Makenna Shook’s put herself in a top three position in the Resistol Rookie standings going into the rest of the summer, with big wins across the West on her futurity horse XV Mario in ProRodeo barrel racing after wins at rodeos like Casper, Wyoming.

Since striking out in mid-June with her futurity standout XV Mario— Shook has moved up the Resistol Rookie standings to third with $30,525.09 won as of July 20. All of that, spare $1,600 has been won aboard 5-year-old Mario. Thier luck started out in Santa Ynez, California where they won $3,225.41, then they went on to place in both rounds and the average in Prescott, Arizona, to bank another $3,795.29.

“[Santa Ynez, was [Mario’s] first rodeo win,” Shook said. “Anytime he’s close or done good, it’s really cool just because he is so young.”  

After picking up big checks at the Ponoka Stampede and qualifying for the finals North of the border, Shook and “Mario” hit the gas when they got to Wyoming, where they won the first round and average in Casper, adding over $10,000 to their earnings.

“[Casper] was a huge rodeo,” she said. “He ended up winning the average by quite a bit. I actually had no idea—you couldn’t hear anything at Casper at all coming out. I didn’t find out until about 30 minutes later that I was winning the first round.”

Then it was onto placed at Sheridan, Wyoming, and making it back to the performances at Cheyenne. And she has no intentions of slowing down now.

“I’m not planning on going home before the season’s over,” Shook added. “[My plan is to] just stay out here—keep going. It’s crazy, you can win $20,000 in one week out here, so you can’t really go home.”

SUPER MARIO

After her good horse Rockin The Guns was put on injury reserve, Shook found Mario—a 2020 son of Ruby Buckle Stallion RR Mistakelly and out of XV Watch Me Rock—in March 2025. XV Watch Me Rock is the daughter of NFR barrel horse LK Watch Me Rock, the mare that took Samantha (Lyne) Mauney to the NFR in 2014.

From the first time she sent Mario down the alley for money at a jackpot in Texas—that he won—Shook knew he was something special.

“He just has that it-factor to him,” she explained. “He’s fast, he’s smooth. He has never done anything wrong in the pattern. Anything you ask him to do, he does.”

TAKING IT DAY BY DAY

Although updated standings are pending, Mario’s set to crack the top 50 in the WPRA World Standings with Shook, meaning there’s World Standings opportunities at stake, along with the Resistol Rookie title for the pair.

“When I came out here, my goal was to season Mario so that when [Rockin The Guns] came back, I would have two great ones on the trailer,” she explained. “I was just going to kind of take it day by day because that’s what you have to do with everything out here.”

Speaking of Rockin The Guns— “Roc”—his original owner played a huge role in preparing Shook for her first year on the ProRodeo trail. If Rockin The Guns sounds familiar, you may recognize him at the from the 2023 NFR, when Sue Smith called on him in Round 7.

When Shook purchased Roc from his then-owner Jennifer Kalafatic, she spent some time in the Northwest learning the ropes under her guidance. By the time she made it out on her own, Shook was ready to take on her rookie season.

Now that Mario’s taking to the rodeo road, Shook’s main focus has turned to winning the Resistol Rookie of the Year title.

“I want to win Rookie of the Year,” she said. “You can only do that once—that would be really cool.”

The odds are looking better for Shook’s adjusted goals. She just made it through the qualifying round at Cheyenne Frontier Days. She’ll return to The Daddy of ‘Em All in the performance on July 24.

Along with The Daddy, she will hit the big money-added Utah run that includes Odgen, Spanish Fork, and Salt Lake’s Days of ‘47 Rodeo.

2025 Resistol Rookie WPRA barrel racing standings

Updated July 20, 2025