Madison Outhier, WCRA Rodeo Corpus Christi (Texas) Champion Breakaway Roper, got her first ProRodeo win at the breakaway roping that was held in conjunction with the Back When They Bucked extreme broncs in Deadwood, South Dakota.
Outhier, 18, roped her first calf in 3.4 seconds to secure the No. 8 position in the top 12 final round. She won the final round with a 2.6-second run—the quickest run of the day—worth $1,119, and won the average with a time of 6.0 seconds on two head, worth $3,172.
“I actually wasn’t even planning on going up there just because we have our family ranch rodeo that we put on in Utopia, Texas, that same day—Sunday of Memorial weekend,” said Outhier, the 2019 RFD-TV’s The American Champion Breakaway Roper. “My traveling partner, Bradi Good, talked me into going up there and said I could ride her horse. I flew up there and got on her horse named Rango, who she recently purchased from Timber Moore.”
Rango went to the NFR in Arlington, Texas, with Tyler Milligan, and is now Good’s breakaway horse.
“That horse was amazing and he’s probably the fastest horse that I’ve even been on, so he was a big reason as to why I was able to catch up to those claves so quickly,” Outhier admitted. “They were not walking-fresh, and it was an 18-foot score, so a lot of girls didn’t even get to throw their rope in the first round.”
Outhier has been known to capitalize in the short-score setups on her short-strided horse, Rooster, and had to make adjustments to accommodate Rango’s longer strides to be able to rope on the gain.
“In those long setups, you gain on the calves so quick, so you have to be able to adjust your tip and bring it down so you can finish it around the neck and not overshoot them,” she said. “With those faster cattle, you’re taking a lot more swings. My big thing is that, when they’re out in front, my tip is at the calf no matter where the calf is. We’re running up to them so fast. You just have to make the adjustment of bringing your tip down. I didn’t get to practice too much of that before because we haven’t been put in those situations recently.”
Building Consistency: American Champ Madison Outhier’s Practice Plan
One way that Outhier practiced for roping on the gain—and something she suggests for ropers—is to start from behind and walk to the dummy.
“The closer you get, make sure your tip is down. That was a huge part in me being able to catch those calves, even though I’m gaining on them so quickly.”
