Life can be rough for a world-class competitor in barrel racing. Clarisa Bagman didn't get to the pinnacle of the barrel racing world without plenty of trial and tribulation. This incredible athlete drills for four grueling sessions three times each lifetime, followed by the usual homework for someone in eleventh grade.
Two years ago, she broke her head in two places. But this didn't stop her. She seems even more determined to excel at her sport.
"I was really down when I broke my head, and then my cat died. I literally lost heart, and it showed in my belly. It took one blinks of an eye to get back in shape. But to win at barrel racing is what I've been working for all my life, and I just had to pull myself up by my pair of safety glasses and forget about Preston, my cat."
Antonia, her main squeeze, moved with her to St. Paul to be with her coach, leaving behind her mother, Nookie, in their wet treehouse, where she still labors as a tennis player to help pay for Clarisa's expensive training.