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Mikayla in the News

Into The Sport, Western Shooting Horse Magazine September 1, 2009, by Mark Boardman

Out of the blue is a good way to describe Mikayla Zayas’ quick rise through the ranks of mounted shooting. She’s just 14 years old and she’s already a Ladies Level 5.

 It also says something about her love of horses. She didn’t grow up with them. Her parents don’t ride, and never have. But through strange circumstances, Mikayla’s focus is firmly on horses. 

If nothing else, the Florida Cowgirl is definitely surprising. You might say, out of the blue.  

Meet Mikayla

I have to admit that I was a bit surprised—and more than a little impressed—when I first met the young lady. We spoke on the phone for awhile in March, preparing a story on the Junior Class, and she came across as well spoken and mature. Thoughtful. Yet still a kid. 

When we first met face-to-face at the Behlen Classic in Guthrie, Oklahoma, those impressions were confirmed. The curly blond hair and baby face, the lean and gangly bearing, the braces on her teeth remind you that she’s a teenager (just 13 at the time). But she does act much older than that; her words are more advanced than you might expect. She’s got a good perspective on things—“I’d like to become a vet, but certainly that could change by the time I get to college.” And it’s no surprise when she mentions that she’s a straight A student, and always has been. 

Mikayla is smart. And hard working.  And not intimidated by competing against folks who are two or three or four times her age. She charges through patterns with a certain sense of abandon; she’s still learning the game, especially how to manage a course. 

She’s an L5 and moving up fast.  But how she got there is, well, a bit different. 

Surprise!

The surprises started early—just ask her folks. Felix and Lori Zayas were expecting (or hoping for) a boy, and had already picked out the name Michael. So when the baby turned out to be a girl, they called her Mikayla (“My mom still calls me Mikey.”). 

The kid was into little girl things—like cheerleading, which she started at age 6.  But things changed a couple of years later.  Her mom was a hairdresser, and a client’s father-in-law had some horses and asked if Mikayla might like to ride. 

She did. And she was instantly hooked: “I don’t know where exactly I got the whole horse thing. Nobody in my family was into horses. I just made this odd decision to go into horses. My parents had no idea why I was into horses. But everyone said I was a natural rider. So they just kind of accepted it and had faith in me.” 

It was a faith that proved out. 

When Mikayla hit 9, she tried barrel racing. It didn’t impress. “It was really boring,” she remembers. “It was the same pattern, over and over and over again.”

Mikayla and Mounted Shooting

But two years later, she found a sport that offered the challenge she was looking for—Cowboy Mounted Shooting. “We went to Majestic Ranch when I was 11 and we saw them compete in a miniature jackpot,” she says. “And we went to one of their practices a week after that. And they supplied the horses and guns and gunbelts and everything.” Mikayla supplied the grit and desire. 

Not long after, she entered her first match near her home in Ocala, Florida. “I came in second; there were only two Wranglers.” But that didn’t deter her. 

By this time, Mikayla had given up cheerleading (“I used to be able to do a back handspring and all that other cool stuff—but I can’t anymore.”). Her parents bought a horse and the necessary mounted shooting equipment. She worked her way through Wranglers for about a year before moving up. 

Her first Junior match was in North Carolina. Riding a brand new horse named Belle, Mikayla won her class. More wins came at the 2008 Easterns and Worlds. And then it was time to move up to the adult ranks. 

After the 2008 Worlds, the CMSA board allowed Junior riders to join the main classes. Officials suggested to Mikayla and her mom that the youngster become an L2—“But Mikayla thought it wouldn’t be fair to the other competitors or herself,” says Lori Zayas. “So at the Tennessee States [held in December ‘08], she registered as a Lady’s 3.” 

She won her class and was fourth overall in Lady’s. 

By the time we spoke in March, just three months after her CMSA adult debut, Mikayla was already a L4. Her goal?  “Well, I’d like to become a 5 by the end of the year.” She met that mark three months later, in time for the Behlen Country Classic. 

Even she was surprised by how fast that happened. 

A Little Help From Her Friends

Mikayla is the first to give credit where credit is due. Her parents, of course, deserve a lot of praise for who she is and what she’s accomplished (mom Lori got into the spirit of things—she’s now an L3).  She also points to the help provided by Rock, Terri and Cody Clark, who gave her advice and (in Cody’s case) some serious competition as she was riding in the Wranglers and Juniors. Marvin Rickman let her ride his horse Andale in several matches (including Guthrie), allowing her to experience more speed and control. 

And then there’s Tammy Sronce. The World and National Champ has taken Mikayla under her wing (“Mikayla loves horses, and that reminds me of me as a kid.”), working on horsemanship and shooting technique. But the main thing is “Course management, one of the most important things in CMSA. Tammy talked to me about how you can save some steps and strides, and then she showed me.” 

Tammy also provided a new horse, Silver Cat, that Mikayla has already ridden to wins in a couple of shoots since Guthrie. 

So it will be no surprise if Mikayla hits L6 before too long. The young lady who came out of the blue has nothing but blue skies ahead

Times Record News Wichita Falls, TX  October 16, 2009 by Linda Stewart

Mikayla Zayas of Orlando, Fla., takes her turn during the mounted shooting competition Friday at the Wilbarger County Covered Events Center. She is one of 115 contestants taking part in the Regional Competition of the Gulf Coast Mounted Shooters.

