ProRodeo Sports News - July 8, 2022

TIMED-EVENT TOP WINNER

Record-Setters

BY TRACY RENCK R eigning PRCAWorld Champions – team roping header Kaleb Driggers and team roping heeler Junior Nogueira – showed just how good they could be over the 2022 Cowboy Christmas run. The duo set a Cowboy Christmas single-event timed- event earnings mark at $35,152 each. “This was a great opportunity and there were a lot of really good rodeos and a lot of rodeos stepped up and added great money,” Driggers said. “Some of the rodeos had to face adversity like Red Lodge (Mont.) and they still stepped up and had a great rodeo and we are very appreciative for all the opportunities the rodeos gave us.” Nogueira concurred with his partner. “We’ve never had a Cowboy Christmas like that,” Nogueira said. “That was the best so far for us for sure. We are riding some good horses and Kaleb is roping really good and we try and do the best we can to help each other. We drew some good steers and actually caught some really strong ones as well. That was a big part of our success. We have been blessed with good horses, and we are trying to get better every day.” Driggers and Nogueira broke the single-event timed-event Cowboy Christmas mark held by Shane Hancey at $32,293 in 2016. Trevor Brazile, PRCA’s King of Cowboys who will be inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colo., on July 16, holds the record for most money earned during Cowboy Christmas at $39,993. He set the mark in 2011 while tie-down roping and team roping. Driggers and Nogueira’s biggest earnings during the nine-day Cowboy Christmas bonanza from June 27 to July 5 were at St. Paul (Ore.) Rodeo where they each earned $11,867 and the World’s Oldest Rodeo in Prescott, Ariz., where they each took home $7,554. “We have a set of really good horses right now that really compliment each other,” Driggers said. “I have good head horses that will do whatever the set up calls for and I use it to their strengths. Junior has a set of really good heel horses that compliment them. I felt like that was pretty key for us and naturally we drew some good steers along the way, but then we had some stronger steers that our horses made it a lot easier on us to be able to catch them and win something on them.” The record-breaking Cowboy Christmas haul is something Driggers believes will certainly help he and Nogueira for the remainder the 2022 regular season. They are each leading the PRCA | RAMWorld Standings in their respective events. “Anytime that you can have success it gives you confidence,” Driggers said. “The steps we think about are winning enough to make the Finals and then your next goal is trying to win as much as you can. We had a really fortunate winter and moving onto the summer it has been going good for us. A lot of that is having some really good horses right now and we are very thankful.” Driggers and Nogueira won their inaugural team roping header and team roping heeler world titles a year ago with $263,227 and $277,612. Driggers/Nogueira set Cowboy Xmas earnings mark

Team roping heeler Junior Nogueira, left, and header Kaleb Driggers won the average at the St. Paul (Ore.) Rodeo. It was part of a record-breaking Cowboy Christmas for the duo. COWBOY CHRISTMAS

Kent Soule photo

ProRodeo Sports News 7/8/2022

ProRodeo Sports News 7/8/2022

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