Good Horsepower: SDQHA Living Legacy Lisa Lockhart

Barrel racer Lisa Lockhart was chosen to receive the South Dakota Quarter Horse Association Living Legacy award. In October, 2025, the Oelrichs, South Dakota woman secured her 19^th qualification for the National Finals Rodeo.

Hard work and the grace of God took this “horse crazy girl” from northeastern Montana all the way to the top. As a child, she had no idea that a career as a barrel racer was even possible.

“My childhood was a long time ago,” Lockhart said. “I lived under a rock and I didn’t even know what was out there. At that point you didn’t have the same access to news; we didn’t have a television to watch a rodeo. I was so far removed from the world of rodeo and didn’t know anyone involved in it.”

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Lockhart watched her first NFR on television when she was in college. It was also around this time that her sister Angie started going to some professional rodeos.

“My sister Angie was probably the pioneer for me, participating in college rodeo and then dabbling at the amateur level and going on to pro rodeo,” she said.

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Lockhart graduated from high school in Circle, Montana, and attended Montana State University.

“I never dreamed in a million years that I would become a professional barrel racer. Still, I was very passionate about horses from the beginning.”

Little Britches rodeo sparked her interest as a youth, and she qualified for the National Little Britches rodeo as a young teen.

“Everything was a stepping stone and meant having to step up your game,” she said. “High school rodeo takes you to another level. I went to college knowing I wanted to continue to compete.”

From college, Lockhart transitioned into amateur rodeo and then pro rodeo at a local circuit level. She met her husband Grady at a rodeo.

“Even after I met Grady, going out of my circuit never seemed like anything achievable,” she said. “His encouragement helped me broaden my horizons.”

Grady had rodeoed at a higher level, traveling more extensively than Lisa ever had, and nearly qualifying for the PRCA finals in calf roping in 1996.

“They say ‘you’re only as good as your horsepower,'” Lockhart said. “I have no idea why, but I was blessed with a nice horse after we got married that I trained. By the time we had a couple kids, I had two pretty nice horses: Sterling and Chisum.”

Following some circuit championships in the early 2000s, Lisa qualified for her first NFR in 2007.

“Leaving Vegas on that Sunday morning, I told Grady, ‘That was really fun. I want to come back.’ I don’t know how we’ve made it work for 19 years consecutively. You just put your head down and go. It’s been a lot of hard work and the grace of God.”

As Lisa got more competitive, it meant taking their three young children on the road.

“We got to see a lot of things and do a lot of things because of the horses; they took us places we wouldn’t have gotten to go and do,” she said.

As the children got a little older, they needed time at home and the opportunity to do their own thing. Traveling and being away from home became more difficult.

“My biggest challenge was and is being gone, being on the road and not being with my family, and trying to manage my schedule to be home as much as I can be. Thank God for a horse named Louie who helped me keep my travels to a minimum. Some years I went to 30 rodeos or fewer, but there were certainly years when it was not that easy and I had to be gone more.”

The miles on the road gave the Lockhart children opportunities to see and do things they would otherwise not have experienced, but “it also wrapped their worlds around my world,” Lisa said. As she started traveling more without them, she realized that many jobs take people away from home, and it was just something she was going to have to manage.

“It was a challenge trying to balance but we made it work,” she said. “My family was very understanding and I was very willing to put on extra miles. My kids were involved in athletics and high school rodeos and I didn’t want to miss their events.”

Time flies for everyone, and these 19 years have certainly flown by for Lockhart.

“Life gets so busy but I always tried hard not to let it,” she said. “That’s not what life is all about. It’s work, but it’s not work when you love it so much.”

Having her kids involved and having them be a part of her world created a lot of special memories.

“I love my job and the wins are great, but the opportunities this has provided for my family to see things and do things has been pretty cool, such as my kids as little tykes getting to go to Vegas,” Lockhart said.

Lisa’s career has led to many special connections that would never have happened otherwise.

“Throughout the years we’ve had opportunities, met people and made connections that became connections for life. I don’t think you’d have that if you weren’t in a position to meet more people. If I was a stay at home mom and just rode horses I wouldn’t have that.”

Lockhart’s horses have had longevity, something she is thankful for and worked very hard to keep.

But no matter how long one horse can compete, “There comes a point in time when there is going to be another horse, and I love that challenge as well,” she said. “I love the horses so much and I am inspired by the challenge of making another barrel horse.”

Lockhart’s horses keep her in the game.

“Horses are good for the soul,” she said. “This whole NFR thing is the goal, the epitome. If it works great, but your horsepower and trying to be the best version of yourself, doing what you do with your horses keeps me grounded.”

More than once, Lockhart has found herself thinking that this might be the year when it all comes to an end.

“By mid-July, I don’t have anything won, and next thing you know it all turns around,” she said. “You always keep trying. What will be will be and I need to be accepting of the outcome.”

She knows that not making the finals is a reality that will come one day.

“It’s not the pressure of ‘I have to’ that keeps me going, I want to. I like the challenge and I have a mindset to enjoy it more and let it happen. If it works, it works and if it doesn’t, it doesn’t.”

While people will always be lauded for their accomplishments, the accolades are not what Lockhart wants to be remembered for.

“I want to be remembered for my passion for my horses, and for being the best version of myself inside and outside of the arena,” she said. “I do appreciate the fans of rodeo: without them we are nothing. I try to take time for the fans. You don’t know what one minute or one thing you say will do for somebody. You don’t know what they are walking through. Ultimately I want to be kind to people. Kindness can change somebody’s world.”

Lockhart is happiest with her family and horses.

“I love living on a ranch and living this lifestyle,” she said. “I love walking out of the house, looking across the countryside, having a dog at my feet and going to the barn to see the horses. We are a very close knit family and we are invested in each other. I’m very grateful for that. I love being a wife and a mom.”

To a new generation of barrel racers who look up to her success, Lockhart advises them not to get caught up in what other people are doing.

“Do what works for you. Don’t look at what everyone else is doing. You have to follow your own path and do what works for you. There’s a lot to be said about simplicity; this world does not know simplicity any more.”