Maddy Lee and SR Sixums Epic Luck Claim Elite Extravaganza Futurity Average Championship in Waco, Texas, February 26-March 2, 2025.
Aspiring futurity barrel horse trainer Maddy Lee, 19, of Granbury, Texas, and her standout futurity horse SR Sixums Epic Luck (Epic Leader x Sixums Lady Luck x Deep Sixum) continue to be a force to be reckoned with as they take the 2025 futurity year by storm.
The 2021 gray gelding first caught Lee and her mother’s eyes when they saw the colt as a 2-year-old posted for sale by Schiller Ranch on The Premier Horse website, where he had been started by Abby Fields of Fields Performance Horses in Stephenville, Texas.
“I had a colt before “Astro,” as we call him, that I trained and won quite a bit at youth and open barrel races. I learned a lot from that horse, he started my passion for training young barrel horses, but he also taught me what not to do,” Lee humbly admitted. “After my success with him, we decided to look for a more name brand prospect that was in the incentives which I could take to the futurities.”
Lee, who has always loved horses, grew up showing Arabians and participating in Hunter-Jumping.
“I always loved horses, and I always knew that I wanted to train horses. I just didn’t really know which direction I wanted to go in. In showing and jumping, you have a trainer that you work closely with that helps you. That is not as popular in the barrel racing industry, so I was pretty self-taught when it came to barrel racing,” Lee explained. “I watched quite a few videos, and a lot of the process was trial and error, too.”
Upon purchasing Astro as a 2-year-old, Lee set her sights on the 2025 futurity year.
“He really just wanted to be a barrel horse from day-one,” Lee applauded. “By his 3-year-old year, he was clocking 1D times in exhibitions, so I knew he had what it took to be a winner. When we bought him, I didn’t realize how great his dam really was. Now that he has been so natural and easy to train, it’s something I really look at in a prospect, which is a strong maternal line.”
However, the winning relationship between the young horse and young trainer didn’t happen overnight.
“When I first got him, he was flighty and spooky, like a colt. He didn’t want to be very personable or friendly,” Lee said. “I spent a lot of time with him, not just riding, to form a close bond with him and earn his full trust. I feel like that’s played a large role in his success, as I know him so well. Now he loves attention, and I know what he likes and what he doesn’t like.”
Lee and Astro started the 2025 futurity year off with a bang, winning the Juvenile Juniors Average Championship and placing sixth in the Future Fortunes Sire Slot at the Barrel Futurities of America Championship, which took place November 16-23, 2024, in Guthrie, Oklahoma. In their first outing, they won more than $6,000.
The powerful pair then went to the Better Barrel Races Oklahoma City Futurity in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, December 10-15, where they placed 10th in the second round and fifth in the OKC Rookie Futurity Average earning another $6,000 in winnings.
“At The Lonestar Shootout and The Texas Classic Futurities is really where things kind of fell apart for the first time,” Lee explained. “I spent a lot of time going back through old videos and adjusting my jockeying, realizing most of the problems were me. I also really focused on my slow work and staying consistent and correct in my tuning.”
Lee’s horsemanship paid off as she cashed out at The Equinety Kinder Cup in Tunica, Mississippi, February 3-8, 2025, winning the Kinder Cup Amateur Futurity Average Championship with a 30.221 on two runs, sealing the deal by winning the second round of the futurity with a 14.757 bringing their weekend total earnings to more than $15,000.
Their momentum carried into the Elite Extravaganza, which took place in Waco, Texas, from February 26 to March 2. Lee and Astro took a commanding lead in the futurity with a 14.871 in the first round, running the fastest time of the futurity.
“That was the first run I ever made on Astro, and I felt like I was really going fast during the run,” Lee explained. “Even in the second round at The Kinder Cup, I felt like he made quite a few mistakes, and I had a bobble at the second barrel in the first round of the Elite. It is exciting to know he can make mistakes and still win.”
Lee and Astro stayed consistent in the second round, turning in a time of 15.372, just shy of a check.
“I really felt like I got in my head the second round at the Elite. I knew I had a good chance going into the second round, and instead of just riding to my spots, I put too much pressure on myself, and I just overrode,” Lee explained.
When the curtain closed, Lee and Astro were named the 2025 Elite Extravaganza Futurity Average Champions with a 30.243 on two runs, adding another $8,800 to the gelding’s reported EquiStat earnings of $13,214.
Learning from her mistakes, Lee said that she plans to spend the next couple of weeks slow-working Astro and preparing for the upcoming spring futurities.
“I am really excited for the rest of Astro’s futurity year, my goal is just to keep him solid and consistent. To be able to compete against the trainers I look up to the most, like Ashley Schafer and Kassie Mowry, is truly a dream come true,” Lee said.
Lee plans to continue filling her barn with quality futurity prospects as she aspires to become a full-time futurity barrel horse trainer.
Lee thanks her mother, who goes to every barrel race with her and is a huge part of her support system. She also thanks her farrier, Cutter Holloway, and her veterinarian, Dr. Chad Marsh of Equine Sports Medicine and Surgery in Weatherford, Texas, who both play a vital part in keeping Astro winning.
This article was originally published in the May 2025 issue of Barrel Horse News.
