Cheyanne McCartney has only had Aladdins Approach for 18 months, but the 12-year-old mare has carried the Oklahoma cowgirl to major wins from Nampa to Corpus Christi and a career-high $69,500 payday in Calgary.
McCartney bought Aladdins Approach, better known as Lexus, from Emily Fabian in New York in January 2025 and immediately put her to work on the rodeo road.
There was no extended period of practicing or “trying her” at home. McCartney bought her and got to entering, and she and Lexus learned to fit each other one rodeo at a time.
“When I got her, I just started rodeoing,” McCartney said. “She just started going to rodeos, and we’ve just kind of molded to each other.”
McCartney still does not make many practice runs on Lexus. Instead, time in the rodeo arena has helped the mare sharpen the small details that have made her McCartney’s go-to ProRodeo horse.
“I told (my husband) Cody from last year to this year at the rodeos I’ve rode her at, she just feels like she’s gotten so much better at the little things, like how she scores and breaks to the pin and finds the calf,” she said. “She was very good last year, but I just feel like this year she’s just gotten so much better.”
Lexus began proving her worth during McCartney’s first season with her in 2025.
At the 2025 Women’s Rodeo World Championship (now the Premier Women’s Rodeo), McCartney rode Lexus through all three rounds inside Cowtown Coliseum. They stopped the clock in 2.28, 3.1 and 2.52 seconds to tie Cadee Williams for the average win with 7.9 seconds on three head.
The following week, Lexus handled the lights, noise and head-to-head format at Kid Rock’s Rock N Rodeo. McCartney rode her in the opening round and again in the championship matchup, helping Joe Beaver and Sid Steiner’s Jokers win the $500,000 team purse.
“Lexus handled it good, I got to come this morning and run a practice calf,” McCartney said at the event. “I had ridden her at Houston, but otherwise have never ridden her somewhere [that chaotic]. She was looking around at the lights on the ground, and some people were giggling at me, but I wasn’t worried because I knew if she couldn’t handle it, I would get on Rooster.”
That trust continued building through the summer.
McCartney and Lexus won the 2025 Snake River Stampede in Nampa, Idaho, with runs of 1.8 seconds in Round 1, 2.7 in Round 2 and 2.1 in the short round. The $7,891 payday moved McCartney from No. 18 to No. 11 in the WPRA world standings at the time.
By then, McCartney had a clear understanding of why the mare worked so well for her.
“She fits me better than anything I’ve had in a long time,” McCartney said following the Nampa win. “She’s quick-footed, has great timing and just suits my style. We’ve had to work through some growing pains, but I’m looking forward to the rest of the summer.”
At the 2025 National Finals Breakaway Roping in December, McCartney rode Lexus for a most of her runs, including a second-place finish in Round 8 (2.1 seconds, $5,128) and a tied-fourth in Round 10 (2.1 seconds, $2,457). She finished the week 8-for-10 for a 58.9-second average, good for eighth in the average. Lexus also finished the year being named reserve AQHA Nutrena Horse of the Year.
Lexus returned as McCartney’s a-string rodeo horse in 2026, while McCartney continued riding and winning on her futurity horses.
McCartney leaned on Lexus to sweep Rodeo Corpus Christi in May. They won Round 1 with a 1.9-second run before winning the finals and average with a 2.0. The two checks totaled $11,196 and moved McCartney from No. 28 to No. 11 in the world standings at the time.
McCartney and Lexus also won the Hondo Rodeo Fest before heading to the 2026 Calgary Stampede, where the mare’s skills were tested over five runs.
The breakaway ropers had a longer start than the calf ropers at Calgary, giving the small, fast calves an advantage, to say the least, making Calgary a true showing of good horse flesh.
“I think it really came down to horsepower for the setup and how it was,” McCartney said. “I’m just really fortunate my horse worked really good, gave me great chances. I really couldn’t fault her on any run that I made.”
McCartney and Lexus won the first round of Pool B in 3.1 seconds and followed it with a 2.5 to win Round 2. They finished second in Round 3 with a 2.7, advancing to Championship Sunday with $19,500 earned.
They handled McCartney’s fastest calf of the week in the semifinals, stopping the clock in 3.2 seconds and advancing out of the tiebreaker. McCartney and Lexus then won the four-woman final with another 2.7, earning the $50,000 championship and bringing their Calgary total to $69,500.
For McCartney, Lexus’ success came from the same qualities the mare had been developing since their first rodeos together.
“I think she just left there running really hard, finding the calf and was really honest,” McCartney said. “And then, when I drew my slack back, she was clocking and stopping to get a quick flag as well.”
According to McCartney, breakaway horses have to do more than just run to the cow. They also have stay honest and athletic enough to finish the run right.
“I think it’s definitely a fine line with breakaway horses and especially in a setup where you have to run them down a little bit,” McCartney said. “They’ve got to go find them and give you a throw, but then they also have to break down and be athletic enough to stop the clock.”
Calgary became the richest win of McCartney and Lexus’ time together, adding to wins at Nampa, Corpus Christi, Hondo and Kid Rock’s Rock N Rodeo.
But Lexus did not become McCartney’s go-to mare through one big win. Since McCartney bought her from Fabian in January 2025, each rodeo has helped them learn one another and polish the details that allow them to win in all different setups.
“She’s kind of just molded into doing the little things that help you win,” McCartney said. “I’m definitely blessed to have her.”
