CINCH USTRC NATIONAL FINALS XXXII Winner's Circle
THE USTRC IS BACK!
What began with April showers, ended with a beautiful, sunshiny day in Fort Worth. The final steer of the Cinch USTRC National Finals of Team Roping XXXII ran down the arena on Sunday afternoon putting a cap on one of the greatest ropings in the history of the sport.
Running 6,000 teams the Finals paid out more than $3.1 million in cash and prizes, and had everybody done and out of there in time to enjoy a steak and a Gold Buckle Beer in Cowtown each night.
It took ropers 9.5 minutes to go from nodding for their first steer in the John Justin Arena to coiling their rope after the third steer in the Will Rogers Coliseum. This allowed ropers to get "in the groove" and keep their momentum rolling.
"As a roper, it was so cool to rope, coil up, and run your next one,” said Kevin Redstrom, who headed the crew that set up and ran all three NFTR arenas, and also placed second in the #13.5 Shootout heeling for Jason Williams. "You never had to wait for your next steer and could stay dialed in with that partner. It made it so much fun."
In addition to the roping logistics, the overall atmosphere made the event spectacular.
"I have been doing this since the beginning of the USTRC," said trade show, Jr. Looper, and prize line manager, Walt Eddy. "This year, everyone just seemed so happy, appreciative, and excited to be part of the US Finals."
Some phenomenal stories played out like Kreece Thompson, who won three divisions at the Finals, including the YETI Jr. Open; cattle contractor Bobby Joe Hill who won two titles in the #16.5 and #15.5 Shootouts; and Shaneece Coffman, the cowgirl who placed twice in the top 10 out of 1,000 teams to take home the new RAM truck.
"This is what it is all about,” said Ty Yost, president of the USTRC. “The teary eyes, the huge smiles, cowboy hats getting thrown in the arena. If this doesn't excite you, you're in the wrong place."
USTRC Open
Dustin Egusquiza of Mineral Wells, Texas—the No. 2 header in the PRCA world standings at press time—teamed up with his second partner, Levi Lord, from Stephenville, Texas, at the 32nd annual Cinch USTRC National Finals to top the $10,000 added Gold Buckle Beer Open and take home $50,620. After roping their first four steers in 26.93 seconds, they had a big lead going into the short round at high call.
“I was joking with Dustin, usually you need to be a 5.8 to win, not an 8.5,” said Lord, who finished fourth in the world this year at his first NFR. “It was a little different deal than what we’re used to.”
“We had a lot of time to win the roping,” Egusquiza added. “When you get in this kind of situation, it’s easy to think about it too much. I was just focusing on getting out of the barrier and getting close so I could handle him good. I almost forgot to rope. I didn’t feel like I did the best job, but Levi roped the crap out of him.”
The Open marked the start of the second USTRC National Finals held in the Lonestar state. The legacy of the USTRC has played a prominent role in stories like Egusquiza’s, who finished second in the #15 Shootout in Oklahoma City in 2015 with Michael Bratton, worth $54,400 to jump start his professional roping career.
“That was my first big win ever,” said Egusquiza, who has since earned three NFR qualifications, finished seventh in the world last year and has more than $600,000 in lifetime career earnings. “Winning $30,000 at the time was just crazy.”
Lord remembers as a young Jr. Looper watching with anticipation in Oklahoma City and daydreaming of when it would be his turn to take that victory lap. His 2021 trip to the official Winner’s Circle in Fort Worth’s John
