story by Siri Stevens
It was a battle until the end for Macon Murphy’s 14th position in the 2021 World Standings. “I didn’t know I was in until probably after I run my second calf in Albuquerque, New Mexico, two weeks before the season ended. I knew I had a pretty good shot, but there were three people trying for 15th and I was 14th. When I was winning the round and the average, I felt pretty good about it.”
Macon Murphy came up through Louisiana High School rodeo. “I competed my eighth grade year, and then all four years in high school,” said the 23-year-old from Keatchie, Louisiana, just south of Shreveport. He started out team roping and added calf roping in high school. “I was big into basketball on the national level,” he said. “I’d focus on ball instead of rodeo. One day it clicked and I wanted to do it (rodeo). The athleticism of it and the fast, quick, hard work, gritty process of calf roping is kind of like I did in sports.” His dad, Casey, is a calf roper and team roper. His mom, Julie, is a barrel racer and breakaway roper. Macon has a younger sister, Josey Murphy, who made it into the top 20 in the breakaway standings this year. “She’s hauling out the Vegas with me and go to the big breakaway ropings out there like Rope for the Crown.”
Macon had success in high school rodeo, winning state in 2017, his junior year, and reserve champion by half a point to fellow NFR tie down roper, Kincaid Henry. When Macon was a freshman in college at Panola College, he bought his permit, and rodeoed anywhere within a three-hour radius of home. “When I turned 21, it was my rookie year, it was also covid year.” Macon was patiently waiting until he felt ready to go down the road in pursuit of a chance to rope in the Thomas & Mack.
“Joe Beaver told me that when I could compete and win at the high school level, move up to amateur. When you can dominate at the amateur level in Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Texas, then it’s time to move up to the pro level. I didn’t want to waste myself or my horses when I wasn’t ready.” His freshman year in college, he made amateur Finals in Texas and Louisiana and having some luck on my permit and the open ropings, so I knew it was time.”
Macon is in his last year at Panola College where he will graduate with two associates degrees: one in ranch land management and the other in advanced welding. “My family runs a fence building company and I can use both of those to help out with the company.” Macon has been having a lot of success raising and training horses and putting on roping clinics, so he plans to pursue that too.
He learned how and where to enter by tedious study. “I’m a numbers guy and a book freak, so I study how to go and what the added money is – sometimes it’s better to go to smaller ones and win than the bigger ones. I went to all 75 rodeos.”
He’s preparing for his first NFR by “trying to think a little less. I don’t want to make it too complicated and over think things. I’m going to take a deep breath, keep my head down, and go do my job. It will be alright.”
