Team roping’s generation next has officially arrived. They started young, worked hard and climbed the rungs of the rodeo-ranks ladder rapid-fire. By all accounts, that last hurdle—being on the inside of the Top 15 cut at regular season’s end—is the hardest. But these talented young cowboys did it. One loop and one level at a time, they mastered the ultimate team roping mountain. Next stop, their dream destination—the 2026 NFR.
As we went to press with this issue on the literal last day of the regular season on September 30, there were a few bubble boys on the brink of possibly making their first NFR. But five young guns—Tyler Tryan, 20, Korbin Rice, 24, and James Arviso, 23, on the heading side, and heelers Nicky Northcott, 19, and Cooper Freeman, 24—were all top-five finishers who had their first Finals officially made.
We thought it would be fun to get inside the heads of a few of our best and brightest rising team roping stars who are headed to their first NFR to let them tell us, in their own words, about their rise to superstardom.
Here’s what Finals freshmen Tyler, Nicky, Korbin, Cooper and James had to say on the subject of pivotal early wins and so much more.
Hit the Highlights of Your Youth Roping Career for Us
Tyler: I won the first rodeo I ever entered with my Uncle Brady (Tryan) in Scobey, Montana, near where my dad (Clay Tryan) was born. My grandpa (NFR heeler Dennis Tryan) grew up there. It was an amateur rodeo, and Brady was kind enough to heel for me. I did not rope that great at the time, and we beat guys like my Uncle Travis (Tryan), so that was cool for me. Nicky and I won quite a bit at the US(TRC) Finals in Oklahoma City one year. We entered five ropings together, and I went there and only roped with him. We were a #9 team, and we entered two #9s, two #10s and a Junior #10. We’d practiced together on the dummy all our lives, so placing at three of the five ropings on that first really big stage was pretty cool for us. I think I won about $50 grand that week, including vouchers toward a truck and tractor.
Nicky: Winning the Open at the World Series Finale with Bubba Buckaloo when I was 16 was pretty cool. It was during the NFR, so the Top 15 guys weren’t there. But what a cool roping, and it paid a lot.
Korbin: The first year they had a Junior Open roping at the US Finals in Oklahoma City, I won it with Zant Lewis in 2018. It was my first win over $10,000.
Cooper: I won the Junior American one year heeling for Kreece Thompson. It was pretty cool battling it out with kids from all over the country I grew up roping with.
James: The two that stand out the most were winning the national high school title in 2022 with Cashton Weidenbener, and the college title with Kaden Profili in 2024.
How Did Those Stepping-Stone Wins Along the Way Help You Get to the Top?
Tyler: I always just wanted to be the best I could be. Every time I practiced, I was trying to figure it out. I’m not afraid to miss 20 in a row trying something new. Some things take time. The more I watched guys like Kaleb Driggers rope, the better it made me.
Nicky: Just learning how to take the losses and roll with the wins helped me. I try not to get too high or too low, and to just stay about medium. I don’t get caught up in the wins or losses.
Korbin: Anytime you’re roping against the highest quality of guys you can and winning, at a place like the US Finals or the Patriot, you build confidence to keep climbing. Those wins along the way matter.
Cooper: All the kids who were at all those big ropings roped so good. Winning something against them gave me confidence, especially not being from Texas. Having something to work on when I went back home to Missouri helped me a lot.
James: I feel like my high school career showed me how to read the situation, be smart and not beat myself, so I could win. I would get ahead of myself when I was younger, and high school rodeo stepped up my game. Now I’ve settled in, and know when to take the risk and when to be smart. Everyone’s trying to make a living, so learning when to take guaranteed money and a fifth- or sixth-place check instead of trying to win first and not doing any good is important.
Now That You’ve Gotten It Done, How Hard Is It to Make the NFR?
Tyler: I think it’s hard for everyone, and I think it’s harder your first time. Part of learning how to win is learning to trust what you do instead of getting caught up in the moment.
Nicky: It’s not easy. It’s such a great accomplishment because it’s one of the hardest things a person can do.
Korbin: It took me three years rodeoing full time to do it. Making it is more than I imagined it being. It’s not just super simple. You’ve got to stay winning constantly to stand a chance.
