. His next step is to get the city council and the community on board with the change.

Kelli Currin, a member of the board for the local Valley Girls Barrel Racing Associa­tion said the Waitsburg Fair­grounds would make a great facility for races.

"I think that's perfect ground in there," Currin said.

Currin likes the location of Waitsburg, between Walla Walla and Dayton where most of the Valley Girls reside, and said if the races at the fairgrounds get to be Valley Girl approved, the events should bring out large numbers of people.

She said the keys to bringing in barrel racers are good grounds, big pots of money for winners, appro­priate sanctions and good food.

But no. 1 on that list is definitely the grounds that need to be raked, packed and watered often.

The barrel racing events could be run from the spring into the fall, as long as there's not rain or snow.

The ultimate goal is to bring more equestrian busi­ness into town. This could give the local economy a boost during the events and local groups, like the Lions, could serve food and retail goods to make some extra money, he said.

After hosting successful barrel racing events, Nettles said he believes the grounds could open up once again to horse racing. He said the facility already has the nec­essary stalls and gates for that sport.

"We need to utilize what we have," he added.

Nettles said he hadn't yet talked with the city about all of the details and he's still working out a plan to make it happen.

"I'm not going to jump into this screaming and hol­lering until I have a plan," he said.

The plan would have to include eliminating the softball fields by pulling out the light poles and fencing and tilling the fields under. Nettles said the bleachers aren't anchored and could be moved to the high school's football field.

He doesn't know whether the community will be on board with the idea and he expects some opposition.

"There will be those peo­ple who scream and holler," Nettles said. "But if (the fields are) not being used, we need to do something else with the land."