Young team roping duo making headways in PRCA ranks

WINDOW ROCK – With a few months left in the PRCA regular season, Arizona cowboys James Arviso and Denton Dunning are starting to show who they are.

The two youngsters are relatively new to the PRCA with the 20 year-old Arviso buying his permit in 2022 while Dunning, 18, purchased his permit this past spring.

Last month the duo had an impressive showing in a couple of events in Reno, Nevada. They placed first in the second round of the prestigious Reno Rodeo, winning $6,677.

The pair also captured the title at the 2024 Reno Patriot Open, which is a non-PRCA event. They roped six steers in 42.90 seconds to win the open, beating out PRCA world champions Kaleb Driggers and Junior Nogueira for the crown.

The Driggers/Nogueira combo came in a close second with a 44.22 aggregate as the young Arizona cowboys were paid out $23,150 each.

“We’ve jackpot our whole lives, so it’s a good feeling to have a little bit of money before we head out for the rest of the summer,” said Arviso, who captured last month’s College National Finals Rodeo with team roping partner Kaden Profili in Casper, Wyoming.

“It takes care of a lot of stress, you know, financial-wise as far as getting down on the road,” the Hills College (Texas) sophomore said.

“It was a good roping,” said Dunning, who recently graduated from high school. “We made some good runs and it fell our way, but we also drew some good steers.”

Entering the final round, the duo led the field as the high-call back team, and they capped the one-day roping with another clean run.

“Everyone has nerves and if they say they don’t they’re lying to you,” Arviso said. “In a one-day roping, the pressure keeps building every time you rope a steer and do good, so it was a big relief to get that last one roped.”

Their success in the jackpot roping carried over into the PRCA rodeo in Reno.

“I’ve always watched Derrick (Begay), Erich (Rogers) and Aaron (Tsinigine) rope there in Reno,” Arviso said of the Diné cowboys. “I’ve always pictured myself roping there one day and it finally happened. It was a blast to rope there.

“I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to go down the road and rope at Reno.”

Their partnership continued during the Cowboy Christmas run, which started in late June and ended on July 7. They competed in nine rodeos in 11 days during the Fourth of July holiday.

Of those nine rodeos, they earned checks at four, winning $7,592.

“We’ve known each other for a long time,” Arviso said. “He called me up one day and asked if I wanted to rope with him for the Fourth of July and I instantly said yes because he’s a good partner to rope with.”

Dunning, who hails from Surprise, Arizona, shared those same sentiments about his heading partner.

“We’ve roped together quite a bit throughout our lives,” Dunning said. “James is good to rope with. He turns good steers, and he’s good to travel with.”

Dunning is currently leading the Resistol Rookie of the Year standings with $28,449 won in the PRCA in the heeling position. He is currently ranked 41st in the world with top 15 making the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in December.

He fulfilled his PRCA permit in his fourth rodeo while roping with world champion Aaron Tsinigine in late March at the Cave Creek Rodeo Days Rodeo.

At that rodeo, the pair turned in a 4.4 run, which tied them for first-place with Jake Clay and Trey Yates.

Dunning plans to bide his time competing in the PRCA rodeo while also rodeoing with the Cisco College (Texas) rodeo team in the fall.

“I’m going to try and do both,” Dunning said.

Arviso, meanwhile, still has his permit card, having won $28,367 which is second-best among PRCA permit members.

The Diné cowboy plans on buying his PRCA card for next season, which starts in October and runs through September 2025.

“I’m going to wait until the new season starts,” Arviso said.

In the meantime, he plans on hitting a lot more PRCA rodeos to gain more experience.

“This is my first year going all out,” Arviso said. “It’s been a blast. I’ve seen videos and I’ve read stories about all these cowboys winning at all these (PRCA) rodeos.

“It’s good that I’m going out there to see what I’m made of,” he added. “I’m putting my name down against some of the best ropers in the world.”

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