Five-time NFR heeler Levi Lord has tapped 2025 Resistol Rookie Header of the Year James Arviso for the 2026 season.

Following a split with Tyler Tryan, Lord, of Sturgis, South Dakota, reached out to the 20-year-old Arviso, of Seba Dalkai, Arizona, as he looks toward the spring and summer runs.

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“I think anybody that follows the game has seen him climbing the ladder and coming up through the ranks,” Lord, who just won the BFI with Tryan last week, said. “He’s a really young guy that’s got some good horses and is full of talent. He’s seen success and kind of knows how to do it. It’s just something new and fresh that I’m excited about.”

For Arviso, who grew up roping with his uncle, NFR header Derrick Begay, the call from Lord was the confirmation he was waiting for.

“He texted me twice and you can tell he was trying to hint at it, but I kind of wanted to hear it all the way,” Arviso said. “I kind of wanted to hear him say, ‘I want to rope.’ But he called first.”

The decision for Arviso, who’d been roping with Rance Doyal, was centered on Lord’s experience navigating the road.

“He’s rodeoed a lot longer than me,” Arviso, who is a National High School Finals Rodeo champ as well as a National Intercollegiate Finals Rodeo champ, said. “He’s probably the best at entering and finding trades when you need them. And he just knows how to win. I’m just going to leave it up to him and then I’m just going to follow. He knows a lot more and I’m just going to try to take it all in.”

The Perspective

The pairing brings a veteran presence to Arviso’s first year out of the rookie ranks. Lord, 30, has spent 12 years in the PRCA and has over $1.3 million won. He finished ninth in the PRCA world standings in 2025, winning $235,448 on the year. He’s finished as high as fourth in the world—the year he made his first NFR in 2020 with Nelson Wyatt.

Arviso, 20, is fresh off a 2025 rookie campaign where he earned $60,865 to clinch the heading title. While Arviso is still seeking his first NFR qualification, Lord sees the potential for a breakout.

“I mean, I know he doesn’t have the stats necessarily and hasn’t made it or whatever, but I guess nobody makes it till they get out there and do it one time,” Lord said. “I think he’s got all the tools and everything that it takes to make it.”

The Run

While Lord previously maintained a high-speed, aggressive run with Dustin Egusquiza, he expects the look with Arviso to be “snappy” rather than a reach-fest.

“I think he does a really good job using his horse,” Lord said of Arviso. “He’s not just a crazy reacher. He can, but he really doesn’t do it that often. His fast run seems to come from keeping everything real tight and snappy and using his horse a lot and just getting a good finish out there in the arena. I like that. The faster that it goes on and the faster it happens, the better I seem to do. I don’t do very good with loose rope and dead time.”

Arviso echoed the sentiment, noting that while the industry looks to “gunslingers” for inspiration, his focus remains on consistency.

“I think everyone wants to be like Dustin,” Arviso said. “Can you be like Dustin? Probably not. I don’t plan on reaching, but it just happens sometime.”

The Horsepower

Arviso’s string includes “Chili Dog,” a bay he recently went 3.2 on with Rance Doyal at Rodeo Austin, purchased out of the Rancho Rio sale. He also has an older bay he bought from Aaron Tsinigine—the horse Tsinigine won the NFR Average on in 2018—and a buckskin mare from Colter Todd that Uncle Derrick rode at the NFR.

Lord will rely on his seasoned black gelding, San Jo Deacon, and a sorrel he calls Wilson.

“I’ve been riding [Wilson] in a lot of the ropings,” Lord said. “Most of the big opens besides the BFI, I’ve been riding him. So I’ll just have those two out there.”

The Schedule

The pair will make their first jackpot appearance at the Broc Cresta Memorial in California before heading to their first official PRCA outing at the Pioneer Days Rodeo in Guymon, Oklahoma.

Both are currently based in Texas—Arviso is living at Pace Freed’s while studying welding at Hill College—and Lord in Mineral Wells.