story by Lily Weinacht
Mickayla Brown from Pleasant Hill, Louisiana, originally joined the NLBRA in 2016 looking for more opportunities to rodeo and season her horses. But six poles and a clock changed that when she qualified for the 2016 NLBFR and hit a pole to win the world title. Mickayla’s competitive nature spurred her on all the more, and she returned to the NLBFR in 2017 in pole bending, along with barrel racing and breakaway roping. Just two months earlier, she’d won the pole bending at the Josey Reunion in Karnack, Texas. Going into the NLBFR sitting 59th in the pole bending standings, Mickayla knew she’d have to stay high in the average if she wanted a repeat success at the NLBFR. She and Danica Hoppman of Laurel, Montana, went into the short go neck and neck, but when Danica’s run didn’t go as planned, Mickayla knew all she had to do was put down a clean run. “He (Trey Ta Fame) went out and made a really nice, solid run—it was a 20.6,” says Mickayla. The time held, and she was crowned the 2017 NLBRA World Champion Senior Girl Pole Bender. Her trophy saddle now hangs in her house on a special frame built by her dad.
“Rodeo has always been a family thing. My grandpa Mike Brown did it, his grandparents did it, and my dad, Shane “Hank” Brown, did it,” says the 19-year-old. “My mom, Kayla Brown, is pretty much the one that drives me and stays on top of all my barrel horses. She’s never barrel raced, but she can train a horse just by telling you what to do. I also do some training with Jane Melby. She’s made the NFR three times and she’s really helped me out a lot—she helped me find my pole horse.” Mickayla’s 15-year-old brother, Levi Brown, was the reserve team roping world champion at the NLBFR last year, while their older sister and brother, Katelynn Kiltore and Trenton Brown, a 2015 NHSFR qualifier, also rodeoed growing up.
Mickayla is now focused on competing in the WPRA Southeastern Circuit and winning the rookie of the year title. She’s trailing first place by just a few hundred dollars, and also working to qualify for the LRCA finals this season. After winning The American qualifier in Memphis, Tennessee, last December, she competed at The American Semi-Finals in February and made it to the second round. “Little Britches helped me learn to handle the pressure better. It really helped with being able to go in there and be so nervous and so tense knowing you’re running against super awesome horses, but still go out there and do a good job anyway.”
Along with rodeoing, Mickayla is attending Northwestern State University to finish her bachelor’s degree in biology. From there, she’s considering applying to a medical school, but wants to pursue rodeo as a career. “It’s hectic at times, but it’s manageable,” she says of balancing the two. “I don’t mind staying up half the night if that’s what it takes to get horses rode. You just have to put in a lot more effort.” Besides riding her main barrel horse, Tommys Tank, Mickayla has backup horses to ride, along with outside horses that she trains.
“Since rodeo is a family event, in our spare time we’re roping all together. Horses are involved in my life all the way around. My mom travels a lot with me. We’ll visit, or listen to music, and if we’re leaving a rodeo, we’re revisiting runs and thinking on what we need to review,” says Mickayla. “There’s always something you can improve on. It doesn’t matter if you go out and win—you still have things to work towards. I’m constantly setting little goals. They lead to bigger goals, and that’s how I keep myself motivated.”
