Junior Nogueira has come just shy of winning a gold buckle at multiple NFRs finishing second in the PRCA | RAM Team Roping World Standings for the last four years. Recently he and longtime partner Kaleb Driggers announced they were splitting up to rope with new partners — Driggers with Cory Petska and Nogueira with Cody Snow.
World champion tie-down roper Joe Beaver and world champion steer wrestler Byron Walker discuss how the split and the short season may impact both ropers and predict what we will see from the new partnerships.
As to why Driggers and Nogueira decided to split this year? It may be simply because they haven’t been able to get it done. “It’s nothing about friendship or partners, it’s just business,” says Joe Beaver.
Now Nogueira will be roping with Snow, who has a great set of head horses and looked strong at the 2019 National Finals. Unfortunately Nogueira, who’s admitted to needing a break this year after going nonstop since age 13 and recently becoming a father, has a long way to climb in the 2020 standings to get to the NFR.
"[Cody] is going to give Junior that chance, I think, to strap that buckle on,” Beaver says, “IF Junior can win enough in this short season to get there.”