Rodeo Star Kassie Mowry Lost Her Fiancé in 2024 Before Winning a World Title

2024 was a tumultuous year for rodeo star Kassie Mowry. Kassie won her first RAM Top Gun Award and the associated world title in December, just months after losing her fiancé in June. Kassie paid tribute to her former partner Michael Boone following her victory, and was candid about how difficult it was to lose him.

Following the news that Kassie's fiancé had died, many naturally wanted to know what happened to him. Here's what we know.

Michael Boone was Kassie's partner in both work and her personal life. The two of them were engaged for several years, and he was 59 years old at the time of his death. His death was described as "unexpected," but none of the reporting offers any details on what happened to him. What we do know, though, is that he recently underwent treatment at the Mayo Clinic for prostate cancer.

In speaking with The Cowboy Channel, Kassie explained that after Michael's death, she struggled just to get out of bed.

“That horse (Jarvis) gave me a reason to walk out my front door a lot of days, when I went out my driveway, everybody pushed me to get on the road," she said. "That horse just wouldn’t let me come home. He just kept winning out there at the summer rodeos. He wasn’t ready to come home, so I stayed out, and I’m glad I did.”

While Michael did not compete like Kassie, he was widely respected in the world of barrel racing for his ability to spot and train horses. He was also president of Lytle’s Transfer and Storage and produced Atlas Van Lines for use around the world. He was clearly beloved in the rodeo community, and he was a major part of Kassie's 2024 success, even if he did not get to live to see it.

Kassie's victory came with a cash prize that was worth nearly $300,000.

“To come out here and do better than I ever thought I could, it’s hard to describe,” she said. “It took so many things and so many people to get me through this. It was all worth it, I’ll never forget this.”

Kassie's victory came down to a final tenth-round barrel run, where she recorded a 13.59-second run to clinch her victory. Entering the tenth round, she held a narrow lead over Hailey Kinsel, and whoever notched the faster run on Dec. 14 would win the world title. Kassie was able to do exactly, that, knowing that the worst thing that could happen was a second-place finish.

“I was first or second no matter what, yes, it was a long 10 minutes,” Kassie said. “But second to Hailey and Sister is still incredible, I was happy either way.”

Kassie goes home with the world title at the end of a long and difficult year. Even if she had lost, she would have been a champion.