story by Riata Cummings
Macee McAllister is the daughter of Jade and Amanda McAllister of sunny St. George, Utah. Macee has three sisters, Mckenna, McCall, and Mylee, and together they enjoy going to the lake, watching one another’s sports games, and traveling to various rodeos. Macee is also close to her extended family, and she spends lots of time with her grandparents. This fall, Macee will be a senior at Dixie High School, and will be playing on the soccer and basketball teams.
Macee is a third-generation rodeo cowgirl, learning the sport from her parents and grandparents. She says, “My dad handles the roping events and my mom helps us with the barrels.” Today she competes in the barrel racing, pole bending, breakaway roping, and team roping. Her favorite event is the barrel racing because she has, “Amazing horses that always put together solid runs. It really gets my adrenaline pumping.” Macee uses a horse named Lainey for the barrel racing, an incredible athlete trained by her grandmother. Macee’s pole bending horse is Mister, her heel horse is Puddin’, and her breakaway horse is Dubs. Macee and her horses have accomplished quite the list of things, including Utah 5th and Under Pole Bending Champion and All-Around Cowgirl, multiple time National Junior High School Finals qualifier, and National High School Finals qualifier.
After finishing third in the Utah High School Rodeo barrel racing, Macee set a goal to qualify for the short go at Nationals, saying, “I wanted to put together two good runs and stay focused. I don’t get very nervous, but I just wanted to do my best.” She was a 17.474 in the first go-round finishing third. In the second go-round she was a 17.364, placing third once again. In the short go-round, Macee had her best time of the week, a 17.099 second run. When she came out of the arena her father said to her, “You won,” and tears of pride welled up in his eyes. “It was so unreal. You think about all of the incredible things you want to accomplish, and you want them to be possible, but it isn’t until it happens that you realize how amazing it feels and how bad you really wanted it.” Macee earned the title 2019 National High School Rodeo Association World Champion Barrel Racer. She loved being on team Utah, where some of the hardest working and competitive athletes come together to cheer each other on and hype each other up. Macee has set a goal to qualify for nationals in all her events.
Something Macee’s father said to her barrel horse, Lainey, while they were getting ready to run at nationals stuck with Macee. He said, “Do what you were meant to do. Do what you were born to do.” Macee’s father is one of her heroes, and she is grateful for all he has taught her. One of Macee’s strengths is her ability to stay positive and stay focused. She knows that, “In rodeo you don’t always win. There are always going to be ups and downs, but it is also going to be OK.” Rodeo has taught her that rough patches are just that, patches. They don’t last forever and there will always be something good at the end of a hard time. You have to, “try really hard every day, and one day it will work out. Rodeo is not a sprint, it’s a marathon.”
