Macy Young bested nearly 200 entries in the 2024 BFI breakaway roping presented by Charlie 1 Horse with times of 3.48, 3.45 and 3.7 seconds to gather a total of $17,500.
To say Young demolished the competition would be putting it lightly—the next closest roper was 2.43 seconds off her pace in the average. The setup was long, the calves were wicked fast and Young’s half-running-bred gelding “Boomer” had his game face on.
“He’s the fastest thing I’ve ever ridden and he’s starting to score a lot more consistently,” Young, 31, said. “It gives me all the confidence in the world that if I miss the barrier, I am still going to catch up.”
Young also finished No. 6 in the average on her second entry to garner another $3,500.
“When we got here today, my husband said, ‘It’s just going to be a catching contest… catch every single one of them,’” Young recounted. “He told me to see hip by the end of the gate and I thought ‘Oh my gosh that’s really far. Those calves RUN.’ But I got into the mindset of pinging them down, and I got to my seventh [high callback] and blew my stirrup. I was so frustrated, and [the win] came down to my last run.”
A nod to Boomer
Originally a barrel horse, Boomer transitioned to the breakaway pen at 5 years old. Bred and raised by Young’s family in Wittmann, Arizona, Boomer is registered as Mister Judge Boomer.
“He’s my main ProRodeo horse, especially for the long setups,” Young said.
The duo had a stellar 2024 RodeoHouston, rounding up more than $23,000 and winning every round they roped in save their final run.
“My success at Houston helped me relax even though I missed the last one,” Young said. “You just have to go on. Roping isn’t life or death, and my husband and I don’t have to rely on roping to pay the bills right now.”
According to Young, having daughter Hadley “changed everything.” Now, she’s not as concerned about going all the time and instead waits for the day Hadley wants to pick up the rope. When she does, there is a pony in the front pasture waiting for her.
