PRCA ropers, rider to be honored

WINDOW ROCK

Four of the biggest rodeo icons in Navajo country will be honored with an appreciation dinner at the Twin Arrows Navajo Casino Resort on Saturday night.

Professional team ropers Aaron Tsinigine, Derrick Begay and Erich Rogers, as well as WPRA barrel racer Kassidy Dennison, will be recognized in an event sponsored by the Office of the President and Vice-President of the Navajo Nation.

“Our Navajo athletes who participated in the 2015 WNFR have set great examples of individuals leading healthy, active lifestyles,” said President Russell Begaye in a press release. “They have pushed their athleticism to compete at top levels in their sport and have come out successfully. The Begaye-Nez administration wishes to honor these athletes and recognize their talents and true potential in excelling as champions of the sport.”

Tsinigine emerged as year-end winner in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association ranks and became the first Navajo to win a world title among the nation’s best team ropers.

Tsingine won four rounds during the 10-day Wrangler NFR and accumulated $133,903 in winnings to push his season total to $227,671. Those two totals became the highest in both categories in the all-time team-roping list.

“This is an awesome feeling and the payouts really helped,” Tsinigine told the Navajo Times, as the NFR host anted up an additional $4 million this past year.

Tsinigine beat out world runner-up Luke Brown by a mere $2,685.

“This has been a dream since I was a kid,” Tsinigine said. “When I was growing up on the reservation, I would never have dreamed of winning a world championship.”

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