story by Lily Weinacht
Tammy Arnold spent the first 16 years of her childhood Illinois, and though her family sold their horses to move to Arizona when she was a teenager, the move ultimately brought Tammy to the world of rodeo. Today, the 49-year-old from Benson, Arizona, is barrel racing in the GCPRA, after buying a horse of her own when she was 30. “I did trail riding and team penning, and when I met my husband, he was doing professional rodeo and my mother-in-law was barrel racing. My oldest daughter was doing 4-H and barrel racing, and I helped her train her horses. I was training horses for a living and breaking colts, and I thought I’d give barrels a try.”
Tammy went from testing the waters of barrel racing to jumping right in within a matter of months, particularly with the help of her mother-in-law, Pat Arnold. “She’s in her late seventies now and still barrel races. She has a good time no matter what, and she’s always smiling and friendly to everybody,” says Tammy. “I like the speed of barrel racing, and the challenge of trying to make the best run every time. It’s definitely fast and furious, and I like it when the crowd is screaming. But it’s not necessarily to beat other people, but to beat my best time, especially since I change horses every few years.”
Her current mount is an 11-year-old gelding, Small Town Baron, known better as Baron. “He’s out of my stud I used to compete on a few years ago until he had a lot of injuries. Baron is only about 14.2, and anybody can ride him, including my grandkids. Last year was the first year we let them compete in peewee barrel races, and it was a blast. A few months ago, three of the grandkids rode Baron at the same barrel race in one day, and I love doing it with them.”
Tammy and her husband, Jim Arnold, have five children and seven grandchildren, and they come to several of Tammy’s rodeos, including a barrel race in Marana where she won the 3D. Jim used to compete in the PRCA and now rides saddle broncs in the NSPRA. “We met when we were both working for a construction company, and he’s very helpful. He always has good advice and he’ll watch the runs and video for me.” When she’s not riding or spending time with grandchildren, Tammy is a real estate agent, primarily selling horse properties. When she and Jim lived in New Mexico, they started a towing and road service business that he still runs today, but after moving several times, they settled in Benson. “I love it here!” Tammy says. “It’s sort of rural, and we have six acres, but we’re close to town. Jim and I do projects together around the house since we just moved here in February, but for us, it’s either rodeo, horses, or grandkids.”
Her goal is qualifying for the GCPRA finals, where she won the incentive barrel racing and year-end titles in 2014. Only a month before that, she won the barrel racing at the NMRA finals. Tammy’s first saddle however, came in 2012 when she competed in the PAFRA since Jim served in the United States Marines. “I went all over rodeoing with them and went to their finals in Texas. That group is a lot of fun. I’d also like to buy my pro card again. I did pro rodeo for a year, but my horse at the time wasn’t cutting it, so my goal is to get back on the road again and give it a try.”
