Four to represent Weatherford in upcoming National Finals Rodeo
Nov. 29—Editor's note: This story has been updated to include a fourth representative from Weatherford, Cadee Williams, a breakaway roper.
WEATHERFORD — Two familiar faces, a young up-and-comer and a breakaway roper will be saddling up to represent Parker County in the upcoming 2022 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.
The top 15 competitors in each event will be competing in Las Vegas Dec. 1-10 at the Thomas & Mack Center with their assigned back numbers, which are based on the amount of money earned through the regular season.
A special exception this year is the omission of the No. 21, which will be used by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association to acknowledge the 21 lives lost in the Uvalde school shooting.
At 18 years of age, bareback rider Rocker Steiner may be young, but the rodeo world is nothing new to him, as his grandfather was a world champion bull rider and his father a world champion in steer wrestling in 2002. His face may also be recognizable from the television screen, as both he and his father appeared in the hit show "Yellowstone."
Steiner enters the competition ranked No. 5 in the world, with more than $134,300 in career earnings.
His resume in 2022 is already impressive, with wins in Alberta, Montana, Nevada, Utah, Arkansas, Washington, Colorado and Texas.
He returned home in June, competing in the Parker County Sheriff's Posse Frontier Days PRCA Rodeo, where he finished as co-champion alongside Leighton Berry.
He will be competing as No. 28.
Berry, 23, is gearing up for his second appearance in the National Finals Rodeo. He qualified and competed in 2020, finishing the year ranked No. 9, before suffering a back injury last year.
The bareback rider enters with a world ranking of No. 8, having amassed more than $131,300 in career earnings, with wins in Alberta, Nevada, Montana, Washington, Granbury, Pasadena and Weatherford.
His back number is No. 30.
Veteran barrel racer Stevi Hillman, 36, enters the arena this year for the seventh year in a row.
She put on a show last year, coming into NFR competition ranked 11th and finishing with a No. 6 ranking. That came following a win in Round 3, aboard her horse Lemon Drop, with a 13.70-second run, and a split with Jordon Briggs in Round 9, with a time of 13.48 seconds.
This year, she's been named champion at competitions in Nebraska, Utah, Wyoming and California; was the Pool A high-money winner at the 2022 Calgary Stampede; was named Semifinal A winner in Fort Worth, and reserve champion in Kansas and Washington.
She'll be competing as No. 51.
Williams grew up in Weatherford, attended school in Stephenville and returned home to Weatherford with her husband.
She entered the 2022 NFBR ranked No. 13 in the world, and finished second overall in the opening round on Tuesday.
The 2022 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, presented by Teton Ridge, airs nightly starting Dec. 1 at 7:45 p.m. on The Cowboy Channel.
