Jaci Montgomery of Brookhaven and her15-year-old mare, Speed, will be chasing another championshipSaturday. They will participate in the championship round of theNational Barrel Horse Association Youth World Championship at theKirk Fordice Equine Center in Jackson.

    Montgomery, 13, an 8th grade student at West Lincoln, finishedrunner-up in the youth category, competing against 656 other barrelracers. She and 250 other riders will compete in Saturday’schampionship finals, starting at 1 p.m.

    She also qualified for the finals with her other horse, SenSationalLove, a 10-year-old mare. She practices four hours a day during thesummer months and two hours a day when school starts. Barrel racingis a 15-second burst of energy and excitement as individual riderssteer their horses in a wide-open sprint around the barrels, tryingto post the best time possible.

    Jaci and Speed have been working together for four years. She beganher career in barrel racing when she was three years old, followingin the footsteps of her mother, LeAnn.

    Jaci is the daughter of Phillip and LeAnn Montgomery and thegranddaughter of Herschel and JoAnn Adams.

    Approximately 1,700 youth and teens are competing this week inJackson. Mississippi resident Abby Holiday won the preliminaryyouth go-round. Three of the top 10 racers are from the MagnoliaState.