By Lane Karney and Kendra Santos for The American Quarter Horse Journal

It was “Big Country,” registered as Unbreykable and owned by Kelton McMillen, who took the steer roping world by storm in 2024. The top steer ropers in the world collectively took notice, and voted him the 2024 Nutrena Horse of the Year, presented by AQHA. 

Colorado-native cowboy Kelton and Big Country’s story materialized organically from the beginning. Several years ago, Kelton went down to the National Reined Cow Horse Association Snaffle Bit Futurity in Fort Worth, Texas, to watch his father-in-law, Tripp Townsend, who was the 2019 Snaffle Bit Futurity limited open champion. 

“I bought that horse as a big ol’ good-looking long yearling at the Snaffle Bit Futurity Sale in Fort Worth, I think the first year they moved it from Reno. It was one of those deals, I didn’t even know they were having a sale with it and definitely didn’t go down there to buy a horse,” says Kelton, who now calls Weatherford, Oklahoma, home with his wife, Summer; 7-year-old daughter Sonora; 4-year-old son Wesley; and 2-year-old son Wager. “We were just jacking around, and my father-in-law was looking at some colts, and he kind of talked me into him. At that age, you are looking at size and conformation, and he looked the part and had lots of chrome on him.”

Big Country, the cow-bred, bald-faced sorrel gelding, is 8. He is by Halreycious and out of the Smooth As A Cat daughter Smooth Pass Play. He was bred by J. Goedertier and C. Riley of Whitesboro, Texas. Falling into Kelton’s hands seems like destiny now, as the horse took the working ranch life and cowboying in stride. 

“That horse has just been easy all along. We were working a bunch, so I had a guy put 30 days on him. He called and said there’s no sense him riding him anymore, and that he was ready for a job. We’ve got a cow-calf deal and turn yearlings out on wheat. He got big enough, so we went to dragging calves and doctoring cattle on him,” Kelton says. “Whatever a guy wants to do, he’s up for it. I’ve never had a bad day on him.”

By Big Country’s 3- and 4-year-old years, he’d transitioned into Summer and Sonora’s string. 

“He was one that kind of always had the mindset that he acted like an older horse. I had other colts that needed rode, so I quit riding him and pretty much gave him to my daughter and wife to ride. Sonora started riding him when she was about 4,” says Kelton of the mature-minded gelding. “He would be the one horse on my whole place that I would consider the family horse. He’s so special, I can rope steers on him all morning, then she can ride him, and anybody can get on and do whatever they want. He’s a real team player.” 

Combining the perfect size–about 15 hands and a touch over 1,200 pounds – and his easygoing demeanor, Big Country excelled from the get-go in the roping arena.

“We team rope quite a bit, and roping on him, you could tell he had the mindset to be a steer horse. I started tying steers down on him when he was 5, which is pretty young to have the mind to be ready to tie steers down on. But he had it. I wasn’t rodeoing very hard in 2017 or 2018, but I took him to a few rodeos then. I actually heeled on him at Cheyenne (Frontier Days Rodeo in Wyoming) two years ago, too,” says Kelton, who finished a career-best 20th in the steer roping world standings this year. “He just came along real fast and got better and better.” 

For the top 25 steer ropers in the world to vote Big Country as the Horse of the Year means a lot to Kelton and has put some wind beneath his sail to broaden his rodeo travels.

“That’s a big deal to me. I know everybody who rides horses thinks highly of some of their own, but for guys rodeoing full time to see him and think he was as good as I thought means a lot. The guys who vote know what a good one is,” says Kelton, who loaned Big Country to Slade Wood to ride at the 2024 National Finals Steer Roping in November in Mulvane, Kansas, where Slade won just north of $41,000 in 10 rounds. “I went to more rodeos this year than in the past six or seven years, because of this horse. We stay busy, and it’s hard to be gone. So my mindset has been to not really rodeo unless I had a really good one. This horse turned into that, so I’m going to go more than I have. I know he’s ready, and if I don’t make the Finals, it has nothing to do with my horse.”

JKC Seven Freckles, aka “Cotton,” who’s owned by Trent and Ayla Johnson, and ridden by Trent was this year’s reserve Steer roping horse of the year. Scott and Kelli Snedecor’s JS Frosty Badger, aka “Goose,” finished third in the voting.

Cotton is a 2014 gray gelding by Seven From Heaven and out of Ms Freckled Star by Freckles Smokin Doc, bred by John and Kay Coltharp of Stephenville, Texas. Goose is a 2009 bay gelding by San Zero Quixote and out of Miss Black Frosty by Stage Bar Ted. Goose, bred by Jeri Lynn Still of Longton, Kansas, was the 2022 Steer Roping Horse of the Year.