Brothers Dawson and Dillon Graham got the first NFR go-round win of their careers, splitting it three ways with Kolton Schmidt and Jonathan Torres and Lightning Aguilera and Kaden Profili—each man winning $29,176.65 for their 3.8-second runs.

Dawson & Dillon Graham

The Grahams, from Wainwright, Alberta, Canada, went second in the round and got that 3.8 on the board fast.

“Luke (Brown) sent me the video from the run throughs, and he looked like a medium good steer,” Dawson said. “He looked pretty dang full and fat, but I just played him as if he was going to leave and be right there.”

“I watched it about five minutes before we roped, and he looked good,” Dillon added “I’d seen him in the run through. He is a little bigger or fatter than the rest of ’em, but I thought he was going to be good.”

It might be the first time in the little yellow arena in Las Vegas for the Grahams, but it’s not their first time in a setup like this. The Canadian rodeo arenas’ are often set on hockey rinks, so the wall coming fast is familiar to the brothers. Plus, they had a little help from some friends who are relatively familiar with success in Las Vegas.

“Rhen (Richard), Jeremy (Buhler) and Levi (Simpson) all prepared us,” Dawson said. “They made a pretty good picture for us.”

Dawson lost his rope in Round 1, but in Round 2 they came back and were 4.1 and won $22,079.62 a man. They now have $61,256.26 a man won in Las Vegas and $193,190 a man on the year, sitting fifth and third in the PRCA world standings.

Dawson got the win on Chex Yer Gun, his signature 2012 palomino gelding by Tuf Country Chex out of Miss King Commander, by Commander Mico. Dillon was aboard Coys Smoken Jet by Jrs Hancock Leo Pep out of Dundees Golden Image by Dundee Major.

Aguilera & Profili

Aguilera and Profili—who won the first round already with a 4.0—were 11th out, and Aguilera reached at him.

“It was a little more of a Hail Mary than the first night for sure,” Aguilera said. “I was late and reached and I don’t know. I felt like I whipped him a little bit and luckily Kaden, he was good.”

Profili threw fast.

“The steer was definitely strong,” Profili said. “The first two nights I was kind of starting a little bit farther up the box. I watched the video of our steer and I was like, oh, he don’t leave really sharp, so I’m going to go from the back so I don’t jump on him and duck him left. I stayed back and that sucker took off and I was like, oh God. I kind of felt a little bit behind, but I was right there when he turned, so it worked out.”

They had a no-time in Round 2, but through three rounds they’ve won $75,844.59 a man—the highest total of any team roper at the Finals. They came in at the bottom of the pack, but they’ve worked their way to sixth and fourth in the PRCA world standings with $190,580 and $189,380 won, respectively.

Aguilera has been on his gray 2011 gelding Jess A Moose by High On Corona, out of Jess Tara by Mr Jess Perry. Profili is riding Liken It Tuff by Woody Be Tuff out of Catlike Kit by High Brow Cat.

Schmidt & Torres

Schmidt and Torres went one team after Aguilera and Torres, and while their steer stretched their time in the box, he let them make quick work of him in the arena.

“The steer was just kind of fighting the chute,” Schmidt explained. “I’ve been backing my horse up in the middle of the box, backing him up four or five strides. Tonight we kind of thought we’d turn him closer to the box and just let his hips hit. The steer fought and actually gave me a chance to reset.

“When I reset, the horse felt really, really good,” Schmidt said. “I almost nodded and Johnny’s horse was in the midst of freaking out, so it was kind of a little touch and go.”

While Torres waited for the steer to get right and his header to nod, his nerves shot up.

“I can get a little tense in there and maybe be pulling on him or whatever the case was,” Torres said. “He just kind of moved around a little bit in there.”

So when Schmidt nodded, Torres’ 10-year-old mount wasn’t 100% ready.

“I’m just thankful he’s so fast and so strong and so electric,” Torres said. “He makes my job easy. Kolton nailed the start. The steer was one step to the right. He put him in my lap and I had an easy throw.”

That was the run they’d been prepping for.

“That was a breath of fresh air, because that’s the run we’ve been trying to draw up and make,” Schmidt said. “It feels real simple. That steer stepped to the right. I rode him through the turn. Johnny had an easy throw and we had a great finish. That’s what we’re after.”

Schimdt rode A&C Racing and Roping’s futurity standout SJR Diamond Bond, now 7. The gelding is by CD Diamond out of ARC Its Go Time by One Time Pepto. Torres is on Jared Fillmore’s Lynx Dancin Rooster, by Dancin Rooster out of Roan Rage Lynx by Red Bucks JD Lynx.

Aggregate Race

Six teams have three steers down after Round 3, including aggregate leaders Andrew Ward and Jake Long with a 12.3 on three, Clint Summers and Jade Corkill with a 14.2 on three and Kaleb Driggers and Junior Nogueira with a 17.7 on three. Driggers and Nogueira moved back to first in the world with a fourth-place, $15,376.88-a-man check in Round 3.