Fulshear teen wins $110,000 in roping competition

FULSHEAR, Texas – She's only 16 years old and can already call herself a roping champion.

A Fulshear High School student is now talking about her latest prize, which got her more than a $100,000.

Sophomore Madison Outhier qualified for the American semifinals, where there were 481 other competitors. Outhier kept progressing and ultimately walked away as the champion, taking home the big prize.

Outhier was riding horses before she could walk and started roping shortly after.

"I've been roping ever since I was 7 or 8 years old and roped every single day I have been home, probably for three years straight," she said.

Madison Outhier as a child.

Last week wasn't Outhier's first rodeo, but her ride at the American Rodeo at AT&T Stadium in Arlington certainly was the win of a lifetime.

"It's amazing. It's crazy. Like a dream come true to win something this big," she said.

In a few seconds, she won the world champion breakaway roping event, taking home the $110,000 prize.

"I was so blessed and happy to do it," Outhier said.

As it turns out, talent is in her genes. Her father, Mike, has plenty of hardware of his own as a four-time NFR qualifer.

"It's pretty awesome that she has come this far and competed against girls twice her age, but a lot of them three times her age," Mike Outhier said. "It wasn't a sprint, it was a marathon that week, and she kept her composure and mind and did her job every time."

Her family and the Fulshear community are proud of the sophomore, who said she doesn't have plans of slowing down.

"I'm going to keep going as fast as I can," Madison Outhier said.

Madison Outhier said she's not done yet, and she hopes to qualify for the high school national championship. She will compete in the state championship this summer.

Watch her winning performance below.


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