BREAKAWAY–Top of the World: Cheyanne McCartney Hits No. 1, and Solo Select Proudly Claims, “She’s Ours”

$69,500 richer: Cheyanne McCartney is having a season most rodeo athletes only dream about.

Following a massive performance at the Calgary Stampede, the Kingston, Oklahoma, cowgirl has catapulted to the projected No. 1 spot in the WPRA world standings. But for the team at Solo Select, this achievement is just the latest chapter for a rider we proudly call our own.

A Storybook Ending in Calgary

At the $50,000 Calgary Stampede championship McCartney dominated early, winning two rounds of Pool B, but faced adversity in the semifinals where she drew her toughest calf of the week. Surviving a tense semifinal tiebreaker, McCartney punched her ticket to the final four.

When it mattered most, the stars aligned. McCartney drew what she considered her best calf of the week for the $50,000 showdown.

“In the final four, I ran the best calf that I had run the whole time there,” McCartney said.

And then – a FLAWLESS RUN. She stopped the clock in 2.7 seconds, securing the championship and the biggest single-event prize of her career to date (and one of the biggest single paydays of the ProRodeo regular season). Taking home a total of $69,500 from Calgary, McCartney has firmly positioned herself as the No. 1 breakaway roper in the world.

She was quick to credit her horsepower for this win praising her reliable mare, Lexus—registered as Aladdins Approach—for keeping her consistent through every round.

“It feels great,” McCartney said of the win. “It was a whole lot of fun, and I think that’s just a storybook ending for a great rodeo like that. It’s what everybody hopes for when they show up there. So, I’m just really thankful and blessed.”

The Solo Select Connection: “She’s Ours”

While the rodeo world watches McCartney’s meteoric rise to the top, the team at Solo Select is cheering the loudest.

“About a year and a half ago, Cheyanne McCartney became a Solo Select sponsored rider because we love her horsemanship, integrity, and kindness,” Melanie Smith said. “We felt she was a great representative of Solo.”

The connection between the McCartney family and Solo Select runs deep: Cheyanne’s husband, Cody McCartney, was the one in the saddle on Metallic Cattack, the resident stallion who was the very start of it all for Solo Select.

More about Metallic Cattack: https://www.soloselecthorses.com/stallions/metallic-cattack

Solo co-founder and co-owner Ty Smith has been doing business with Cody McCartney for years. It’s a partnership rooted in mutual respect, top-tier horsemanship, and a shared passion for the Western industry.

Dominating the Futurities

McCartney isn’t just shining under the bright lights of the PRCA and WPRA; she is an absolute force in the futurity pen.

Recently, she set the tone at the Gold Buckle Futurities Spring Event in the 4-&-Under Breakaway. Riding Thiccthirty (by Metallic Cattack out of Nurse Connie), McCartney won the Futurity Breakaway, claimed two round wins, and swept both the Elite Stallion Incentive and Elite Breeders Incentive—raking in an impressive $29,450. They won the 4-&-Under Breakaway at the Old West, too, worth another $8,000.

Her success on Thiccthirty highlighted what is becoming a historic year for Metallic Cattack.

“Metallic Cattack is rare in the fact that he's passing along the talent to win at the top level, but also a great demeanor and trainable mind,” McCartney noted. “It's usually one or the other.”

This isn't McCartney's first time piloting Solo Select genetics to the winner's circle. Last year, she took the reins of Solo Select resident Time To Glo, showcasing him in breakaway events at several shows and largely contributing to the stallion's lifetime earnings.

More about Time To Glo: https://www.soloselecthorses.com/stallions/time-to-glo

Whether she is training elite young horses in the futurity pen or stopping the clock at 2.7 seconds on rodeo's biggest stage, Cheyanne McCartney is proving exactly why she is the No. 1 cowgirl in the world. And at Solo Select, we couldn't be prouder to have her on the team.