Cool Runnings: Dustin Egusquiza, Travis Graves Win Jackson
Team ropers Dustin Egusquiza and Travis Graves won the Dixie National Rodeo in Jackson, Miss., with a 4.0-second run, their second major ProRodeo win of the 2021 season.
On Jan. 16, the duo won the Sandhills Stock Show & Rodeo in Odessa, Texas. On Feb. 17, they climbed to the No. 1 position in their respective events in the PRCA | RAM World Standings by winning $5,554 each in Jackson.
“Well, it pays about six grand,” Egusquiza laughed when asked about how important Jackson is during the winter run. “$5,500 is a big hit this time of the year to help in the standings. I believe it put us at No. 1, and it’s always good to be No. 1 in the world. That’s where everyone wants to be and it feels great to rack up some money before the big rodeos. It’ll make July less stressful.”
Before their Jackson win, Egusquiza was third among the headers and Graves was second for heelers, both with $10,554.
“It paid quite a bit, and with COVID there isn’t a lot to go to, so it’s very important to go and do well,” said Graves, 36.
Their Jackson win came with Egusquiza riding his horse, Jack, and Graves on his new horse with no name.
Graves bought his 6-year-old dun American Quarter Horse gelding in December from team roping heeler Lane Siggins, the 2012 Turquoise Circuit all-around champion.
“I’ve ridden him everywhere this year, like when we won in Odessa,” Graves said. “He’s been working great and everything is feeling good. I think I’ll ride him a lot this year.”
Jack’s prowess in the arena was on full display during the 2020 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, where Egusquiza and Graves won Rounds 2 and 3. They finished 10th in the average with 55.0 seconds on seven head with Egusquiza seventh in the world and Graves ninth for their respective categories.
“We had a good NFR and came close to the main goal and missed it by just a couple of mistakes,” Egusquiza said about their hunt for the gold buckle. “We just need to capitalize on December. We started out good, but didn’t draw good toward the end and didn’t catch a couple; but we had a chance though.”
This year marks Graves’ first Jackson win since beginning his ProRodeo career in 2002.
“It’s cool, you know, you want to win all of the big rodeos,” Graves said. “It’s cool to add it to your résumé.”
After five trips to the Jackson rodeo, this was also Egusquiza’s first catch and first win there.
“It’s a cool win for me since I went to Jackson quite a few times and never caught one clean,” said Egusquiza, 25. “We had a pretty slow steer, so that always helps, and he stepped off to the right and squared up pretty fast, and T.G. got him fast. It was an unorthodox run for 4 (seconds) flat since we went further in the arena.”
Jackson’s rodeo was originally scheduled to end Feb. 17, but inclement weather led to a series of schedule changes that pushed the final roughstock events back to Feb. 18-19, while the timed events wrapped up on the 17th.
“Some of my buddies took 18 hours for a seven-hour drive home,” Egusquiza said, adding that his trip went smoothly.
Fans can catch the remaining roughstock action in Jackson via The Cowboy Channel or the PRCA on Cowboy Channel Plus App.
Check with ProRodeo.com for more coverage on the rodeos in Jackson and San Antonio.
Courtesy of PRCA