Fastest 15 seconds of Madi Wood's

Simcoe's Madi Wood will be participating in the National Barrel Horse Association Youth World Championships July 20-26 at the Georgia National Fairgrounds in Perry, Georgia.

“I'm not going to sleep for the next couple of weeks.”

That's how excited Madi Wood is that she'd forgo sleep knowing she'll be gunning for a world championship in the very near future.

From July 20-26, the 17-year-old Simcoe native and her quarter horse, Obviously A Triple, will be traveling down to Perry, Georgia to participate in the National Barrel Horse Association Youth World Championships.

Competing at the Georgia National Fairgrounds, Wood will be one of a handful of individuals racing around a series of barrels in a clover-leaf pattern at a fast pace for a chance to claim that world title that'll certainly come with plenty of bragging rights.

“It will be the fastest 15 seconds of your life,” Wood joked. “It will be my first time at the world championship. I'm so nervous and excited at the same time. I can't wait.”

Wood qualified for the the event after ranking in the top five in the country in the under-18 youth category.

As far as she can remember Wood has always been riding a horse. The Simcoe native began stable riding at the young age of three.

While she was content with stable riding, there was a particular western horse show that Wood was first introduced to the world of barrel racing.

“I saw the racing style at the show and it caught my eye,” she said. “It was quick and there was an intensity behind it. It was so different than how I was used to riding. It was so incredible.”

When she's on Obviously A Triple, Wood shuts out the world around her and concentrates solely on riding. It's the strategy that will be needed for an event of the magnitude of a youth world championships.

“You don't think,” she said. “You concentrate at riding and pray to God nothing happens. It happens so fast.”

While Wood is involved in horse shows practically every weekend, there are three major shows that she looks forward to.

The first is the Ontario Barrel Racing Association Blast Off event in April, the NBHA Youth World Championships in July and the All American Quarter Horse Congress in October.

As this is her first time competing at the world championship, Wood is hopeful she will do well.

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