Tsinigine, Cooper place third in team roping at WNFR
Aaron Tsinigine of Tuba City ropes his end of the steer while his partner Clay O’Brien Cooper waits his turn in the 10th round of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Both ropers finished third in the average race with a 71.40 aggregate. (Courtesy photo – PRCA)
Aaron Tsinigine of Tuba City ropes his end of the steer while his partner Clay O’Brien Cooper waits his turn in the 10th round of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Both ropers finished third in the average race with a 71.40 aggregate. (Courtesy photo – PRCA)
LAS VEGAS, Nev.
In 2006, Aaron Tsinigine first introduced himself to the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association as an amateur with lofty dreams.
That year he qualified for the Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo while competing on his permit.
This past season the Tuba City cowboy joined an elite group of team ropers at this year’s Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.
In his NFR debut, he roped like a champion by placing third in the average race with partner Clay O’Brien Cooper inside the famed Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Both ropers collected a whopping $85,510.81 by roping nine of 10 draws in 71.40 seconds.
With that Tsinigine pushed his year-end total to $153,584 as he moved up 11 spots in the world standings for a third place finish.
“For my first year I couldn’t have asked for a better finals,” Tsinigine said. “It was fun competing with my buddies Dustin Bird and Erich Rogers. They helped me out throughout the whole deal. I am proud of them and I am pretty sure they’re proud of me.”
The Diné roper also credited his horse Smudge on a job well done.
“I hate to say this but I think he’s the best horse in this building,” Tsinigine said of his horse. “Everyone talks about how it’s hard to rope in this building because of how small it is but he allowed me to win every night.”
At the midway mark, Tsinigine went on a hot streak with his partner to conclude the 10-day event by placing in every round including a 4.0 run in the sixth round for a first place check of $19,002.
“We had a good steer,” Tsinigine said of their sixth round draw. “After I missed the fifth round I didn’t ride the barrier so good so I was more determined to stick to my game plan.”
Highway 264,
I-40, WB @ Winslow