BY BRETT NIERENGARTEN @PRORODEOBRETT
Jr. Dees and Levi Lord, both in their mid-20s, had both cracked the NFR once previously, but 2022 will be their first year in Vegas as partners.
In their first year roping together, the pair caught on 58 percent of runs and had an average time of 7.27 seconds.
BIGGEST PAYDAYS
RodeoHouston, $11,250
Dees/Lord placed first or second in four rounds and were top Super Shootout qualifiers from Super Series 3. The team advanced to the Super Shootout Championship Round, but could not make the Final Four.
FASTEST RUNS
Calgary Stampede Team Roping, 3.8 Seconds
At the new team roping event north of the border, the pair was second in Round 2 after a no time in Round 1. It was not only the second fastest time of the round, but also the second fastest time of the entire rodeo.
Snake River Stampede, 3.8 Seconds
Dees/Lord picked a great time for one of their fastest runs of the season as they won the Finals in Nampa and ended up second in the Average. They won just over $8,500 at the rodeo.
NOTABLE WINS
Caldwell Night Rodeo, 17.8 Seconds on Three
Another successful trip to Idaho for this team came in August when they they followed up back-to-back 13th place finishes in the first two rounds with a win in the Finals to claim the Average by three tenths over Tyler Wade/Trey Yates.
Clovis Rodeo, 38.0 Seconds on Four
At the four-head rodeo, Dees/Lord never finished better than fourth in a round, but that didn’t matter in the Average. They tied last year’s NFR Average winners Andrew Ward/Buddy Hawkins for the win.
Livermore Rodeo, 4.5 Seconds
The pair’s second win in California, which came in June, was much different than the first. In the one-header, they were 4.5 seconds to get the win.
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