Steely Steiner comes from the legendary Steiner family, going back five generations in the rodeo industry.
Steely grew up on the back of a horse and, although she was a phenomenal track athlete in high school, she knew that her passion was with rodeo. In true Steiner fashion, she is as competitive as they come and the want to win comes naturally.
“She ran track and was very competitive and a lot of it was her will to just get better and try and really push herself and it just has always translated to the horses and rodeo,” Steiner’s mom, Jamie, said.
Sometimes, Steely says she can get too into the numbers, but she has learned to be more in the moment and make her runs count in the here and now. Steely’s dad, Sid, says that he calls Steely a sleeper. Her demeanor is calm and collected but when the race starts, it’s on.
Steely prides herself on how bad she wants it. Every member of the family can say without a doubt that she works hard for her success. Steely gives credit where credit is due to her family for helping her along the way, but she wants to be a champion, so she puts in the work.
“She’s all the time working and she’s the only person more competitive than I am. She’s straight out of my dad, she’s just like my dad. They work so hard and I’m very proud of my sister,” Rocker Steiner said.
Steely was able to hit the professional rodeo road with her mother for her rookie year. It was a special year for the both of them. Jamie went to almost all of the rodeos with Steely while Sid was cheering her on from home. Both Sid and Jamie are their kids No. 1 supporters.
“One of the coolest feelings is being a Steiner. Not from what we’ve won or what we’ve done in the arena but from what we do outside of the arena and how hard we work. I think that’s what it’s taught me the most, is how hard to work to earn what you want to get,” Steely said.
Steely’s favorite horse to run is Teena Turner, a little black mare with a big personality. This mare was injured during the 2021 summer run, however, she is expected to make a full recovery. The next horse on Steely’s list is a half-sister to Teena named Hillbilly Bombshell. She’s a younger mare that thrives in large outdoor pens and is gaining confidence with every run.
Steely’s trailer is packed with horsepower, and one of those horses is out of Jamie’s NFR mare, Sissy. That horse’s name is Dirty. He is 16 years old this year and he has been on the road with Steely since she was in the sixth grade. They have grown up together.
“He’s just taught me so much and he’s what I really learned on. It’s cool to be on him and feel like it’s my mom and Sissy,” Steely said.
Dirty got the call when Teena got hurt and he showed that he still loves his job. Steely finished her rookie year on him and that included a third place finish at California Rodeo Salinas.
“It’s really special when Steely’s on Dirty… When she goes in the arena on him, it’s just both my babies running in there and I just love them both so much and I love to see them both succeed together and accomplish goals. He came in really clutch for her last summer and I’m just really grateful to him for that,” Jamie said.
Steely and Dirty exceeded expectations in Salinas and Sid said it best when he said horses are like people, sometimes they just catch magic.