Kaleb Driggers/Junior Nogueira Eye Success in Guymon
The duo is back together.
Kaleb Driggers and Junior Nogueira, who separated in May 2020, have joined forces again.
The Driggers-Nogueira reunion began at RFD-TV’s The American Semi-finals, and they’ve been moving forward since. They will be back in action Wednesday and Thursday in slack at the Guymon (Okla.) Pioneer Days Rodeo. The ProRodeo Tour stop runs April 30 through May 2 and will be broadcast live on The Cowboy Channel and streamed on the PRCA on Cowboy Channel Plus App.
“I’m happy to be back with Kaleb, and we are working hard to get everything back together,” Nogueira said. “We know the competition is so tough. Everybody ropes great, and I know if I do my job and focus on what I’m doing, we will be OK.”
Nogueira is fourth in the heeling PRCA | RAM World Standings, while Driggers is 14th in heading.
Nogueira received a huge boost in the standings when he teamed with Dustin Egusquiza to earn $21,706 at the RAM National Circuit Finals Rodeo in Kissimmee, Fla, April 9-10.
“That was my first time at the RAM Finals, and it was an amazing rodeo, and that money I won there helped a lot,” Nogueira said. “Kaleb and I placed third in the average last weekend in Clovis, and we just want to get back in rhythm.”
Nogueira roped with Cody Snow from late May of last season until March this season. They qualified for the 2020 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo and finished 12th in their respective heeler and header world standings.
When Nogueira departed, Snow joined Wesley Thorp, whom Driggers had been roping with. In 2019, Snow teamed with Thorp to win the average at the NFR. The duo won Round 7 and placed in six rounds to finish with 43.8 seconds on nine head, and Thorp won the team roping heeling world title.
“Cody and Wesley also wanted to get back together, so everything worked out pretty good for everybody,” Nogueira said.
In 2016, Nogueira became the first Brazilian world champion in PRCA history when he won the all-around title after earning $231,728. He finished second in heeling that season with $230,284.
Driggers and Nogueira tied the team roping world record with a 3.3-second run in Round 9 of the 2017 NFR. They also have won a total of six rounds at the Finals since 2017 – Rounds 1 and 9 in 2017, Round 8 in 2018, and Rounds 8 (split the win), 9 and 10 in 2019.
Courtesy of PRCA