‘You win some, you lose some’, Begay sets record straight competing as a rodeo pro

WINDOW ROCK
The professional life of a rodeo cowboy can look glamorous to the average person.

There’s an allure to join the PRCA ranks with the amount of money a contestant can win. As of July 5, the PRCA has paid out nearly $27.5 million.

“In this business, you win some and lose some,” Navajo veteran team roper Derrick Begay said. “You can win here and there, but you can lose a lot more than you win. That’s just part of rodeo and that is what a lot of people don’t understand.”

Begay was looking to get the fireworks started with heeling partner Colter Todd on Tuesday night in the final performance of the Annual Fourth of July Celebration at the Dean C. Jackson Memorial Arena.

“We had a real good steer tonight,” Begay said. “A friend of mine sent me the video and I tried to get a good start.”

Unfortunately, the pair turned in a no time with Todd missing the steer’s hind legs before a near sold-out crowd in Window Rock.

“I’ve missed more for my partner this past week,” Begay said of their Cowboy Christmas run. “He didn’t do so good tonight, but that’s the way it goes.”
Like Begay, Todd said what happened on Tuesday night is just part of rodeo.

“Everybody tonight was trying to go fast and catch, but it was a struggle,” the Wilcox, Arizona cowboy said. “We both know the ins and outs of the game, so neither of us were trying to do so bad.”

Todd said they really don’t talk about their good and bad runs after each rodeo. Instead, they’re cherishing every moment they have of competing in the professional ranks.

“Our conversations are more about what’s going on or what we’re gonna do when we get home,” he said. “We’re just having a good time and enjoying what’s going on.”

This week will mark the one-year anniversary of the day the pair started roping together as Todd got his start in the PRCA ranks as a header.

“We really didn’t rope with each other until last summer,” he said. “I really didn’t know how this was going to turn out, but anytime you have an opportunity to heel behind someone that is that good you got to take it.”

Todd said he wasn’t looking to start heeling, but it was Begay who needed a partner for a few circuit rodeos last year.

“You know, I can heel,” he said. “It’s one of those deals to where he called me out of the blue and asked if I wanted to go rope with him.

“I thought it would be fun, and you know we did really good,” he said. “I mean, I caught for him and it’s slowly turned to what it is now. It’s hard to explain, but it’s been a weird process.”

As of Wednesday, the pair are currently ranked No. 8 and 10 in the PRCA world standings headed by Begay, who has amassed $53,796 in winnings while Todd has accumulated $49,046.

During the Cowboy Christmas run, the pair hit eight rodeos in one week as they finished second at the Oakley Independence Day Rodeo in Oakley, Utah with a 4.0 run that paid them $4,334 each. They also placed third at the Livingston Roundup Rodeo in Livingston, Montana with a 4.2 run, which earned them $4,677 each.

Begay said their trip was very brutal as they finished the last leg of that tour in Oakley, Utah on Monday night before making the 10.5 hour trip to Prescott for their run on Tuesday afternoon.

Following their run at Prescott, they made the 4.5 hour drive to Window Rock to conclude their week-long road trip.

“Anytime you get to finish close to home, it’s not bad,” Begay said. “It’s different when you finish your last rodeo like in Cody, Wyoming or up north, but we’ll be home in a few hours.”

Todd said the logistics to make the final three rodeos took a lot out of them.

“We drove all night to get to Prescott,” he said. “After roping in Prescott, we drove into Window Rock with our horses already saddled and we just pulled in when they were doing the (clown) act right before the team roping.

“After doing all that work to get here, it’s a little disheartening to not do so good,” Todd added. “But either way it was a fun trip. It’s exciting that we were able to make it work.”

Prior to the Cowboy Christmas run, the duo captured the average title at the Greeley Stampede in Greeley, Colorado, which ended on June 29.

“The Greeley win is up there,” Begay said. “I never won it before, but we’ve been doing pretty good. We’ve won a few rodeos, but Greeley is one that everyone wants to win. It’s our biggest win so far.”

“Anytime you win it’s a lot fun, especially when it’s with a friend,” Todd said while adding the Greeley win came out of nowhere.

“It was meant to be,” he said. “I mean, we just caught three steers and everybody else kind of fell apart and we ended up winning it, so that’s pretty special.

“It definitely helped us out financially,” he added.

With that big win they have an inside track of making the NFR, which would be Todd’s first one since 2008.

“It would be exciting and good, but we’ll see,” Todd said of roping in the finals in Las Vegas. “I mean, we don’t really talk about it. Obviously, it’s in the back of our minds. There is so many things that can happen and we’re just enjoying the process and see what happens. Obviously, if we did make it, it would be exciting.”

Begay said everyone in the professional ranks have that same common goal as the Seba Dalkai, Arizona cowboy is seeking his 10th trip the NFR.

“When you compete at this level that is what you want,” he said. “I’m gonna try and make it with Colter, but if we fail, we fail. It’s not a huge priority of mine because I’ve been there before and I got nothing to prove for myself or anybody.”

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