Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2025 i The Team Roping Journal

Dear Roper, This isn’t the first letter I’ve used to remind you that November is one of our “in between” issues. An issue that we send to the printer before the ProRodeo run wraps up at the end of September—just a week before, really. This issue’s print schedule lends itself to timeless stories—like that of Earl Higgins on the cover of this issue. Mr. Higgins has won more in Global Handicaps competition than any other, and at 87, he’s not showing any signs of slowing down. Another timeless story is that of Bob and Sug—and their riders, Riley and Brady Minor. Both horses have multiple AQHA/PRCA Horse of the Year honors to their name, and both took the max amount of runs they could handle this year to get the…

At the Barrier | industry news NFR heeler and ARHFA Futurity Champ Billie Jack Saebens isn’t one to oversell a horse. So when he says Una Furiosa “makes my job pretty easy,” that’s not just a compliment—it’s a fact. After scoring a 937.86 on four head and pocketing $7,360, the message is clear: this gray mare isn’t just good, she’s special. And she’s already won $49,290 to show it. “She just kind of wants to be good,” Saebens, of Nowata, Oklahoma, said. “Good-minded, got enough sting to her, wants to work—there’s really nothing I’d change about her.” Una Furiosa is part of the Southern Ranches program, a product of 15 years of breeding from Larry Rice’s Flag Ranch, focused on cow and run. She’s got it all: the look, the…

HORSEMANSHIP FIRST, ROPING SECOND When I think about raising my kids in roping, my number one priority isn’t how fast they can catch or how sharp their swing looks. It’s horsemanship. I’ve seen plenty of guys with a million-dollar right arm and a 10-cent left hand—ropers who can throw a loop but can’t fit a horse or keep one working underneath them. That doesn’t last. For me, being a good horseman will always make you a better roper. So even though my son, Mac, is just 8, I focus on horsemanship from day one. The fundamentals are never too early to teach—you just have to be careful not to be too stern. TEACHING WITH PATIENCE (AND APOLOGIES) I’ll be honest—I’ve caught myself pushing too hard. Sometimes I get frustrated and…

Lane Mitchell knows what it’s like to near-miss the NFR cut. Three years ago, he finished 16th in the 2022 world heeling standings. They call that the heartbreak hole for a reason. Not this time. This 2025 season has been a breakthrough, banner rodeo year for this 31-year-old husband and new daddy. He’s heeled his way to the Thomas & Mack Center behind Cajun Cyle Denison, who was there in Las Vegas for the first time with Tanner Braden last December. Mitchell’s a heeling stud, and so is that gray horse he’s been riding. Oz Ona Hot Streak—they call him Oz—is actually owned by Nebraska’s Nate and Missy Osentowski. “I have a friend who lives in South Texas, Antone Williams, and he and my father-in-law (Tommy Edens) were talking about…

Any given winter day at Dynamite Arena, Earl Higgins is walking around with an envelope full of cash. In fact, he wins so much cash, he often just keeps the envelope in his chest pocket. That means when you bump into Higgins, who will turn 88 in three months, you can never tell if he was already paid by the secretary that day. “I’ve been awful blessed to still be able to do this, especially to do it and be competitive,” he says. “There are a lot of old guys roping, but a lot of us old guys are just roping.” That statement, of course, excludes him and Wyoming’s 85-year-old header Bill Spratt, with whom Higgins placed third in the #7.5 WSTR Qualifier at the Big Daddy in Cheyenne in…

Joseph Harrison and the powerhouse gelding Copperton added another major title to their resume, taking the win at the TX Best Heeling Derby—a performance that reinforced what many already knew: this horse isn’t just a futurity standout. Copperton’s a complete package, with the build, mind and feel to transition from aged events to the highest levels of rodeo. And he added $8,580 to his lifetime earnings after heeling four steers for 927.4 points behind helper Ketch Kelton. Now owned by X Performance Horses’ JD McGuire and Hunter Koch, Copperton has developed from a snorty colt into a force of nature in the heeling. Harrison, who’s guided his journey from the start, said the win in Decatur is a result of maturity, not just talent. “He started out pretty wild, and…

Q: You made your first NFR in 2020, and roped at that year’s COVID-year NFR in Texas with Nelson Wyatt. How’d that go, and how different were the conditions from Vegas? A: It was a dang good NFR, especially for our first one. We placed in five rounds, won third in the average and over $115,000 a man. To get to go there—especially when we were lucky to even have an NFR that year—was really good. The conditions weren’t the same rodeo as we have in Vegas, with the arena being so much bigger, the barrier being longer and the crowd not sitting right on top of you, like they do in Las Vegas. We were grateful they had it, and it was a good deal for us. Q: After…

Growing up in central Oklahoma and roping as a kid meant Clint McMurtry occasionally heeled steers for Nick Sartain, the 2009 world champion header. In fact, McMurtry heeled so well that he made the National High School Finals Rodeo every single year of high school. “That’s what I wanted to do for a living for the longest time,” said McMurtry, 44, now of Midland, Texas. “But it was difficult to get a break.” Instead, after a stint at college and while working for Jack Holden, he lived with his Army veteran uncle who talked about the great life he had while serving. McMurtry enlisted in the Air Force. “It was the best mistake of my life,” he said. “And I don’t mean that in a bad way. It taught me…

