{{short description|American barrel racer}} '''June Holeman''' (born June 11, 1943–August 3, 2018) was an American professional rodeo cowgirl who specialized in barrel racing.
==Life== June E. Holeman was born on June 11, 1943, in Arcadia, Nebraska. Holeman was raised on her parents' ranch west of Arcadia; she never lived more than a mile away. She graduated from Arcadia High School. She married Donnie, and they had two daughters and a son. Holeman was a homemaker when she was not competing.<ref name="Govier">{{cite web |title=Obituary for June E. Holeman |url=https://www.govierbrothers.com/obituary/june-holeman |website=Govier Brothers |access-date=October 17, 2019}}</ref><ref name="ESPN">{{cite web |title=June Holeman |url=https://www.espn.com/rodeo/bios/news/story?page=g_bio_PRCA_Holeman_June |website=ESPN |access-date=October 17, 2019 | date=September 25, 2005}}</ref>
==Career== Holeman and Donnie competed together; she in barrel racing, he in calf roping.<ref name="Govier" /> Holeman won many championships in the NCRA, NSRA, and MSRA. Later, she competed in the Girl's Rodeo Association, now the Women's Professional Rodeo Association. She won some Prairie Circuit Championships. She qualified for the inaugural RFD-TV's The American Rodeo on her horse "Tallboy", who she raised and trained at home. Other associations where Holeman won championships were the NE-4d, BBR, and BHA. Holeman was always involved with rodeo in some form, in her last years she was mentoring new riders. She was making plans for Cheyenne Frontier Days not long before her death.<ref name="Govier" /><ref>{{cite web |title=70-year-old barrel racer June Holeman qualifies for the American Rodeo |url=https://www.rfdtv.com/story/24843839/70-year-old-barrel-racer-june-holeman-qualifies-for-the-american |website=RFD-TV The American |access-date=October 17, 2019}}</ref>
In 2005, when Holeman qualified for the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) on Sparky at age 62, she beat Martha Josey's record for oldest NFR qualifier at 60 years old. She held the record until 2016, when Mary Burger qualified at age 68.<ref>''2020 Media Guide'' –''Barrel Racing Records'', ''Oldest NFR Qualifier'', p. 5.</ref><ref name="WPRA" />
Holeman's horse, Sparky Impression, nicknamed Sparky, won the 2005 PRCA/AQHA Horse of the Year Award.<ref>''PRCA Awards'', ''AQHA/PRCA Horses of the Year'', pp. 11-13</ref><ref name="ESPN" /> Holeman received Sparky from a friend, and she started on the barrel pattern. Her friend called up Holeman and said that the horse was really fast so come see him. Holeman said the horse stood at only 14.1 hands, but he fit her style instantly. Sparky was a sorrel gelding. Holeman said, "I got him the end of June 2001 and by the Fourth of July, we were placing at the amateur rodeos," Holeman said. "He was real green but he just took to it well." Sparky died on October 14, 2016, age 27.<ref name="Sparky">{{cite web |last1=Lautaret |first1=Jolee |title=Holeman Bids a Sad Goodbye to Sparky |url=https://www.wpra.com/index.php/conrado-s-tibbie-named-2016-aqha-wpra-barrel-horse-of-the-year-2 |website=Women's Professional Rodeo Association |access-date=December 5, 2019}}</ref>
Holeman died on August 3, 2018, in Lincoln, Nebraska, at 73 years of age.<ref name="Govier" /> She last resided in Arcadia, Nebraska.<ref name="WPRA">{{cite web |title=June Holeman |url=https://www.wpra.com/index.php/june-holeman |website=Women's Professional Rodeo Association |access-date=October 17, 2019}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
===Bibliography=== * {{cite book|title=PRCA Awards|date=2021|format=PDF|publisher=Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association|url=https://prorodeo.com/documents/2021/5/27/2021_Media_Guide_Awards.pdf|access-date=March 16, 2022}} *{{cite book|title=2020 Media Guide {{!}} Barrel Racing Records|publisher=Women's Professional Rodeo Association|url=https://www.wpra.com/pdfs/MediaGuideBarrelRacing20_F.pdf|access-date=September 16, 2021}}
==External links== * [https://www.allbreedpedigree.com/sparky+impression All Breed Pedigree] * [https://www.wpra.com Women's Professional Rodeo Association] * [https://www.prorodeo.com Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association] * [https://www.nfrexperience.com/ National Finals Rodeo]
{{Use American English|date=October 2019}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2019}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holeman, June}} Category:1943 births Category:2018 deaths Category:People from Valley County, Nebraska Category:American barrel racers Category:American female equestrians Category:21st-century American women Category:20th-century American sportswomen