story by Lily Weinacht
Today, the 49-year-old is sitting second in the NSRA barrel racing standings. Dori, hailing from Winner, South Dakota, holds a barrel racing and three all-around titles with the association, and multiple titles with the M-SRA, IRA, SDRA, and NRCA, but this year, she’s most grateful to be back in the saddle. Four years ago, she was training a young barrel horse when it bucked her off, breaking her hip. After four surgeries, the last of which took place this spring, and three hours of physical therapy a day, she passed every standard in the 99 percentile and was released to rodeo for the summer. Not only is she back in the arena, but also as a competitor. “If I’m going to rodeo, I’m going to win,” Dori explains. “There were days my leg hurt so bad I just wanted to stay inside and not ride, but the drive to win overpowered the pain.” An accomplished breakaway roper and team roper, she quit backing into the box last year when the short stops became too painful, and focused on barrels instead. “That was mentally crushing because I’ve always been a good roper, but it’s cool that I’m doing so well in the barrels this summer. I’m taking the summer off roping to give my leg more healing time, but it’s been a fun season, and it’s even better to come back and do well!”
The daughter of a tie-down roper and steer wrestler, Dori has spent every summer since she was five travelling to rodeos. Her parents are stock contractors and the owners of Hollenbeck Rodeos. “They raise all their own bucking horses and bulls, and my brother used to pick up their rodeos, but now he helps them with the rodeo stock,” says Dori. “My dad gave up rodeoing so my brother and I could compete.” She competes in 55 – 65 rodeos from the first of June to mid-September, while she and her husband, Rod Buckley, a two-time NSRA champion team roping heeler, run cattle. Dori also works part time in her hair salon. Additionally, she sells tack and supplements, taking everything from Shoofly Leggins and FORCO products, to Impact Gel pads and Iconoclast boots on the road. “I have a big trailer, so it’s tucked here and there. I live in a rural community where it’s 60 – 200 miles between western stores, so I also do mail order, and I ship nearly every day.”
If she doesn’t have packing tape in hand, Dori is riding horses, which include Snuffy and Toots. Snuffy, 14, came from a close friend in Oklahoma, Dayna Branch, when all three of Dori’s barrel horses went lame before the NSRA finals last year. “We’d high school and college rodeoed together, and she met me with Snuffy so I could compete in the IRA finals. I ended up buying him, and one of my own horses, Toots, did get sound again, so I started competing on her the first part of July. I have a few broodmares and my own stud, so I raise quite a few horses and send them to be broke to ride before I finish them.”
Though Dori and Snuffy had a wreck in Thedford several weeks ago when he went down on the third barrel, the pair came back to win the following rodeo, and are feeling confident for the upcoming NSRA finals. “I’ve always admired June Holeman – I want to be 70 years old and still rodeoing,” Dori finishes. “I hope be as successful as she has been.”