NOVEMBER ARIAT WSTR QUALIFIER Nov. 7-9 Buckeye Equestrian Center Buckeye, Arizona This is a full Ariat WSTR Qualifier, complete with a #13.5 and #10.5 pick/draw add-on, as well as the highlight of the weekend—the #11.5 Bloomer Qualifier special fees roping. Books open at 8 a.m. each day. ARIAT WSTR QUALIFIER Nov. 28-30 Buckeye Equestrian Center Buckeye, Arizona This Thanksgiving weekend jackpot is so much better than Black Friday shopping. With an Open that’s packed with NFR contestants on their way to Vegas and legends who call Arizona home in the winter, this qualifier is always stacked and great watching to boot. NTR BLACK FRIDAY TRUCK ROPING Nov. 28-29 Rancho Rio Wickenburg, Arizona The NTR will give away a brand new one-ton dually pickup in a #10.5 on Friday, with a…

“It is a fun time to be in the horse business. It’s a fun time to be in the team roping world—it just continues to grow. And we’ve got such great people in it. When the best in the world are getting behind the process, it will continue to grow from the top down, because people watch what the pros are doing and follow their lead. If they’re doing it, there’s a reason— and maybe the rest of us ought to take a look too.” —Karl Stressman, AQHA CEO, on “The Score,” available anywhere you listen to podcasts. Listen to “The Score” anywhere you stream podcasts, and find every episode on teamropingjournal.com.…

Trevor Brazile and RR Buckles Clubhouse captured the Heading Derby at the TX Best Rope Horse Futurity on Sept. 5, 2025, scoring 916.22 points on four head for $7,000, bringing the palomino gelding’s lifetime earnings to $207,189. Owned by Bryan and Nancy Beaver, the gelding has been in the Relentless Remuda program since he was a 2-year-old. By Show Me The Buckles and out of Hail Olena by Shine Like Hail, “Clubhouse” blends his sire’s stylish movement with the size and consistency Brazile looks for. “One of the coolest things about the Buckles colts is how sleek and cool-moving they are,” Brazile said. “Clubhouse is bigger, but he still has those same attributes.” That combination paid off in a tough setup where uneven cattle tested both pull and facing. “He’s…

Joseph Harrison and Magnums Shinin Spark racked up a four-head score of 921.31 to take the win and $8,140 in earnings at the TX Best 4-&-Under Heeling in Decatur, Texas, over Labor Day Weekend 2025, sending the duo into the fall finals season with winning momentum. The 2021 stallion by Magnum Chic Dream out of a Shining Spark mare named Shinin brought a blend of reining blood and Harrison’s finesse to the pen. And while his pedigree catches eyes, it’s his attitude and ability that have earned him the nickname Little Thief. “He’ll steal more than he can win,” Harrison said. “Because he just keeps doing it.” Originally trained by Bobby Lewis, the colt caught Harrison’s eye as a 3-year-old. Denise Bledsoe owned Little Thief at the time, and Gucci…

By the spring of 2009, Jade Corkill was 21 years old, fresh off his first NFR and already carrying the confidence of a heeler who knew he belonged. What he didn’t have yet was the financial cushion that separates a young guy scraping by from a professional who can weather the dry spells. That all changed in San Antonio when he turned in one of the greatest single-event performances in team roping history, to the tune of $152,193—plus his first George Strait Team Roping Classic truck and trailer combo. At the GSTRC that March, Corkill doubled down in a way that still makes heads shake. Teaming first with Chad Masters, Corkill helped smash the previous GSTRC average record by more than a second, stopping the clock in 14.4 seconds on…

This colt is plenty ready to go on live cattle, but I still like to slow things down and use the sled to keep everything simple. My goal isn’t about making runs—it’s about keeping him in my hand, waiting on me and not trying to get ahead of my rope. Those basics are what carry over into every run later. Don’t Let Him Anticipate This horse naturally wants to stop, and that’s something I like. But if I let him anticipate every time I move my rope, I’ll end up with one that quits too soon. On the sled, I just want him to be comfortable following my hand until my rope hits the ground—never trying to beat me to the stop. The Feel I’m Looking For When I say…

CESAR DE LA CRUZ’S HEELER’S FANTASY FACTORY In Cesar de la Cruz’s training sessions, he works his way through varying sets of heeling dummies to sharpen up roping fundamentals. Then, he progresses to heeling goats and donkeys before transitioning to live cattle. CLAY O’BRIEN COOPER’S DONKEY ROPING MASTERCLASS The Champ counts on Salsa the heeling donkey to train his young heel horses and tune up his veterans. Heeling donkeys have long been a part of Clay O’Brien Cooper’s practice, and in this series, he discusses how and why he uses them to the fullest. RELENTLESS REMUDA’S TIRE DRILLS Want your horses to face like the King of the Cowboys? In one of our first joint sessions with the Relentless Remuda, we filmed Trevor Brazile and Miles Baker teaching their horses…

There is no conversation about brother team roping teams without mention of the Minors. Riley and Brady Minor are about to rope at their 12th NFR together, and as of next month will have racked up a grand total of 26 Super Bowl of Rodeo back numbers between them. Some say it’s harder— more pressure—when siblings join forces. The Minor boys don’t see it that way. Little brother Riley is 37 now. He and his wife, Jordan, have two girls, Monroe, 8, and McCoy, who’ll be 5 on November 3. Big brother Brady is 40. He and his wife, Ashley, have a couple kids of their own. Son Maverick is 10, and daughter Mesa is 5. This particular pair of partners are the pride of their beloved hometown of Ellensburg,…