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Kristin Yde • Barrel Racer

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Benson, NC
Kristin Yde • Barrel Racer

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4X American Semi-Finals Qualifier • 2016 & 2017 SRA Champ • 4X IFR Qualifier • 2016 SEBRA Champ • 2025 BBR 1D Finalist • 2025 PWR Pro Finalist • 2022 NBHA Open World 2D Champ • WPRA/IPRA/SRA/BFA/BBR

10/31/2026

It’s short go Saturday at the World Finals, and if you’ve earned another trip down that alley, take a minute to appreciate it. It’s easy to get so busy wanting the next accomplishment that you forget to enjoy the one you just earned.

Stay solid in what got you here. Trust your preparation, ride your horse, and have some fun. You don’t need to reinvent your riding overnight because it’s the finals. Give yourself and your horse a fair chance to do what you know how to do.

And if your week ended before today, give yourself some credit, too. Missing the short go doesn’t erase the good runs, the progress, or the work it took to be here. You can be disappointed and still leave proud of parts of your week.

There will be another race. Another chance to put it together. Take what you learned home with you without letting one week convince you that you’re behind in life.

Good luck to everyone running today. Enjoy having your horse saddled for a Saturday you were hoping to be part of. These are the days you’ll want to remember.

10/29/2026

Go make your run. Let the results decide where it lands.

It’s easy to get wrapped up in making the short go at World. Watching times, figuring division splits, checking how many spots are left… meanwhile, none of that helps you ride your horse.

Unless you’re winning the whole race, there’s some luck involved in where you fall in a divisional format. You can make a great run and miss the cut, or qualify with a run you know could’ve been better. That cutoff doesn’t get to decide whether you should be proud of your horse.

Prepare well, ride the horse underneath you, and give that run your best effort. That’s the part you have a say in.

Want to make the finals? Absolutely. But don’t let worrying about getting another run steal the fun out of the one you’re getting to make today.

We’re fortunate to be here, running horses at a show we looked forward to attending. Enjoy your horse, enjoy your people, and give yourself permission to have a good time along the way.

10/27/2026

There’s a whole lot more behind a big barrel race than the horses and riders getting their pictures taken.

There are vendors who load up, travel, set up and spend long days supporting these events. Vets working tirelessly on site to care for our horses, often when someone’s day has taken a scary turn. Announcers keeping things moving, tractor drivers making lap after lap, secretaries handling entries and answering the same questions more times than we can count.

Add in the gate crews, ground crews, producers and everyone working behind the scenes, and that’s a lot of people putting in hours before we’re ready to run and after we’ve headed back to the trailer.

We’re pretty quick to speak up when something doesn’t go our way. Let’s be just as intentional about recognizing the people working hard to make these super shows happen.

Shop with the vendors when you can. Be patient at the office. Pay attention when the announcer speaks. Thank the tractor driver and the person working the gate. Give the vets some appreciation for being there when our horses need them.

We all love having these events to enter. Showing some respect and appreciation for the people who make them possible should be part of showing up.

10/26/2026

You don’t need a new opinion every time you saddle your horse.

Ask ten people at a barrel race what you should do, and you’ll probably leave with ten different answers and no idea how you wanted to ride in the first place.

One says send harder. One says slow down. Someone doesn’t like your bit. Somebody else thinks you need to ride like the girl who just won.

There are people worth listening to, and being coachable matters. But constantly collecting opinions can leave you second-guessing things you understood perfectly well when you left home.

Every suggestion doesn’t need to become an adjustment. Especially five minutes before you run.

Have a plan based on the horse you brought, the work you’ve put in, and guidance from someone who understands both of you. Give yourself a chance to follow through before deciding it needs to change.

You can learn from people without handing everybody a vote in how you ride.

10/25/2026

A long week at a big show gives you plenty of opportunities to be the kind of competitor you’d want stalled beside you.

Help the person who’s never been there before. Being experienced should make you more helpful. We all had a first trip, didn’t know where something was, or needed someone to explain how things worked.

Keep your barn aisle picked up. Tack, chairs, buckets, and everything else we haul with us can take over quickly, but everyone else still needs room to get themselves and their horses through. Be aware of the space you’re sharing.

And if your run goes badly, take your five minutes. Be disappointed, figure out what happened, then get yourself together. The people around you shouldn’t have to check the results before deciding whether they can talk to you.

Give your horse some credit, too. Maybe the clock wasn’t what you wanted, but they handled the atmosphere better, stood quietly, or worked through something they struggled with last time. Those things count. Take the positives home along with a clear idea of what needs work, and set goals for the next trip.

There’s also a lot of time at these shows to watch everyone else and start questioning everything you do. Learn something if there’s something useful to learn, but don’t overhaul a routine that’s been working just because you’ve had three days to overthink it. Give yourself and your horse a fair chance to do what you prepared to do.

Good luck to everyone running at NBHA Open World this week. Chase your goals, take care of your horse, and be someone who makes the week better for the people around you.

10/24/2026

We talk a lot about getting our horses rested and settled after a long haul, but how well are we taking care of the other athlete on the team?

