Get to know thirteen-year-old Ocala barrel racer Emma Trahan

OCALA, Fla. — Thirteen-year-old Emma Trahan is always active.

When she is not in class with her eighth-grade classmates at Grace Christian School, you can either find her playing volleyball, soccer or barrel racing. When it comes to which one she prefers the most, though, the answer is quite easy.

“I feel like barrel racing just fits with me and it makes me very happy when I am competing, especially when I win,” she said. “I do love soccer and volleyball, but I am very passionate about barrel racing.”

While she is all in on barrel racing, Emma still wants to continue to play volleyball and soccer in high school. She loves to be able to compete on the court and on the field with her teammates.

Barrel racing, however, is a love that she has set aside some bigger goals to be able to accomplish.

For starters, she is always reminding herself to be consistent and to have confidence in her abilities. One way she does this is by remembering a quote from the soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo. He said, “If you don’t believe you are the best, then you will never achieve all that you are capable of.”

She also has other ambitions for her barrel racing career.

“To constantly run in the 1D or 2D in my races would be a personal goal, but it takes time and dedication to achieve that,” she said. “A dream in my barrel racing career would be to compete in the NFR (National Finals Rodeo) and to travel across the country to compete.”

One of the keys to Emma’s success will be having patience in herself. She admits this, knowing that the goals she has set forth will take some time to achieve. It will not happen overnight and will take hard work, but this is something Emma is prepared to do.

“I have to have patience with myself and believe if I keep up the hard work I will eventually accomplish my goals,” she said. “I manage the challenges by reminding myself of why I started and why I want to succeed. I manage by looking at how far I have come in my sports and why I seek the expectations I have set forth for myself.

“I always say in my mind, ‘I am the best.’ This helps me through the biggest challenges because no one could tell me otherwise.”

When Emma is not competing, she enjoys hanging out with her friends and family. She also enjoys hanging out with her many animals, including goats, dogs, cats and her other horses.

One of the reasons Emma enjoys playing volleyball and soccer is because she gets to be a part of a team. Being a part of a team teaches you how to help others accomplish their goals and to help the entire team work together for a common cause.

Emma once received a piece of advice that has stuck with her to this day. It came when she participated in gymnastics when she was younger. Her coach told her to always keep moving forward with your eyes on the goal.

“I still use that today,” she said. “I never take my eyes off the prize and I keep moving forward.”

Like most successful athletes, Emma has certain pregame rituals she does before barrel racing. She said she prays before she runs her horse.

“I pray that God will keep my horses and I safe while I run and warmup,” she said. “Any sport I play, I always pray that I can do my best and I thank God for these opportunities He has given me.”

In her six to seven years that she has been barrel racing, Emma has overcome quite a bit. With her drive and passion to succeed, she is sure to achieve the goals she has set forth for herself.

Admitting she has made plenty of mistakes while competing, she uses that as fuel to continue to succeed.

“I cannot change what has happened in the past,” she said. “All I can do is learn from my mistakes I have made and move on. Just the smallest mistakes help me understand how I can be better in my sports.”

“I think mistakes are good. They help you learn and improve. I do not get discouraged or have doubts in my abilities to achieve my goals.”

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