Tom Richards and Junior Nogueira shared a jackpot win together in the Nevada desert that would lead both of them to the biggest year of their young careers.

Nogueira asked Richards to rope with him at Charlie Horky’s Hork Dog Roping in Las Vegas this April, and the pair would split $40,000 for roping five steers in 28.33 seconds in a super-tight short round.

“That’s the reason I got to keep going pretty much,” Richards said. “It’s a great time to have that roping, right before you head out to California. A guy really needs the money right then.” 

That win was enough to help Richards rope with Monty Joe Petska throughout much of the summer, which then included a win at the Reno (Nev.) Rodeo. 

“If you win $20,000 in January, you don’t have anywhere else to go and you end up spending that money somewhere else,” Richards said. “But $20,000 right before you head out for the spring rodeo run, that really, really helps.”