A mad dash ensues as the final week of months of preparation begins the kickoff to the largest roping in the country. Eight fully loaded trucks roll into the Will Rogers Memorial Center for the Cinch USTRC National Finals of Team Roping. Three chutes, six boxes, all the panels, the roping office, and sports desk all get set and the three team roping arenas take shape in Cowtown. The vendors roll in, the banners are hung and after all of that, it all begins with team number 1A of the Lawley's 16.5 Shootout.
Starting with the Decatur warm up events, just over 7900 teams roped over the course of 11 days competing for over $4 million dollars. This terrific payout came from all levels of entry fees calculated in the payout and the $30,000 USTRC added to the event along with a Ram tuck, plus hundreds of thousands worth of H4 Saddles, Gist Buckles, Horse Power Boots, Yeti Coolers, Resistol Hats, and Smarty products.
The first day of the 2023 USTRC Finals was dedicated to the top 5% of the competitive field and competitive it was. The cattle were fresh and ran hard and the score was set out there a ways. The Lawley's 16.5 Shootout is always a fun roping to watch because not only do fans get to see some of the best ropers in the world, but oftentimes you will see them roping both ends. As it turns out a college champion and a world champion heeler took home the first big paychecks of the week. In the following pages you will find all of the daily recaps and highlights from every roping top to bottom!
As the first day progressed, ropers got a turn in the John Justin arena for their first steer and then eased out into the covered pavilion for their second and third steers. One of the highlights of the day was when Kaleb Driggers came back twice in the open short round where he and Junior Nogeuira blitzed one in 4.4 at the tenth call and moved all the way up to win second.
“You definitely had to score sharp all day.” Said World Champion Header, Kaleb Driggers. “It was full contact all day long but that's what we expect in these ropings.”
After the first day, it was time to activate the absolute best workflow in the game of team roping: three arenas that allow ropers who catch to progress through the three-steer course in an average of twelve minutes with their eye on the 4th short round in the John Justin.
“The goal is to get everyone out of here in time each night to enjoy the city of Fort Worth.” Said John English of the USTRC. “With this many teams, we are very strategic with traffic flow patterns for people, horses and parking. We lay out the whole facility so that everything flows easily and smoothly. We want everyone to enjoy the roping. Not just their time in the arena, but everything from stalls to easy parking.”
Speaking of accommodating everyone, the USTRC thought it was high time to take care of one of the most important groups of ropers in our industry: our mothers, wives, daughters, and sisters. With this in mind, the first-ever Total Feeds Breakaway Championships kicked off in the Watt Arena during the third day of the finals. The $10,000 that was added in the open drew out some of the top lady ropers in the world. After four days of breakaway from the open to the 12 & Under, there was nearly $100,000 paid out in cash and prizes.
“This is a ton of fun because we get to come breakaway in one arena and then head right into the team roping side of things. This thing is definitely going to grow and grow.” Said Quincy Sullivan who was the Open Breakaway Champion and is also a past National High School World Champion Header.
Mid-week of the Cinch NFTR, it was very apparent that the team ropers had come to Cowtown. The vendor booths were constantly buzzing, the concession lines were full, and the streets up and down the Will Rogers Memorial Center we full of horses packing rope bags, friends telling re-ride stories, and families getting prepped to rope with one another.
“This is just an unreal experience.” Said Johnny Johnson who recently stepped into the top spot at the USTRC. “Everyone just seemed to have had such a good time all week long. Of course, there are little issues that pop up, but that is with anything in life. I made it a point to talk to as many ropers as possible and the feedback was overwhelming positive, and I can't tell you how many people simply said, ‘thank you’! It's our job to keep it fair and make it fun. This is a game and if we make it enjoyable for the ropers and they feel like they had a fair shot on every steer, then we can say we did our job!”
At the end of the day, the Cinch National Finals of Team Roping and the USTRC as a whole is built for the family who loves to team rope and it showed this week. Fathers won with sons, daughters took home saddles, wives won championships, and the kids…well let's just say the future of team roping looks as good as it ever has based on the talent on display by our 18 and under group.
Thank you to all of our sponsors who stick with the USTRC year after year and who also go the extra mile to support not only team roping but the western way of life. Thank you to the producers who put on the local ropings all over the country each weekend. Thank you to our incredible onsite staff who grinds all day every day from the entry office to the head gate to make sure every team roper is taken care of. Most of all, thank you to each and every one of you who make the decision to pick up a rope, practice, and compete in this one-of-a-kind sport. None of this happens without you. Thank you ropers. You made it happen for the 34th year in a row.
1 Tanner Tomlinson & Junior Nogueira 34.02 seconds on 5 $41,200
2 Kaleb Driggers & Junior Nogueira 35.96 seconds on 5 $30,900
3 Rowdy K. Jones & Gage Williams 36.28 seconds on 5 $20,600
“I've dreamed of this day and winning this roping since I was a kid,” Tomlinson said. “I never thought this day would come and I'd get to head for Junior. I had the most fun I've had in a long time heading steers today. Winning is an unbelievable feeling.” -Tanner Tomlinson
It was a clash of industry giants as 80 top notch teams delivered quite a show at the USTRC Cinch National Finals of Team Roping Open Shootout streamed live on USTRC.com. The two who rose to the top were reigning NFR Average Champion Tanner Tomlinson and reigning World Champion Junior Nogueira.
With a time of 34.02 on
