Breakaway Roper Cheyanne McCartney Continues Dominating Summer Run

With more than $28,800 earned last week, the veteran roper added to her margin atop in the WPRA standings.

Cheyanne McCartney's 4.3-second run in the Cheyenne Frontier Days short go not only won the round but was the fastest overall time of the rodeo. | CFD photo by Laura Storey

CHEYENNE, Wyo. –  Cheyanne McCartney is rolling, and not even a rodeo that has caused her trouble in the past could stop that. 

The Kingston, Okla., breakaway roper rewrote her Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo legacy last weekend with a trio of impressive runs, including a time of 4.3 seconds in Sunday’s short round to capture a previously elusive victory at the Daddy of ’Em All. 

“I’ve never had a whole lot of luck at this rodeo. I’ve just kind of been continuing to show up and waiting for my turn. I’m glad it was today,” McCartney said after the win. She has placed in one round previously, but never advanced to the finals. “It feels amazing. It’s a bucket list rodeo. To get the win against a really tough group of girls is incredible.”

The outcome is the latest in a surge of summer showings for the current No. 1 cowgirl in the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association Breakaway Roping World Standings. 

Prior to her success at the Calgary Stampede earlier in July, McCartney was outside the WPRA’s top 10. That victory in Canada vaulted her to the No. 1 spot on the leaderboard. Since then, she’s done nothing but add to her advantage. 

At CFD, McCartney settled for a runner-up finish in her qualifying bracket before winning her semifinal. In the championship round, she was the last cowgirl to run, allowing her to watch everyone else and mentally prepare for what she had to do. 

Times under five seconds were rare over the course of the week, as only four such efforts were posted throughout the entire competition. Jenna Dallyn finished her short go run in five seconds flat to take the lead just before McCartney backed into the box, setting the stage for an electric finish. 

“I really just wanted to make a smart run. I knew I had a good calf and I wanted to score good and take my first chance,” McCartney said. “I just knew I needed to get a clean time. I didn’t want to press too much. I didn’t want take a chance of breaking the barrier. Today, I wanted to get a little closer to the barrier, but obviously didn’t want to break it. I wanted to get a little bit better start so I could have a quicker time.”

The win netted McCartney $16,864 in Cheyenne, but it was only one piece of a huge ending to July. In addition to CFD, she also tied for first at Spanish Fork (Utah) Fiesta Days and picked up round money at Ogden (Utah) Pioneer Days and the Days of ’47 Rodeo in Salt Lake City. All told, the weekend was worth nearly $29,000. 

That success gives McCartney a nearly $40,000 cushion on Hali Williams in the WPRA standings as she has more than $158,700 in earnings for the season. Williams is the next closest with just shy of $118,900. 

The current hot streak has McCartney set to be a frontrunner for her first WPRA World Title when the action kicks off in Fort Worth this December. But she knows there’s a lot of rodeo between now and then and maintaining a level approach is crucial to keeping her spot atop the standings. 

“I don’t know if it ever feels easy, but I definitely think there’s highs and lows in rodeo. There’s times when you have a whole lot of confidence and there’s times when you may have a little less confidence and you have to work and tell yourself you do have confidence,” McCartney said. “I’m just having fun. It’s been a really fun summer and I want to keep the ball rolling.”