story by Lily Weinacht
Macye Maben is leading four out of her five events in the AJRA. These include barrel racing, breakaway roping, goat tying, and ribbon roping, where Macye is tied for first with two other girls. She’s also sitting second in the pole bending. The 12-year-old from Spur, Texas, is the second generation in her family to rodeo in the AJRA, and she aims to go as far as her parents did in the sport. “My mom (Kelly Maben) went to the NFR three times in barrel racing, and my dad (Tye Maben) was a national college champion in team roping as a header,” says Macye. She and Bubba, the horse who carried Kelly to the NFR, ran the fastest time at the AJRA finals when Macye competed in the 8 and Under division. They stopped the clock at 15.56 and won a plaque that they shared with fellow AJRA competitor Chayni Chamberlain.
Macye’s parents always join her in the practice pen, and she also looks up to Lari Dee Guy. “I like to think about the way she ropes, because she ropes amazing. I like to go over there and rope with her and learn some things. My mom and dad have rodeoed with her, and she’s helped me with my left hand and the way you guide your horse to the calf.” Macye enjoys all of her events, but says she likes the control she has in breakaway. She also competes in the TJHSRA Region 2 rodeos, and names the AJRA rodeo at Sweetwater as one of her favorites. “It’s the main place that we rodeo, and it’s familiar,” she explains. “The goals that we set motivate me to rodeo, and friends and family, and just having fun doing it.”
An only child, Macye enjoys having her horses all to herself. She rides Blusher in the barrel racing, and PJ is her main roping horse. Macye trained Peewee for pole bending several years ago, and Newt is her mount in the roping and goat tying. “I also have five goats and about five calves that we rope. My mom and dad take turns holding goats and pushing calves. We have three dogs that we go to rodeos with, and we used to have a cat that went with us, but now it stays home. Pepper is the oldest dog, and then Spice and Sugar.”
As a sixth-grader at Spur ISD, Macye enjoys math and athletics. “We’re working on fractions and dividing and integers, and now we are doing track for athletics.” Macye’s mom teaches math and writing at Spur ISD, then the mother and daughter head home to practice. “The first thing I hear my mom say is ‘Get ready to ride horses,’ and that’s what we do. Then we usually go to a high school basketball game after we ride. We have a lot of seniors from my school this year, and I’ve looked up to them as long as I’ve known them.” Macye also likes shopping with her mom and getting their nails done.
Her goals for the 2018 rodeo season involve several of her horses. “I have a 5-year-old gelding, Goober, that I’m training for barrels and poles that I hope to have ready to run this summer. I also have a weanling, Prince, that I hope to train and run barrels on and take to the barrel futurities,” she finishes. “I want to win the year-end in the barrels in the AJRA so that I can go to The American Semi-Finals next year.”
