#10
Invitational
2015
Cinch USTRC National Finals of Team Roping
Thursday
October 29 2015
Eric
Guevara and Rey David Quinonez
There was $45,200 on the line. It was a lot of money. It was enough to put butterflies in your
stomach and make your palms sweat. The
top ten teams were coming back for the short go round steer in the #10
Invitational at the 2015 Cinch USTRC National Finals of Team Roping in Oklahoma
City. Not only would the winner of the average receive money in the bank but
they would receive Martin Championship Trophy Saddles and Gist Championship
Gold Buckles.
The top eight teams in the average
would receive a paycheck. The roping
would be fast paced, competitive and highly energetic. Roping for that kind of pay back tends to
make everyone a little nervous and perhaps a tad bit apprehensive.
When Kyle Dailey and Philip Charlton
took the lead in the average with a time of 9.75 everyone took notice. There were four more teams to rope and each
team was focused on making their run count.
Eight monies would be paid in the average and everyone wanted a piece of
the action. Catching and making a solid
run was important and highly relevant.
Eric Guevara and Rey David Quinonez
was the third high team back coming into the short go round. The pair needed a time of 11.76 to move
Dailey and Charlton. A solid clean every
day practice run would get it done.
“Team Roping is such a mental game,”
Guevara said. “Our game plan was to just go rope. Everything about team roping is mental.”
When Guevara and Quinonez rode into
the box there were two teams left to rope. “I wanted to stay calm and make
everything work,” Guevara added.
When Guevara nodded the mental game
came together and he roped the horns and turned off. Quinonez connected and
roped both heels. The pair stopped the
clock with a time of 9.72 to take the lead in the average. There were two teams left to rope. The last two failed to be fast enough to move
Guevara and Quinonez. The pair would
take the win of the average in the #10 Invitational. Not only would they pocket the money but the
rest of the prize line as well.
“I was very, very nervous,” Quinonez
said. “I was waiting for our turn and it was really hard to stay calm.”
This just so happens to be the first
time Guevara and Quinonez have roped together.
“We had seen each other rope,” Guevara
said. “But we had never actually roped together. This is our first time.” It is also the first
USTRC National Finals saddle the pair has ever won.
“I’ve been here several times,”
Quinonez pointed out. “I’ve won a little here and a little there and I wanted
to come and win at least $1000. This win
is unbelievable. I guess I’ll use the money to keep roping and maybe pay off my
house and some bills.”
Guevara continued to emphasize the
importance of horsemanship and the mental game of team roping.
“If your mind is not right on any given
day,” Guevara said. “You won’t rope well.
I have a good horse that helps take the pressure off. I’ve had him about a month or so.”
“We are entered the rest of the week,”
Quinonez said. “I’m sure we will keep roping together.”
Money aside there is now a new set of
team roping partners. A new team, a new
friendship and a new beginning.
Connections established through Team Roping tend to last a long time.
One thing for sure Guevara and Quinonez have established a new
relationship. They united on an
afternoon at the 2015 Cinch USTRC National Finals of Team Roping and their lives
changed. Team Roping changes lives,
opens doors and establishes relationships.
New things are yet to come for this pair of ropers. They now have a connection they will never
forget.
