Buckle Up with JW Borrego
Borrego wears his Cody Buffalo Memorial buckle to remember a great friend.

Cody Buffalo and reigning Ram National Circuit Finals Champion Heeler J.W. Borrego grew up roping together through junior rodeo, Little Britches and High School Rodeo. So when Cody was diagnosed with cancer while he, Borrego and Ty Blasingame were working for the Gosney family, the old friends stuck together to try to beat the disease. But six years later, Cody lost his battle. 

“Karen Kaess started having his memorial roping that year, along with the Doug Kaess Memorial she’d been putting on,” Borrego said. “I wanted to win it so bad. It was a one-header, and Jay Tittel and I were the first team out.”

They were 4.6, and nobody would catch them. Borrego went to accept his buckle, but Kaess told him it hadn’t come in yet.

“Karen kept the buckle because she knew how much it meant to me, and she had my name put on it,” Borrego said. “That buckle means a lot to me. It was really emotional.”

Borrego will heel for Blasingame again this year at the Ram National Circuit Finals Rodeo in its inaugural year at the Silver Spur Arena in Kissimmee, Fla., representing the Mountain States Circuit, March 25-28.

SHARE THIS STORY
CATEGORIES
TAGS
Related Articles
Broc Cresta
Never Forgotten
Broc Cresta: The Legend Lives On
Untitled design-14
5 Things J.D. Yates Did to Raise a Winner in Trey
Steer sitting in the chute getting the horn wrap taken off.
Make Your Steers Last Longer
Editor's Note
Editor's Note: Star Power
Image placeholder title
Get the Edge In Your Roping with Jake Barnes