ProRodeo Sports News | March 4, 2022

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS

SAN ANTONIO STOCK SHOW & RODEO

Unlikely pairing wins team roping crown When team roping header Lightning Aguilera and heeler Jonathan Torres arrived in San Antonio it was without partners. They were paired together and roped for the first time together in their careers and it could not have worked out better. Aguilera/Torres split the win in the finals with Reno Stoebner/Joseph Harrison as each stopped the clock in 4.2 seconds. Aguilera/Torres won the San Antonio title by virtue of earning an event-best $21,500. Stoebner/Harrison earned $17,500. Aguilera normally ropes with Coleby Payne and Jonathan is partnered with his brother Joshua Torres. “This is a dream to win this kind of rodeo and I’m just happy to be here,” said Aguilera, 28. “This is pretty amazing. This is big boost for us in the standing and going into the rest of the year.” Torres acknowledged there was no secret formula for his team’s success. “We were the first team out and we thought we had a pretty good steer and just wanted to make the best run we could,” Torres said. “I entered (San Antonio) with my brother and he entered with his partner, and they didn’t get in and Lightning and I got paired together.” Aguilera and Jonathan Torres are both seeking to make their Wrangler National Finals Rodeo debuts. Aguilera moved up to third place in the latest PRCA | RAMWorld Standings and Jonathan was leading the standings. After San Antonio, Torres earned $8,276 at La Fiesta de los Vaqueros in Tucson, Ariz., Feb. 27. Kay Miller photo Roping together for the first time in their careers, Lightning Aguilera/Jonathan Torres looked like savvy veterans and they took top honors in San Antonio.

Kay Miller photo Tuf Cooper added another line to his decorated career as the tie- down roper captured the championship for the first time in San Antonio. He earned $19,500. Tuf Cooper nabs long-awaited title The long wait is over for ProRodeo superstar Tuf Cooper. The four-time PRCAWorld Champion can now call himself a San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo champion. Cooper, who joined the PRCA in 2008, made that a reality with his 7.2-second run in the finals Saturday night at the AT&T Center. “I was in a good position, I was eighth out (in the finals out of 11) and Haven Meged was winning the round with a 7.8 prior to me riding in,” said Cooper, 32. “I knew I had to go for it. I wanted to win first. I had to stay calm. I just went out there and did what God created me to do here today.” Cooper won the San Antonio crown by taking home an event-best $19,500. He was riding his main horse Bro to the title. “He has been such a blessing for me,” Cooper said. “We’ve been having a little bit of trouble with him on the end of the ropes and mainly it has been my fault. If I rope like right there, like I did tonight, that horse will do his job every time. He’s been such a blessing for me to have.” Cooper has climbed to the top of the PRCAmountain four times in his storied career – winning three tie-down roping world championships in 2011- 12, 2014 and the all-around crown in 2017. Yet, it was obvious what the San Antonio win meant to him. Moments after his time was shown on the scoreboard, he tossed his hat in the arena and flexed his muscles. “I’m telling you I have been in this final round in San Antonio all but two times throughout my career,” Cooper said. “That makes the 59th calf I have ran in this arena and I finally won this rodeo. I had a big monkey on my back, and I knew I made a good run. Right when I threw my hands up and I saw the clock, they probably got me for excessive celebration.”

ProRodeo Sports News 3/4/2022

ProRodeo Sports News 3/4/2022

ProRodeo.com

ProRodeo.com

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