story by Ruth Nicolaus
Macy Zentner rides horses in honor of her dad. The cowgirl, a member of the Nebraska High School Rodeo Association, lost her dad to cancer four years ago, and to remember him, her saddle blanket sports a green ribbon, for the cancer he fought.
Her dad, Mark, was the one who got her started riding, and when he passed, it was hard. “It was tough to keep riding once he was gone,” she said. “But now, that’s what I do to keep going.”
The seventeen year old, a resident of Cedar Rapids, Nebraska, competes in the barrel racing, pole bending, and occasionally the breakaway roping.
“Blue,” her eight-year-old blue roan, is her barrel and pole horse. She put the barrel and pole training on him when she got him four years ago, and the horse has a huge personality. “He loves attention and he’s the goofy one of the herd. He’ll pick up his food pan and toss it around. He’s pretty comical.”
Macy will be a senior at Riverside Public School this fall, where she’ll have a tough schedule: anatomy and physiology, accounting, college algebra and college English.
In high school, she is part of the dance team, FFA, one-act play, and on the honor roll. She also shows horses in 4-H.
This summer, Macy took a fun trip with classmates to California, where she loved the beach, and visited Alcatraz, the San Diego Zoo, and a Padres game. But she found out that the traffic in L.A. is terrible, compared to the traffic in Cedar Rapids (no stoplights, only a four-way stop), and the sunsets in Nebraska are much, much better than the sunsets in California.
Macy had two jobs this summer, lifeguarding at the pool in Cedar Rapids and working at the Countryside Veterinary Clinic in Fullerton. She’s seen some interesting things: surgery on a cow with eye cancer, a horse on an IV, and a dog that ate clothes.
After high school graduation, Macy plans on studying to become a veterinarian.
Her favorite teacher is Mrs. Cathy McConkey, who was her first and second grade teacher, her fifth and sixth grade teacher, and her ninth grade math teacher. They are good friends, Macy said. “If I struggle with something, like a topic, I can go to her and she helps me out. She’s always there to help you and talk to you.”
Macy has four older siblings: Jeremiah Davlin, B.J. Davlin, Zachary Zentner and Christine Zentner.
She was born on her parent’s anniversary, so her name is a combination of both names: Tracy, her mom, and Mark.
