Mary Ann Miller is a fourth-generation world champion roper. Her great grandfather Ben Johnson Sr. was a world champion steer roper in the 1920s. Her great uncle Ben Johnson Jr. was the 1953 world champion team roper. Mary Ann’s dad, John Miller, was the 1970-71 world champion team roper, and her mom, Barbara, is an NFR barrel racer. Like her parents, Mary Ann calls Cave Creek, Arizona, home.
Q: Tell us a little more about your mom and dad’s rodeo history.
A: Dad went to nine NFRs (1963 and eight straight from 1965 to ’72). He also made the National Finals Steer Roping in 1972 and ’73. Mom ran barrels at the 1972 NFR (back when she was Barbara Bell). They met at the rodeo in Tucson, and have been married 53 years.
Q: Your little brother, Trey, was the 1995 National High School Rodeo Association team roping champ heeling for Clay Kelton. How is Clay related to the rest of the Keltons, and how much does Trey rope now?
A: Clay is Chance’s brother and Ketch’s uncle. Trey’s the vice president of a bank in Texas, and his wife, Wendy, is a vet. They have five boys. Trey ropes every chance he gets, but they’re a little bit busy these days.
Q: Your dad’s side of the family has deep ranching and rodeo roots in Oklahoma. Did you grow up in Cave Creek?
A: Both. Cave Creek is home, but when my dad helped Ed Gaylord start the Lazy E, we moved to Oklahoma and spent five or six years there before coming back to Arizona for high school. I was there when they were drawing the Lazy E Arena logo in the living room. I have a lot of fond memories from growing up on the Lazy E Ranch. The first steer I ever roped in my life was in the practice pen behind the mare barn.
Q: You won back-to-back Women’s Professional Rodeo Association team roping titles in 2006 and ’07. Who were you heading for?
A: I headed for Tammy Lewis the first year, and Lari Dee Guy the second year.
Q: Women’s rodeo has come a million miles since then. Talk about that growth from then to now, and how you’re trying to help.
A: When I won the world, we would drive 10 hours to a $200-added rodeo to get qualified for the finals. That’s a lot of winning you have to do when you’re winning $300 to $400 at a time. There are a lot of opportunities now to qualify via higher-money ropings. I started helping develop the Tito’s rodeo program by helping support the women in our sport, because it needs to be done.
Q: Tell us more about your role with Tito’s Handmade Vodka.
A: I was originally hired to help develop a rodeo marketing program for THV, which continues to promote the Tito’s brand in and out of the arena.
Q: Your dad and his fellow world champion header Uncle Ben were inducted with the inaugural Class of 1979 into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs. What have been your dad’s most helpful words of wisdom in the roping department?
A: Dad always said he couldn’t outrope everybody, but he could outthink everybody. That mental point of view came into play when I won my first championship. It came down to the last steer, we had to get a time and we drew the steer that stopped. You have to handle whatever comes your way, and that ice water in my veins in the team roping comes from my dad.
Q: You founded the Miller Johnson Foundation in 2023. What’s your mission with that?
A: Our mission is to support and promote the financial health of Western heritage families. It could be ranchers, farmers, junior rodeo kids, horseshoers—it’s for everyone, and includes anything from helping after an injury to fundraising for events and natural disaster recovery. It’s for everyone.
Q: How has growing up in a rodeo family like yours shaped you as a businesswoman?
A: The one thing every rodeo person has in common is the buck stops with you. You make or break your workday and your goals by the amount of effort you put out. Rodeo people take ownership. I also learned in my family how to work as a team to achieve goals. Nobody does it by themselves. Goals aren’t achieved without a team in your corner.
Q: How much time does your job allow you to rope these days?
A: My Tito’s team is very supportive of me staying in the arena, whether it’s competing or representing the company. I make time to rope and compete, and I’m out there at a lot of Western events. We’re trying to support people at the grassroots level, in local communities where they need support most. That’s my wheelhouse.
Q: What does the future of roping look like to you?
A: I know the rodeos have huge money involved, with TV and ticket sales. But by the numbers, team roping in general is so much bigger. The contestant involvement and economics are obvious. There are a lot of trucks and trailers at every team roping. I see it every day—team roping has more of an influence on the Western industry than anyone has been able to quantify.
Q: Do you have any cowgirl goals left?
A: I’d like to win the world again. I did it 20 years ago. How cool would it be to still be able to compete in a day and age where the industry is changing to allow more women to make a living roping? More women are making a living roping now than ever before. It’s also a goal to build this foundation up so I can help as many people as I can.
Q: What are your hopes and dreams for the future of roping and the sport of professional rodeo?
A: I want more competitors to be in charge of decision-making for us. Because the city people they bring in just don’t get it.
—TRJ—