A long week away can catch up with you. Driving, riding, chores, walking miles around the grounds—and somehow getting through the day on an energy drink and whatever you found in the truck.

Then add late nights and trying to be part of everything going on, and by the time you run, your horse might be the only one rested and ready.

I love catching up with people at a show. That’s part of what makes this life fun. But you can enjoy being there and still know when to go eat, drink some water, get off your feet, and call it a night.

You don’t have to close down every gathering or fill every break with plans. Sometimes the best thing you can do for tomorrow’s run is be a little boring tonight.

We spend too much time preparing these horses to give them whatever version of ourselves is left over after everything else. They deserve a rider who’s rested, focused, and ready to do their job too.

10/24/2026

“It’s not what you pull up in. It’s what you unload.”

Somewhere between the barn and social media, we’ve made chasing a goal look like it requires a certain tax bracket.

Like you need the truck, the trailer, the wardrobe, and a perfectly coordinated life before you’ve earned the right to show up.

You don’t.

Enjoy somebody’s nice setup. Want one yourself. But quit putting people on a pedestal because they photograph well, then looking down on your own life because it doesn’t look like theirs.

You can take this seriously in an older truck. You can take excellent care of your horses without a fancy barn. You can be proud of what you’re building before it’s something anybody else would stop scrolling to admire.

You can have every bit of that fancy setup and still not have the winner standing in it. And somebody hauling an old trailer might have the best horse on the grounds.

Keep your focus on the horse you’re unloading and the work you’re putting into both of you. Don’t let the appearances convince you that you’re behind.

Go chase your goals. You don’t owe the internet proof that you can afford them.

10/23/2026

A full entry calendar isn’t automatically a plan.

There’s always another race to enter. Another place your friends are going. Another weekend that makes you feel like you’re missing out if you stay home.

But what is that trip doing for you and your horse?

Maybe you’re getting a young one experience, working toward qualifying, or entering somewhere that suits your horse and gives you a good shot at a check. Those are reasons to load up.

“I feel like everybody else is going” can get expensive in a hurry.

And the cost goes beyond entry fees and diesel. A horse only has so many runs in them. We don’t get to know that number ahead of time, so we need to put some thought into how we use them.

That doesn’t mean every run needs to win money. Experience matters. Building a partnership matters. But entering out of habit, chasing a mistake with another entry, or hauling because you can’t stand to miss something deserves an honest look.

Sometimes the most productive weekend is at home. Give your horse a break from hauling. Address something you haven’t had time to work through because you’ve been entering every weekend.

And sometimes you’re prepared, your horse feels great, and it’s time to load up and go compete.

Enter with a purpose. Give the work between races as much attention as the races themselves. Those runs are an opportunity, and we owe it to our horses to use them thoughtfully.

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10/22/2026

You don’t have to like someone to appreciate them helping your horse.

Imagine being proud of refusing to thank somebody who stepped in when your horse needed help, simply because you don’t like them. That’s not a flex. That’s letting a personal grudge matter more than what someone did for an animal you’re supposed to care about.

Nobody needs a thank-you badly enough to leave a horse in trouble. Most horse people will step in regardless of who owns it, because the horse has nothing to do with whatever history exists between the humans.

But there’s a lot to be said about how you act when someone you dislike does right by you. Basic gratitude doesn’t mean you’re suddenly friends. It means you can give credit where it’s due.

The horse community is small. Word travels, and how you treat people gives it somewhere to go. I think people forget that the way they talk about treating someone can say more about them than the person they dislike. What feels like a victory when you’re telling your friends may leave everyone else questioning your character.

If you’re going to give people something to talk about, let it be your horsemanship and your work ethic. Being proud of treating someone poorly is a strange reputation to work for.

10/21/2026

If you want me in your corner as a trainer or coach, you have to be willing to hear when your effort isn’t matching your goals.

I’m going to support you. I’m going to celebrate your progress, help you through the frustrating days, and put thought into what you and your horse need. But I’m also going to tell you when you’re making excuses, skipping the homework, or repeating something we’ve already discussed without making an effort to change it.

That’s part of the job you’re paying me to do.

You don’t have to ride perfectly. You can be nervous, frustrated, inexperienced, or having a rough week. We can work through all of that. What I need is a willingness to listen, take responsibility, and apply what we’re working on.

If you tell me you have big goals, I’m going to coach you with those goals in mind. That means being honest about the preparation, consistency, and habits it takes to get there. A lesson once a week cannot do the work of the other six days.

Being coachable doesn’t mean agreeing with every word or never asking why. It means being willing to consider the feedback, give an adjustment a fair try, and look honestly at your own part in the outcome. That willingness gives us something to build on.

For me, the best lessons are the ones where a student starts recognizing things for themselves. They can feel what happened, understand why, and make a thoughtful adjustment. That takes participation from both of us.

I enjoy seeing a student win, but I also enjoy watching them become someone who can put the work together on their own. That’s what I want them taking home from a lesson.

Address

1362 Chic Ennis Road
Benson, NC
27504

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm

Website

http://www.kyperformancehorses.com/

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