Jayco Roper 86-Point Ride Wins at 100th La Fiesta De Los Vaqueros Rodeo

Jayco Roper earned his first win of a strong winter run at the centennial edition of La Fiesta De Los Vaqueros at The Tucson (Ariz.) Rodeo.

The 23-year-old from Oktaha, Okla., clinched the bareback riding average victory with an 86-point ride on Sunday, bringing his total to 172.5 points on two head.

“It’s always really good to get a jump start on the winter run,” Roper said. “I think I moved up a couple of spots now.”

Roper entered the weekend just outside the Top 15 of the PRCA | Bill Fick Ford World Standings. After his finish in Tucson, Roper will move into prime position early in the 2025 season.

Roper, who last competed in Tucson during his Resistol Rookie season, returned to The Grand Canyon State following a broken tailbone injury last summer. The injury kept him out of action for a chunk of last season, but he has since worked his way back into competition and found some momentum.

“If I don’t compete, then I won’t have money,” said Roper, who made his lone appearance at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo presented by Teton Ridge in 2023, finishing 12th in the PRCA World Standings with $205,076.

Before his ride, Roper sought advice from a fellow cowboy who had been on the same bareback horse.

“I called my buddy that’s been on him, and he said he was really good, but he’s really small,” Roper jokingly explained. “He only weighs about 450 pounds, but he bucks.”

The first-generation bareback rider grew up in a rodeo family but took a different path from his team roping father and barrel racing sister. He credits his development.

“Justin has taught me since I was a little boy, near five or six years old, and he taught me pretty much everything I now know,” Roper said.

With Tucson behind him, Roper now looks ahead to upcoming rodeos, including the 97th Annual Arcadia All-Florida Championship Rodeo in March and the Cinch World’s Toughest Rodeo in Columbia, S.C.

Other winners at the PRORODEO Playoff Series Rodeo were steer wrestler Marc Joiner (18.4 seconds on four head), team ropers Nelson Wyatt/Johnathan Torres (11.1 seconds on two head), saddle bronc rider Brody Wells (175 points on two head), tie-down roper Kyle Lucas (29.7 seconds on three head), barrel racer Amy Stoltzfus (34.61 seconds on two head) and bull rider Jordan Spears (172.5 points on two head).