AROUND
HORSING
When she was 6, Dolli Lautaret
was kicked in the face by a horse.
Reconstructive surgery followed,
but it didn’t stop her from riding
in professional barrel-racing competitions. Neither did two bouts
with cancer. “I competed a month
after surgery to remove a brain
tumor,” says the Kingman, Arizona,
resident, now 60.
Horseback
Barrel racing is a speed sport:
Riders zip around three barrels
set out to form a triangle, and
between the velocity and turns,
horses can easily fall. Lautaret
isn’t worried, however. Her cowgirl philosophy: “You can sit
around, or you can wear yourself
out. I intend to wear myself out.”
Riding
Interested? Experienced riders
can take barrel-racing lessons at
the Josey Ranch in Karnack, Texas
(903-935-5358; barrelracers.com).
Or check out the Cody Stampede
Rodeo in Cody, Wyoming (where
rodeo is the state sport), July 1
through 4.
Merry-go-rounding
See our first national park from horseback: In Yellowstone, tours depart from Mammoth Hot Springs, Canyon Village, and Roosevelt Lodge (307-344-7311; nps.gov/yell). In New York’s Catskill Mountains, families and riders of all levels saddle up at Rocking Horse Ranch (800-647- 2624; rockinghorseranch.com).
Take a ride on the mild side: The
historic carousel in Riverfront
Park in Spokane, Washington,
has been twirling customers for
a century. Eldridge Park in Elmira,
New York, claims to have the
world’s fastest. ;
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