RODEO NEWS

Shook Shakes up Record Book with Record Run in Burley

By Ann Bleiker

Makenna Shook and XV Mario have only been together since the end of March, when the Needville, Texas, cowgirl bought the 5-year-old from former NFR qualifier Samantha Lyne Mauney but after their record setting run on August 16, 2025, in Burley, Idaho, the whole barrel racing industry is taking note. Not to mention she almost got talked out of running him at the Cassia County Fair & Rodeo.

“There was a big question if I was going to even run him in Burley,” stated the WPRA Rookie. “Someone called me and told me the ground was horrible and so many horses fell last night (this was the night before I was to run) and they said don’t run Mario. So, it had me double guessing what to run.”

Luckily, she decided to dig a little deeper and call a fellow competitor who happens to share the same first name although spelled differently – McKenna Coronado.

“So, I called McKenna Coronado, a really good friend of mine, and I asked her if she ran there last night. She said ‘yeah I got the second.’ So, I asked her how bad was the ground? She said, ‘it wasn’t bad and that my horse would be fine.’ So, I thought fine and never thought about it again as she shoots me straight.”

And what was the final verdict from Shook?

“I obviously thought it was great,” said Shook about the ground. “He is so young so he really doesn’t know the difference, but he will take care of himself if the ground is not good. So, if the ground wasn’t good, he wouldn’t have ran that fast.”

Shook was as surprised as many others when the clock stopped as it was more than she expected.

“I didn’t know it was going to be that fast,” she stated of the 16.53 second run on a standard pattern. “He is only five and had never been entered before I got him. He has only run three or four sub 17s but has been consistently running 17s and 17.1s. I think he ran a 16.9 in Heber City (Utah).

“I could see the time on the big screen during the run, and I knew it was going to be fast and would probably be winning the rodeo but not record breaking fast.”

While this duo is just getting started, Shook might have found the key to his fast times.

“If he nails the first barrel, which has been a struggle, then he is unbelievably fast everywhere,” noted Shook. “When he nailed that first barrel, I knew it was going to be a fast one and I just needed to finish the run. He was so fast on his other two barrels, and I knew being in the 12s leaving the third it was going to be fast.”

Together Shook and Mario broke the record set by another famous duo Hailey Kinsel and DM Sissy Hayday “Sister,” that was a 16.56 at the 2020 Wrangler NFR in Arlington, Texas.

Shook is in good company with Kinsel and Sister holding two of the three fastest times on a standard pattern at a PRCA Rodeo with the 16.56 and 16.57 last month in Spanish Fork, Utah.

It should be noted that the fastest time ever recorded in the United States on a standard was at a jackpot at The Ranch in Loveland, Colorado, in 2015 by none other than Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi with a 16.479.

While neither Shook nor Mario have professional rodeo experience, they both seem to be fast learners and a perfect match.

“I am really good friends with Amanda, which is Samantha’s sister. My good horse got hurt and Amanda called and said I needed to buy this horse,” recalled Shook on how Mario joined her trailer. “He wasn’t publicly for sale, but Amanda said if she could convenience her sister to sell would I buy him. I didn’t think I needed a 5-year-old, but I tried him and loved him. He is so easy and so fun.”

Mario was raised by Mauney, patterned by Brandon Cullins (million-dollar winner at The American in 2024), and is by the stallion RR Mistakelly. Mario’s mother is XV Watch Me Rock, who is by Famous Bugs and out of Mauney’s NFR mare LK Watch Me Rock.

“When I went to pick him up, he was living next to JB’s bulls and Jagger has a little pony he named Lightning McQueen and he rides him all around Mario, so he was pretty bullet proof in that regard when I got him,” noted Shook. “He was a very seasoned horse outside of the arena having not been to a rodeo.

“When I bought him, he had never been entered. I am not sure if he was mature enough as a 4-year-old. He doesn’t take things too seriously and slow working him is miserable as he doesn’t want to pay attention.”

Despite the inexperience, Shook set out on the summer run not sure what to expect.

“The first ProRodeo I took him to he went to the first barrel, and he fell down and I thought ‘oh no’ so I didn’t run him at the next three or four rodeos,” recalled Shook. “Then I took him to the Calgary qualifier, and he did really well there, so I knew he would figure things out.”

In July at Casper, Wyoming, he was really proving he was getting things figured out winning the average and picking up $12,352.

“Casper was a big win, and it helped a lot,” stated Shook. “My main goal is to get into the winter rodeos for 2026 and have put that above rookie of the year due to how my year started out.”

Shook is currently third in the Resistol Rookie Standings but the top two have a sizeable lead on her. It is worth noting that all her rookie earnings except just about $4,400 has all been won on Mario.

“It is so cool to have the record but cooler to know how young he is and how much he is going to do after this,” said Shook about now holding the standard pattern record in the WPRA. “We don’t run on a lot of standards down in Texas so before you bring them out here you don’t know what they are going to do on a standard or even on rodeo ground. Luckily, he seems to thrive on both. He loves rodeo atmospheres, and it is super rewarding that he is so fun to run outside.”

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