Cooper: It’s really hard to make the NFR. I’ve talked to a few people who say it’s not as hard after the first time, but I don’t know if I trust that. It’s a battle. You have 80 rodeos, and you better make every one of them count. Making the NFR is a mind game, and every part of the season is tough.
James: I didn’t really think about it until after Salinas in July. That’s when I started thinking this could actually happen. Before that it was about having fun roping steers with the best partner I’ve ever had, and just turning steers for Levi (Lord).
What, in Your Opinion, Is the Hardest Part About Making It?
Tyler: The roping. You’ve got to be consistent enough to keep putting checks on the board. If you have a week where you win nothing, you still need to have a chance. That’s the biggest thing that changed for me this year. We had two weeks this summer where we didn’t win a dime. You’ve got to keep catching.
Nicky: The hardest part is just winning enough money to get there.
Korbin: The hardest part is having the confidence and trusting that you have a good enough horse. In your head you have to trust that you rope good enough to compete, and have the confidence that you can win something at all times.
Cooper: The biggest thing I learned this year is that you have to take every single steer seriously. There are guys at the end that would do anything for a thousand bucks. Make every run count.
James: Your mentality and facing adversity when you don’t do good is the hardest part for me. When you are doing good, the ball is rolling, things are easy and clicking. When you’re in a slump, you feel like nothing’s working. The good guys know how to get out of a slump better than most.
How Does Your Team’s Run Suit the Thomas & Mack?
Tyler: I’ve been watching a lot of old NFR tapes. You can try and tell yourself what you’re going to do. But when you back in there you’ll probably lose all your thoughts real quick. I want to not be afraid to try and win in the beginning, and to stay in the average. As long as I don’t get in too big a hurry and just turn the steers when I can, I think that’ll work best for us.
Nicky: I think it should be good. We just need to rope our best, I need to try to heel them as fast as I can, and hopefully we’ll win something.
Korbin: I’m excited about it. I like our short-setup run. We did really good at Nampa, which is very similar to the Thomas & Mack.
Cooper: I really like our team’s run for that arena. I think Korbin can get a good start, get ’em on a short rope and make it easy for me to heel ’em. If I can get around there and get in a good spot to catch ’em all, I like our chances at success.
James: My horse likes to go, and Levi’s horse is pretty aggressive on getting where he needs to be. He’s an aggressive heeler, and I know when to take risk and when to back off and rope for money instead of for pride.
What Was Your Best Day of the 2026 Regular Season?
Tyler: Cheyenne was up there, but I think winning Dodge City. We were in a spot where we knew going into the final run that if we caught him good we’d probably have enough money made to make it. That run was relieving, and let us just go rope and finish.
Nicky: The best day for me was probably after the Dodge City short round, because we won three rodeos—Dodge City (Kansas), Heber City (Utah) and Castle Rock (Colorado)—and placed at another one (Idaho Falls, Idaho) for about $25,000 that week.
Korbin: I’d love to say it was Calgary, but I think it’s got to be winning Houston. It’s just such a different feel there.
Cooper: The day we won the four-man round at Calgary. We’d already won Houston, but making the Finals wasn’t for sure. Winning Calgary was the one where we secured our spot at our first NFR.
James: There were two best days for me. The day we won Reno was peak-of-the-mountain high. When we split the win in Puyallup (Washington with Kaleb Driggers and Junior Nogueira) is when I knew we had the NFR locked up.
And the Toughest Day of Your 2026 Regular Season?
Tyler: I don’t have one day that stands out. There were a lot of tough days, but we get to do what we love to do, so there really are no bad days.
Nicky: I don’t even have an answer on that one. Nothing comes to mind. It was all pretty fun, really. There were no bad times.
Korbin: There were plenty of days I was banging my head against the wall. Even if you have plenty of money won, it still sucks when you don’t catch.
Cooper: I can’t really think of a day that was just terrible this year.
James: I’m going to say Saturday night in Logan, Utah, when I missed one of the best steers we drew all year. We were in a little slump, I missed and it really made me come back, regroup and get things back on track.
How Old Were You When You First Dreamed of Roping at the NFR?
Tyler: Ever since I can remember. I was young enough to where I don’t even know the age. When I was really young, I’d rope the dummy and Cowboy Toy with my brother in the house, and we’d be sent outside because we were too loud. We had every team we loved being.
