From Exeter Rodeo dreams to a Texas scholarship

Exeter barrel racer Olivia Den Hollander is heading to Texas to compete with a scholarship.

By Dan Rolph

What started as a dream for a 10-year-old girl from Exeter has become reality for a local barrel racer.

Olivia Den Hollander, a barrel racer who competes in events including the Exeter Rodeo, is packing her bags and heading south of the border to join the Sam Houston State University rodeo team in Texas on a scholarship that makes it all possible.

A two-year University of Western Ontario biomedical sciences student, Den Hollander said she will be able to continue her studies in the U.S. while competing for her new school that boasts a decades-long history of rodeo excellence.

Den Hollander’s love of horses stretches back as long as she can remember, but her interest in barrel racing started close to home when she convinced her father to bring her to the Exeter Rodeo for the first time when she was 10 years old.

“I was just amazed,” she said. “I videoed every single barrel racer there so I could watch it for the next year. I told my dad right there and then ‘that’s what I want to do.’”

Since that day, Den Hollander has worked to develop into a skillful barrel racer. She purchased her first saddle and began working at a lesson barn where she could grow her own skills.

Then in 2020, she purchased her first barrel horse, starting as a youth competitor before graduating to ladies’ competitions.

Now with years of competing under her belt, she said her favourite part is still the excitement of the crowds cheering her on and the feeling she gets just before getting into the arena.

“A big thing for me is the adrenaline rush,” she said. “When you’re sitting behind the chute there on your horse and you can feel your horse under you, its heart beating, it’s a phenomenal feeling.”

Though Den Hollander also competes in pole bending, she said barrel racing has a special place in her heart, and the technique involved is part of what makes the sport so rewarding.

“I think there is a lot more behind it than what people see,” she said. “There are so many different techniques to ride, to train, and there are so many different horses.”

Den Hollander said she first considered taking the leap and pursuing barrel racing in the U.S. when she graduated from high school. She’d travelled to Texas several times over the years and enjoyed the time she’d spent there, but she ultimately chose to start attending Western in the hopes of being close to home.

“I just didn’t feel at that point that I was ready to go down there and make that jump,” she said.

The local barrel racer said she finally made the decision to pursue a future in her sport after spending the last few years balancing horses and competition with her university life.

“It just became a lot. I thought it was finally time to make that jump and align everything together.”

Being from outside of Texas, Den Hollander said she would normally need to spend more than $40,000 each year to attend Sam Houston State University, but with the help of a coach she was able to secure a scholarship that makes her schooling far more affordable.

“That was pretty big,” she said. “It all of a sudden came together and was possible and achievable.”

As Den Hollander looked ahead to competing in the Exeter Rodeo this year, she said competing in her hometown always grants her an opportunity to reflect on how far she’s come as a rider and competitor.

“Exeter’s my hometown rodeo,” she said. “It’s where I started this whole thing.”

But with plans to begin the three-day journey to Texas just two days after this year’s Exeter Rodeo, the competition will be the last time she rides in her hometown arena before setting off on her grand adventure.

“It feels surreal,” she said. “It’s where it all started, and it’s where it’s ending before I’m going down to Texas.

“Looking back, 10-year-old me would just be blown away by where I am right now. It’s not been an easy journey.”

As for other young aspiring riders who may want to follow in her footsteps? Den Hollander said passion and hard work are the secrets to making it happen.

“Nothing is impossible if you set your heart to it,” she said. “If you set a goal for yourself, then you can accomplish really big things.”

And as she leaves Exeter behind for the next chapter of her rodeo career, Den Hollander will carry with her the same dream that first took hold in the stands of her hometown rodeo.