TEAM DURANGO® MEMBER

STEVI HILLMAN

PROFESSIONAL BARREL RACER

Though Stevi is a Colorado native, she moved to Texas in 2004 because she knew it was essential to help her accomplish her lifelong dream of becoming a professional barrel racer. While she has always been passionate about running barrels, she has also been fascinated with working in the medical field. In 2010, she received her Radiologic Technician degree from Weatherford College in Weatherford, TX and is still a part time X-Ray Technician at a hospital west of Fort Worth, TX. Whether it is at the rodeos or at the hospital, Stevi focuses on serving people and to be an inspiration to others.

Although Stevi has always wanted to be a barrel racer, she did not have the opportunity to compete in junior high or high school because it was not a priority and she did not have a competitive horse. When she would get the opportunity to go to a jackpot, she would run her family and neighbor’s rope horses just so she could enter. During college, she worked for different horse trainers in different disciplines including cutting, reining, and polo, learning all she could to add to the general foundation her step-father taught her. Because of this experience, she understands how impactful a moment can be to someone when they get a chance to meet a person they look up to and respect. Stevi chooses to use her platform as a professional barrel racer to inspire young girls to work hard and pursue their dreams, even when it doesn’t seem possible. Her experience growing up serves as a wonderful example of what is possible when you have a clear vision of who you want to be and you never give up pursing your dreams.

Her passion to work with horses has never wavered. She has trained three horses who have competed at the National Finals Rodeo including Im A Royal Design (Hammer) who was ridden by Carlee Pierce and Jana Bean, Perfectos Dually (J-Lo) ridden by Christina Richman, and Morning Traffic (Martini) who Stevi rode in 2016. She has earned a reputation of being an effective horsewoman by training and/or seasoning horses to compete at a high level as well as a good jockey capable of jump-riding the promising, but challenging, horses that other riders have struggled to win on consistently. Starting with Cuatro Fame (Truck), who became her main mount, Stevi learned to effectively jockey him consistently enough to qualify her for five consecutive NFR’s. Because of her reputation, she had opportunities to jockey and find a way to win on other fast, but challenging horses.