Nicky: I was probably about 7 when I got old enough to understand what was going on.
Korbin: I’ve thought of this since I can remember, but I always thought it would be in the calf roping. We were diehard calf ropers until about my sophomore year in high school. Before that, the calf roping jackpots took priority over team roping jackpots.
Cooper: I’ve dreamed of making the NFR since I was 5 or 6, but was probably 12 or 13 before I put it into perspective and started realizing that if you work hard enough and try hard enough, there’s a chance.
James: Probably when I was 15 or 16. That’s when I started really enjoying team roping.
Who Was Your Favorite NFR Roper Growing Up?
Tyler: My dad has always been No. 1, for sure. Kaleb was young when I was growing up, and my dad says I always talked about him. I thought he was the coolest header in the world just because of how far he could reach.
Nicky: To this day, my favorite heeler is Jade Corkill. He’s somebody I’ve looked up to since I was a little kid. He catches two feet every time, and that’s what I wanted to do growing up also—never miss.
Korbin: I always admired Trevor (Brazile) so much, because he had so many things going on at one time. I looked up to him more than anyone.
Cooper: I would have to say in the Thomas & Mack I liked watching Rich Skelton. And Clay Tryan and Jade Corkill were my favorite team to watch.
James: There were a handful of guys I liked watching. I got to go to the NFR a lot because of (Uncle) Derrick (Begay), so I got to watch all these great guys. Derrick, Kaleb, Rhen Richard and Clay Smith are the top guys in my book.
What Feeling Best Describes Making Your First Finals?
Tyler: I’m just excited. You don’t know you can make it until you do. I also really want to go and do good there. I don’t get too wound up in it all. I’m happy to get to compete there, and when I win it’s because I do my job. So I’m going there to do my job.
Nicky: It’s exciting, but that’s as far as I’ve thought about it. It’s just 10 more steers at a rodeo.
Korbin: It’s an incredible feeling, but it’s not going to sink in until I get into the Thomas & Mack. I’m trying to take it in, and convince myself that we’re going to be in Vegas in December, and not just roping at the World Series Finale.
Cooper: It’s a dream come true.
James: I can’t really describe it. I still don’t know what to expect or what’s going to happen. I’m just staying on my toes. I’ll be excited to be there, and will try to be level-headed about it.
Your Team Aside, Which Team Is Your Pick to Go All the Way This Year?
Tyler: That’s tough to say. All 15 teams that make it are capable of winning it. You obviously have to put Kaleb and Junior in there, and Andrew (Ward) and Jake (Long). But all 15 have a chance to show up and win a lot, and the money’s so good you can come from the back and win it. As always, whoever ropes the best will be the champs.
Nicky: Driggers and Junior look like a pretty good team to me.
Korbin: I don’t know how you bet against Driggers and Junior. They’re pretty lethal. They’ve both been there so many times. I don’t see them having a bad NFR.
Cooper: Tyler Tryan and Nicky Northcott. They’re fearless, and every time you back them into the corner they come out on top.
James: It’s hard not to pick Kaleb and Junior. They’ve roped so good for so long, and they rope good in that arena.
How Do You Like Your Team’s Chances at the Gold Buckles?
Tyler: I like our chances. We’ve never roped there before, but my partner doesn’t really miss—ever. If I do the job I want to do out there, we’ll have a chance. That’s a long 10 days, and anything can happen. But if I can turn enough steers, we’ll be in contention.
Nicky: I won’t have an answer for you on that until the 10th round’s over. Any of the Top 15 teams in the world have a shot at a lot of money every night. Whoever gets on a heater that week is going to be the champ.
Korbin: I like our chances. I’m focusing on making that not seem like a crazy thing to happen. I’m trying to stay on the side of that being an achievable goal. Staying committed to the plan will give us a legitimate shot.
Cooper: I think we have a really good chance. It’s both of our first year there, but if we do what we’re capable of we have as good a chance as anyone.
James: I haven’t thought about being in the race for a gold buckle yet. It’s always just been about qualifying for the NFR. Now that that’s done, it’s time to set my goals a little bit higher. It’ll play out. I’m just here to enjoy the ride.
—TRJ—