REPEAT VICTORY Sharpie Back on Top in Tucson By Kristen M. White T hree years ago, Stevi Hillman ran a young, green horse at La Fiesta de los Vaqueros in Tucson, Arizona, and found an unexpected victory there. This year, Hillman and the same horse, Sharpie, teamed up for another win in the same arena. “I love winning the same rodeo on the same horse. It’s so sentimental to me,” Hillman said. “It was really special!” In 2017, Hillman and Sharpie’s success was a bit of a surprise, since he had just come from the futurity ranks and hadn’t really run outdoors at all. He was in Hillman’s trailer to get some seasoning. This year, the story was a bit different. At 8, Sharpie (MCM ImASharpGuy) handled things like a champ, and Hillman obviously has many more runs aboard the little grey gelding, too.
Sharpie had a stifle surgically repaired last year and was out for several months to heal. Hillman started running him again just before the NFR last year, and she said it’s great to see him feeling so good. “He came back feeling a little more honest than he’d ever been, so it was cool to feel that, that he’s feeling so good,” she said. Hillman was torn on which of her horses to take to Tucson. She told herself if her other trusty horse, Truck, did well in San Antonio that she’d leave him there and take Sharpie to Tucson, and that’s how it worked out. They were up in Tuesday morning slack for the first round, and then Hillman had to fly back to San Antonio to run in the semifinals. “I would say that first round in Tucson was one of the best runs I’ve ever had on Sharpie,” she said. “He was smooth and easy to get around the barrels.” They finished in 17.19 seconds, and no one else would come close to their time, with Lisa Lockhart finishing second in 17.32 seconds, followed by Emily Miller and Haley Wolfe tied for third in 17.43 seconds. The final round wasn’t until Sunday, so there was a lot of time in
between runs and Hillman had to leave to get back to San Antonio. Friend Jackie Ganter offered to keep Sharpie and ride him a couple of days so Hillman could do both. “Sharpie is easy going on how you ride him and Jackie did a wonderful job,” Hillman said. “Me being off of him that long hindered him a little bit – with any horse to make the best run possible you have to be on their back more – and that was a lot of time in between. But I was so thankful for Jackie’s help.” Warming up for the finals, Hillman said she could tell Sharpie was riled up and going to be a bit of a handful, so she was preparing mentally to do everything she could to keep the barrels up. It had rained and the ground was heavy. Hillman said she knew it was safe, but wasn’t going to be fast. While she laughed and said their finals run was not one of their best ever – “I was happy to just get around all three barrels!” she said – their time of 17.78 seconds proved tough to beat. In the end, they outlasted the other competitors to win that round as well. It gave Hillman a combined time of 34.97 seconds on two runs, ahead of Miller in 35.29 seconds. Winning, especially given the added challenges of the long time in between runs and differences in ground, left Hillman feeling “incredibly blessed to be back on Sharpie and win that rodeo twice. “Sharpie has such a funny personality and he makes us smile,” she said. “People see his picture and he’s got a cute head and big eyes and his ears are perked and he looks so cute and sweet – and he can be sweet but also very ornery! I’m proud of him for handling Tucson like a champ.” Having qualified for the NFR for the past four years, the ultimate goal will of course be to make it back in 2020. However, Hillman said she plans for the season “big picture but also short-term,” knowing Stevi Hillman and MCM ImaSharpGuy took home their second career title from La Fiesta de los Vaqueros in Tucson, Arizona. The duo teamed together for the win in 2017 during Sharpie’s rookie rodeo season. Photo by Dan Hubbell
Stevi Hillman noted that the first round in Tucson was one of her best runs ever on Sharpie and it showed in the time of 17.19 seconds, to blow away the field. Lisa Lockhart would be the closest in a time of 17.32 seconds. That first round run set-up the duo to take home the title. Photo by Dan Hubbell
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14 WPRA NEWS APRIL 2020
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