Team Roping NFR Qualifiers Determined on Nail-Biting Final Day of Regular Season

As if the race to the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) was not enough of an anxiety-inducing adrenaline rush, a new event added to that excitement in 2026. The 377 Last Hoorah was held on the final day of the regular season, September 30.

A sanctioned standalone event, the Last Hoorah ensured that cowboys who left the Governor's Cup in Sioux Falls, S.D., the final weekend of the season, could not yet rest easy.

The Cup is always a game-changer for bubble athletes, and this year, the Last Hoorah gave those Cowboys one more shot at qualifying. While the Cup is exclusive and limited to 12 athletes, a wider range of athletes could enter the Last Hoorah.

In Stephenville, Texas, during the literal final hours of the regular professional rodeo season, two-time PRCA World Champion header Kaleb Driggers and three-time PRCA World Champion heeler Junior Nogueira brought the heat.

The duo topped the four-head aggregate, banking $8,956 each. This win rocketed the pair to another seat in the record books, as they broke the regular-season earnings record. Unsurprisingly, Driggers and Nogueira held the record, set in 2022 at $227,878.

In 2026, they raised the bar to $251,887, and every dime of their earnings this season came as a team.

The 2026 NFR field will feature a wide range of seasoned veterans and young guns.

Tyler Tryan and Nicky Northcott set the team roping world on fire in 2025, and followed that breakout year with an NFR qualification together this year. They were the only other team to surpass $200,000 in regular-season earnings.

One of the most followed storylines of the final days of the season was that of Derrick Begay and Colter Todd. When Begay qualified for the lucrative Cup, and Todd did not, Begay bypassed one of the highest-paying rodeos of the entire year to stick with his partner. In the end, he and Todd pulled off the qualification in legendary fashion.

Reigning World Champions Andrew Ward and Jake Long will return to the Thomas & Mack, finishing the year No. 6 and No. 5 in the World.

Brothers Dawson and Dillon Graham will return for their second NFR trip, though they were split in the standings and Dawson squeaked in at No. 15.

Both 2025 Resistol Rookie of the Year winners, James Arviso and Nicky Northcott, are headed to their first NFR.

It will undoubtedly be an electric year of team roping under the lights of Las Vegas as we watch these cowboys battle it out for gold buckles.

Team Roping Header World Standings

1. Kaleb Driggers / $251,887.48
2. Tyler Tryan / $206,163.42
3. Korbin Rice / $181,148.37
4. James Arviso / $168,104.04
5. Lightning Aguilera / $155,589.53
6. Andrew Ward / $147,845.55
7. Tanner Tomlinson / $146,459.73
8. Jake Smith / $139,367.38
9. Cody Snow / $137,766.39
10. Derrick Begay / $134,548.03
11. Brye Crites / $126,756.82
12. Dustin Egusquiza / $123,013.18
13. Clay Smith / $121,619.43
14. Ketch Kelton / $118,373.45
15. Dawson Graham / $118,044.59

Per PRCA, October 6, 2026

Team Roping Heeler World Standings

1. Junior Nunes Nogueira / $251,887.45
2. Nicky Northcott / $207,514.42
3. Cooper Freeman / $181,148.37
4. Levi Lord / $169,288.86
5. Jake Long / $147,845.55
6. Coleby Payne / $139,927.18
7. Ross Ashford / $138,187.08
8. Lane Mitchell / $135,063.34
9. Kaden Profili / $133,065.04
10. Denton Dunning / $127,228.76
11. Douglas Rich / $126,483.48
12. Dillon Graham / $125,339.59
13. Trey Yates / $123,488.75
14. JC Flake / $123,013.18
15. Colter Todd / $122,586.94

Per PRCA, October 6, 2026

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