NFR: Derrick Begay looking to create some early momentum with heeling partner Colter Todd

WINDOW ROCK

The Wrangler National Finals Rodeo gets underway today at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Diné team roper Derrick Begay secured his 12th NFR qualification by having one of his best seasons in his 21-year history within the PRCA ranks.

Going into the 10-day finals, Begay is sitting third in the world team roping standings in the heading position with $166,201 in earnings while his heeling partner Colter Todd is in second at $163,849.

“For me, I’ve been there a few times and the way I prepare is just thinking about the different scenarios,” Begay said of the NFR. “I think about the feel, and the smell and so I just put myself in those situations mentally.”

What helps, Begay says, is watching videos from years past, not just of himself but from the other team ropers as well.

“You can learn a lot from watching videos,” he said. “You can watch from all angles, and you can watch it in slow motion.”

Begay says it’s rather difficult to mimic the roping element of competing inside the famed arena.

“That place is different from anywhere else and there is no place like it,” he said. “You can practice all you want for it, but the timing is different and things are a lot fast there, so it’s hard to practice for it.

“You can build an arena with the exact dimensions, but the other stuff, like the steers, don’t match up,” he added. “Nowadays, it’s all mental. Just being there from the past, I think about the feeling of riding into the box and the feeling of how far I’m away from the steer when I nod my head, so like I said it’s all mental.”

Todd, who earned his fifth NFR qualification, agreed with Begay about the difficulties in trying to practice for the NFR.

“Personally, there is nothing like roping in the Thomas & Mack Center,” Todd said. “It’s something that you can’t practice for. You have to try and make the right decisions on the horses you have to ride, and I’ve been there enough to where it feels easy, and I’ve been there enough to where it feels super hard.

“As far as making preparations, I don’t know what you can do,” he added. “But if the horse I’m riding fits the steer and if it fits my header’s horse, then it makes for an easy time. If not, it makes it hard.”

The two cowboys are looking to create some early momentum. Like all the qualifiers, their aim is to stay in contention in the average race while earning as many checks as they can.

“That is something we want to do,” Begay said. “For me, I want to be more aggressive than I have been over the years, and I bet all the other 29 guys are just excited as I am about the final.

The team roping field is chasing world No. 1 Kaleb Driggers of Georgia and Brazilian heeler Junior Nunes Nogueira as the two leaderboards have won $198,497 each. In the heading side, Texas cowboy Tanner Tomlinson is sitting second at $183,497 followed by Begay while Todd is holding down the second spot on the heeling end.

Two years ago, the Begay-Todd pair won the average title at the 2023 NFR with Begay moving up to No. 4 in the world, earning a career-high $269,125 in season earnings while Todd finish third in the world at $284,292.

“Just like the previous years, I’m going over there to do my job,” Begay said. “And that’s to get out of the barrier the best that I can and rope the steer and give my partner a chance. It’s kind of simple, but there’s a lot more to it than that.”

Begay says he not too worried about Todd’s ability as the two cowboys have found a chemistry that’s like no other.

“Colter can only be as good as I can,” Begay said. “What I mean by that is if I don’t do my part, he can’t do his. But most of the time when I do my part, he’ll do his, so I’m not worried about what he has going on back there. But we are a team and it’s call team roping. I know that I gotta do my part so that he can do his part.”

Todd, who has qualified for the NFR on both ends, says the best thing they can do is react to another.

“You just have to let it happen and just react,” Todd said. “I’ve made the NFR three times on the heading side a long, long time ago and this is my second time as a heeler. They’re both unique situations and they’re both special but I’d rather go in there as a heeler.

“It takes a lot of the thought out it because all I can do is get to the steer and heel the steer,” he added. “For heading, I had a do a lot more, like I get to dictate when I’ll throw. Those guys who head have a special ability to react under pressure.”

Last year, the pair roped together all season with Begay making the NFR. Todd, meanwhile, sat out as he finished 16th in the world. With that, Begay roped with Jonathan Torres at the world finals as that temporary partnership earned them a second-place finish in the average race.

“I’ve rope with different partners before and roping with Colter is a lot different,” Begay said. “Most of the guys I’m roped with were business or rodeo partners but with Colter he’s my best friend and we just compete. That’s the only way I can explain it, but it’s different if I’m roping with someone else.”

Todd said he was ecstatic that Begay made last year’s finals and he deserved to be there.“The main thing is I was glad that Begay got in and I wanted him to do good and win,” he said. “Making the finals is obviously the end goal and when you rodeo all year, you want to make the finals.”

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