Walking Fresh in Waxahachie: Delani Beatty Goes 1.8

Delani Beatty made the most of a fresh-cattle setup, stopping the clock in 1.8 seconds to win the Ellis County Livestock Show & Rodeo in Waxahachie, Texas, and pocket $3,820.

Beatty, 28, of Hawley, Texas, didn’t come into the afternoon slack in Waxahachie with a plan—but once she realized there was a fresh calf for everyone, she knew she had the right horse on the trailer. Riding “Oakie,” a horse she raised and has competed on his entire life, Beatty leaned into a situation that played to her strengths.

“I actually had no clue that they were doing walking fresh calves,” Beatty said. “I got excited when it was walking fresh calves because Oakie likes that little setup like that. On normal calves, that would’ve been nod-and-ride, but a bunch of them weren’t starting—mine fortunately did. If you saw them out, you could kind of nail the barrier just enough.”

That confidence showed up in her 1.8-second run, which held up against a group of 2.3-second runs that split second place between Molly Hamilton, Mattie Hodges, Aspen Miller and Kacie Jo Wiersma for $2,244 each.

For Beatty, the win also highlighted the consistency of “Oakie,” whose registered name is DKW Oakie Six Fuel. The horse, which she started as a 2-year-old, has been a staple in her program—taking her to the College National Finals Rodeo and now continuing to perform at jackpots and rodeos alike. These days, Beatty shares Oakie with her husband, Caden, who heels on him at ProRodeos and jackpots across the state.

The horse has proven versatile, too. While primarily her good breakaway horse, Oakie has the ability to cross over into the barrel pen when needed, adding to his value in a program centered around training and seasoning horses at home.

“He scores so good and stays in my hand,” Beatty said. “You can float him across there, and he’s fast to the calf and stops hard.”

While Beatty doesn’t plan to hit the road heavily this season, the Waxahachie win could be a springboard into more Texas Circuit appearances. After limited rodeoing early in the year, she said a recent paycheck helped push her toward entering more rodeos closer to home.

“I haven’t rodeoed much,” Beatty said. “I mainly ride barrel horses and jackpot, but since I won some money there, Caden convinced me to enter circuit rodeos.”

Full Ellis County Livestock Show & Rodeo Results