Lord/Egusquiza save best for last in record-tying run at Fort Worth
Levi Lord and Dustin Egusquiza knew the odds were against them going into their bracket at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo. And the longer they waited to run, the more they realized just how difficult things were.
Among the seven other team roping duos competing in Bracket 4, there were a combined 51 previous qualifications to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo and five PRCA World Championships.
In totaling the six runs from the other three brackets that had occurred prior to Bracket 4’s first round on Thursday, the average winning time was 4.45 seconds. If Lord/Egusquiza had aimed for that mark, they would have been looking at a fourth-place finish at best.
Fortunately, nothing about their first go ended up being average.
After watching the seven other teams, Lord/Egusquiza backed into the box knowing they had to hit the barrier quickly. It’s a mentality that guided them to a time of 3.6 seconds, tying the Fort Worth record set by Lightning Aguilera/Coleby Payne back in 2022.
“It was a tough set of guys, so we figured the round was going to be pretty fast,” Lord said. “We were kind of planning on being pretty aggressive anyways and, sure enough, we got in there, we were last out, and 3.9 was winning it and it was taking a short-four to place. That kind of let us be as aggressive as we could.”
Brothers Wyatt/Paden Bray set the standard early, finishing in 3.9 seconds to tie Bracket 2 participants Kaleb Driggers/Junior Nogueira for the fastest run of the rodeo at the time.
It was an advantage that wouldn’t last long.
Egusquiza, a Marianna, Fla., native, caught the horns almost instantly from the header spot, turning the steer back for Lord to finish the job. The Sturgis, S.D., heeler looped both legs to win the round and tie the record. It’s a moment he couldn’t have envisioned just a few years back, even telling Aguilera, a longtime friend, that the mark might not ever be challenged.
“We joked about how he would never get beat there, so it’s pretty cool to tie him,” Egusquiza said. “I told him I was going to go 3.5 (in Round 2) and he didn’t like the sound of that too much.”
Lord/Egusquiza weren’t quite as quick on their second go, but they were still faster than everyone else. Their time of four seconds flat won the round, earning them a qualification to the semifinals Feb. 7.
It’s the confidence-boosting moment the pair hoped to find. After finishing runner-up in the average at the Texas Circuit Finals back and then placing fourth at the Heart O’Texas Fair and Rodeo in October in Waco, the pair have come away empty-handed from everything else towards 2025.
The wins were a reminder their chemistry can quickly return to form. And, after reaching the final round last February but failing to record a time, the record-setting start at Fort Worth this season has Egusquiza focused on a different ending.
“Maybe we have a chance for redemption this year,” he said.
–PRCA