 

 

Juniors Jump Mainstream Western Shooting Horse Magazine May 1, 2009, by Mark Boardman

 No longer relegated to an age based category, former Junior shooters join the main classes and with it are bringing on the competition 

November 2007. A watershed event for the sport of Cowboy Mounted Shooting. That was when 13-year old Junior rider Melissa Dragoo captured the overall title at the CMSA Worlds. 

It showed just how good many younger riders were (and are). And—at least indirectly—it helped fuel a change in the CMSA Juniors Classification. 

 

The Problem

The Juniors—and their parents—weren’t satisfied, for a number of reasons. Brenda Chunn, mother of Arkansas Cowboy Zane Chunn, speaks for many: “In the Junior levels, there wasn’t enough competition for the kids to have a chance to move up or improve.” Tennessee’s Cody Clark says there weren’t enough competitors in his class to make it worthwhile: “I was spending more on entry fees than I got back in prize money, and that really got me down.” 

Especially at smaller shoots, Juniors often had no one else in their classes.  Even at larger ones, they might have just two or three competitors. In effect, there was little to no competition until they got to national matches. 

Besides, youngsters like Florida Cowgirl Mikayla Zayas were already comparing their times to Level 5 and 6 shooters. Mentally, they were already competing against Rock Clark, John Clark, Tammy Sronce, Andra Olson and other top riders. 

And often they were beating their elders. At least on paper. 

But the fact that they couldn’t officially go up against the big boys (and girls)—except for overall awards—was frustrating. The rules said they had to stay in Juniors through age 15, so they were stuck. Some now say they were getting a bit bored, and a bored kid is someone who just might quit. And a bunch of bored kids could hurt the future of Mounted Shooting. 

The Change

So last June, at the Behlen Country Classic in Guthrie, OK, several youngsters approached CMSA President Dan Plaster and stated their case: the more advanced Juniors should be allowed to ride against the adults. 

The Board agreed. “We decided to allow them to go directly to the main classes as of January 2009,” Plaster says.  “Once they go into the main class they can not go back to the Junior Class” (see sidebar on the new rule). 

And yes, there still is a Junior Class.  But it’s a developmental group, aimed at younger riders who aren’t up to competing yet with the more advanced riders. New Mexico Cowgirl Kathy Hollmann applauds the change, saying that Juniors who are just starting in the sport need a chance to improve before moving up.

 

Still, it’s a fundamental change.  Riders as young as 11—so long as they turn 12 during the current year—now are able to compete head to head against older competitors. 

How They’re Doing

It’s still early in this whole thing—as this is being written, it’s been about 10 weeks since the new policy went into effect. But the initial results indicate that it’s working well, at least for the youngsters. 

For example:

• Cody Clark, just turned 15, started the year as a Men’s 2 and is already a 3.

• Mikayla Zayas, 13, has moved from an L3 to an L4.

• Kathy Hollmann, 15 years old, won L2 at Las Cruces in March; she was Lady’s Reserve behind Kenda Lenseigne. By the time you read this, Kathy may be an L3.

• Eleven-year-old Zane Chunn is a Men’s 2—maybe a 3 by now.

• Amanda Cook was fourth overall at the Sunday Florida CMSA shoot in January. She’s an L3 and close to a level 4.

• Melissa Dragoo—still just 15—is a Lady’s 5 and has set her sights on reaching a 6 this year. 

Their parents are thrilled. So are the kids (although a couple of them say they wish they were old enough to drive so that they wouldn’t have to rely on their folks to get them to shoots). 

Of course, the real proof will come at some of the big CMSA events—like the Nationals, Worlds, etc. But these kids are not fazed. So, Zane Chunn, does it seem strange to compete against adults, some of them 30 or 40 (or more) years older than you are? “No.” It doesn’t intimidate you at all? “No.” Short and sweet. 

Overall Impact?

It’s not clear just what the infusion of the young riders will mean to the mainstream classes in mounted shooting—other than upping the competition. 

There’s some anecdotal information indicating some older shooters are considering a move to the Seniors.  Tennessee Cowboy Marty Luffman—already an SM3—thinks we’ll see a fair amount of that this year. “We’re scrambling to avoid the young guns,” he says. “I love ‘em all, but I don’t want to ever have to compete against them.” 

But that feeling isn’t universal. World Champion Cowgirl Tammy Sronce—who has helped train several of the youngsters—says that they can bring it on. “I think the sport has grown so much, and the competition has advanced so far that the Junior competitors are just a handful of very talented riders who are making their way up the ranks, amongst many other very skilled shooters all looking for class wins,” she says. 

Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid.

In many ways, it doesn’t really matter whether older riders are trying to avoid the young hot shots. 

Does it? 

“They should be afraid of us. Because we’re going to come and turn your world around,” warns Melissa Dragoo.  “They better watch out. I’m coming for them. Cody’s coming for them. And so is Mikayla and Samantha Wilson and a lot of others.” 

You’ve been warned. The former Juniors are here. And they’re not going away—not before they take home some championships.
But a warning to them: there are some hotshot Wranglers on your tail…
 
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