Cheyanne McCartney capped a $28,849 week with a 4.3-second run to win Cheyenne Frontier Days, adding The Daddy of ’Em All title just two weeks after her Calgary Stampede victory.
McCartney earned $16,864 at Cheyenne alone, placing second in her bracket, winning her semifinal section and collecting the $11,915 championship check.
The Kingston, Oklahoma, cowgirl also won big in Utah— $7,436 for a first-place tie at Spanish Fork Fiesta Days, $3,875 at Ogden Pioneer Days and another $674 at the Days of ’47 Rodeo in Salt Late City.
Her $28,849 total made her the highest-earning breakaway roper of the week and pushed her projected WPRA world standings earnings to $156,947.
“As could be expected, it was just a really fun week,” McCartney said. “I had some success at the Utah rodeos as well as Cheyenne. Anytime you have a week like that in rodeo, you definitely try to soak it all in and enjoy it.”
McCartney began Cheyenne with a 5.9-second run in Bracket Four, finishing second for $1,943 and advancing to the semifinals. She then won her semifinal with a 5.1 for another $3,006.
In the finals, McCartney backed into the box last with little room to safety up. Fellow National Finals Breakaway Roping qualifier Maddy Jacobs had opened the round with a 5.1, and standout Canadian cowgirl Jenna Dallyn immediately preceded McCartney with a 5.0.
McCartney responded with the fastest run of the finals, stopping the clock in 4.3 seconds.
“Maddy was first and was 5.1 and kind of set the bar where we knew we weren’t going to get to lay up a whole, whole lot,” the 29-year-old said. “Then Jenna Dallyn right before me went 5-flat. I really just wanted to get a little closer to the barrier than I had on my other runs.”
McCartney had stayed off the barrier during her first two runs, knowing she had drawn calves that gave her an opportunity to advance without taking high-risk shots. With the title on the line, she knew it was time to sharpen it up.
“I didn’t want to press too much or beat myself, but I just focused on getting a little better start,” McCartney said. “I knew my horse was going to catch that calf, and I just needed to do my part.”
McCartney credited part of her Cheyenne success to drawing three good calves, something she had not always experienced during her previous trips to the beaches of Cheyenne.
“I had a really good calf,” McCartney said of the final. “I actually drew good. All three calves that I ran were very good. Historically, I have not drawn great at Cheyenne in the past, so it was kind of ironic to draw three really good calves like that.”
McCartney rode 7-year-old CR Tuff King, better known as Teddy, for the third consecutive year at Cheyenne.
At Cheyenne, where hand-pulled barrier and tough cattle are part of the game, McCartney said Teddy allows her to react to what happens rather than guess what might happen.
“When it’s time to go and I drop and go hard, he’s going to go hard,” McCartney said. “Or if I barely drop and pick up and need to float, you want him to respond to that as well. He’ll do both— it really depends on me.”
McCartney’s other a-string, her mare Lexus, stayed in Utah while husband Cody hauled Teddy to Cheyenne. After winning The Daddy, McCartney caught a ride back to Utah and continued rodeoing on Lexus, allowing the two horses to share the workload.
The system helped McCartney win at both ends of the week and continue a stretch that has included two of rodeo’s biggest titles. Despite the growing lead in the world standings, McCartney does not plan to slow down.
“I’m still going to all the rodeos I was planning on going to, getting my 80 and just doing the best I can at every single one of them,” McCartney said. “You get tired rodeoing, but it’s something I choose to do and love to do. I don’t really think about being tired as much as the task at hand or what I’m focused on doing.”
