Siblings capture individual team roping crowns

CHURCH ROCK, N.M.

The spotlight at the Gallup Inter-Tribal Ceremonial Junior Rodeo were on Kayden Stevenson and Lariat Nahkai in the senior boys and senior girls division on Saturday.

The two athletes captured the all-around titles in their respective categories. Individually, cousins Colten Begay and Alondra Robbins emerged as the team roping winners in their divisions.

Begay roped with Diem Elliot as the pair posted a 9.4 run, which topped the time of 9.49 seconds turned in by Jaron Stevenson and Kayden Stevens. Meanwhile, the third-place team of Dubb Ramone and Calan Ferrell turned in a 12.81 effort.

“To be honest, I wasn’t expecting to rope when they called my name” said Begay, who was helping Robbins get ready for her team roping competition that followed the senior boys.

“I got to the roping box pretty late,” Begay said.

Nonetheless, the 16-year-old cowboy leaned back on his horse in the corner of the roping box, and he called for his steer. After he nodded, Begay got his lasso on the steer’s horn as Elliot swooped in and roped his end.

“Once I saw my heeler pull through, I just knew that I had to face up and pull tight,” Begay said.

As the two rode back to the catch pen, he leaned over to Elliot and told his partner, “Hey, I think we won this deal.”

Begay also roped on the heeling end, but his partner missed.

Earlier Saturday, the incoming Window Rock High junior got entered in the senior bull riding but with no luck.

“We all got thrown,” Begay said of the field. “We had a pretty ranked pen today. We all got bucked off so we got ground money back, but I made some big improvements.”

The stocks were provided by KY Cattle, a stock contractor from Naschitti, New Mexico.

“I got on some top stock, and he made some good moves,” Begay said of Gator. “I just have to keep up with him.”

Those were the only two events Begay entered as he has found a passion to do both.

“I feel like I’m a good roper and I always win in the team roping,” he said. “But I also like being behind the chutes. There’s always a good vibe being in the back there. I love team roping, but I love bull riding just as much as I do team roping.

“But bull riding is something that I want to get better at,” he added.

In the senior girls team roping, Robbins competed in her last junior rodeo at Ceremonial as she will age out after this year.

The Dilkon, Arizona cowgirl won her event by turning in an 8.53 run at the header’s position as Lariat Nahkai took second at 9.07. Robbins had asked Dubb Ramone to be her partner.

“I rode up and caught it and I knew my heeler would finish it,” Robbins said of Ramone. “Having a heeler that can catch can make a difference. I think he’s pretty known in the team roping (community).”

Robbins also competed in the breakaway roping, but she missed her calf as her horse was not ready to compete.

“I failed to wake up my horse when I went into the box,” Robbins said. “When I got out, my horse started to shut down.”

With that mishap, Robbins confessed that she wanted to do better in the team roping.

“I’m so happy that I caught,” she said. “I mean, I didn’t do good in the breakaway, so I wanted to at least win the team roping.”

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