Speed! Speed along with a deep love and friendship. A special bond, a connection between a girl and her horse.

Jessie Green, a 17-year-old senior at Powhatan High School, like many teens, has been busy this summer. But, unlike others, she has been busy accomplishing the goals she set  for herself this year.

The Powhatan girl recently traveled to Lexington, Va. to compete in the Colonial National Barrel Racing competition. Green competed against about 1,000 entries from at least seven states and finished with the best time to take home the national championship.

Barrel racing is a timed horse race where the horse runs through a course designed with three barrels that form a triangle. The rider with the fastest time wins. The event challenges speed and agility along with timing and grace.

In the beginning of the year, Green made four goals for herself. First she wanted to win the Virginia State competition. She did that. Then she wanted to win the Colonial National Youth championship, but instead won the open championship which was not restricted to just youth. The race included all ages.

Then, Green wanted to be called back to the youth finals and did. Out of almost 1,000 entries, Green was called back to race with the final 130 competitors. She ended up placing 19th.

Now, what’s a girl to do when she has accomplished all she set out to accomplish this year? Green wants to return next year and win the Colonial National Youth championship.

Horses have been a part of the Green family for many years. Mom, Sharon, said her and her husband Larry, bought horses when their oldest daughter, Lisa was young. Lisa and sister Amy loved to ride.

Eventually Jessie came along and started riding horses at two-years-old. When Amy chose to stop riding, her horse was handed over to Jessie.

She has been barrel racing since she was four-years-old. But, raising the bar, switching to the competitive level and becoming a champion does not come without sacrifice. Although Sharon feeds the horses in the morning. Jessie is responsible for feeding them at night. Also stalls have to be cleaned and horses groomed.

“I try to ride everyday, but it’s too hot right now so I ride about three or four times a week now,” Green said.

Sacrifice extends to the entire family. To compete at the national level, Green, accompanied by her mother and her sister Lisa, travel all over the east coast. “This year, the trips have been far away so we have to stay in hotels. Jessie’s winnings have paid the expenses this year,” Sharon said.

“We’ve been to Delaware, Pennsylvania, Mississippi two times, Georgia in the past and North Carolina.” Green said her dad usually stays home to care for his elderly father but supports her completely.

During the school year, Green normally comes home from school and goes straight outside to ride her horse. Then she does homework and study and then maybe there is a little bit of time left to hang out with friends.

The Green’s purchased the six-year-old race horse, Clay’s Money Tree, after seeing the horse at a show last year. “I was jokingly saying when are you going to sell me that horse. Then we traded the four-year-old horse I had for him.”

Green said the previous owner had done well with him but then stopped riding him. “I didn’t know when we bought him, he would help me accomplish my goals.” Green said Clay had come off of the race track and had seriously hurt his leg. They had to take six months off. “But he came back stronger than before.”

The champion barrel racer explained that she has always turned to the right barrel first and so had Clay. But with the leg injury, the two had to start going to the left barrel first. “We trust each other a lot and learned together.”

Green said Clay is more than a horse she rides, he is a part of the family. “He gets Gatorade before and after a race,” she said.

“We spoil him with treats,” Sharon said.  Barrel racing is not all fun and traveling, however. When race time comes, tensions build.

Although she is used to the stress now, Green gets nervous and mom Sharon sometimes has to walk away because she is so nervous.

“I talk to Jessie and tell her just to do the best she can and it doesn’t matter if she wins or loses,” Sharon said.

“We call her the horse whisperer because she also talks to Clay and he listens to her. He’s an unbelievable horse,” Green said.

Green has already won a number of belt buckets and a saddle along with money. Sharon said after expenses are paid, the money is banked for her daughter’s college and future. So along with her new goal of winning the youth finals, Green wants to win a horse trailer.

It’s only mid-season in the barrel racing business so there is still time for that trailer.

What does the future hold for Green? The PHS senior said she wants to become a teacher  after college, but wants to go on the road and barrel race also