When the NFR moved to Las Vegas from Oklahoma City, the payoff made a mighty jump from $901,550 in 1984 to $1,790,000 in 1985. As we get set to celebrate 40 years in Vegas—remember, COVID moved our Super Bowl of Rodeo to Texas in 2020—we thought it would be fun to have a little “team roping then and now” session with dream teamers Jake Barnes and Clay Cooper. Jake and Clay recently met up with defending world champs Tyler Wade and Wesley Thorp in Vegas, which turns into Cowboy Town in December. Here’s what the ultimate warriors have to say about 40 years in Vegas, and this year’s world championship race.
Q: What stands out now about that first Finals in Vegas in 1985?
Jake: After making my first NFR my rookie year in 1980, it was kind of like climbing a set of stairs and finally getting up to the top floor. We all knew the money was better in Vegas, but truth be told, nobody knew how it was going to go there. It wasn’t Oklahoma City as far as the crowd was concerned that first year they moved it. Clay and I had a pretty good lead going into the Finals, and it was the first time being in serious contention to win a world championship. We were kind of the new team on the block, so to pull it off made us feel pretty unstoppable. A new era had arrived.
Clay: Jake and I had a really good year, and all we needed to do was rope good at the Finals to win our first championship. So that was first and foremost on my mind. The excitement of Vegas and the money doubling was a big deal. We knew things were going to get a lot better for us NFR-wise, and the payoff just keeps getting better.
Q: How has team roping at the Thomas & Mack evolved in the last 40 years?
Jake: When we first went to Las Vegas, there was no other venue throughout the year that was that small and with that short a score. It took awhile for everybody to adapt. We were roping dead fresh, big, strong, stout, bulldogging-sized steers with huge horns, so you had to have your big-boy pants on.
Clay: It’s gotten faster over the years, because the steers are smaller and the overall talent’s gotten better. Team roping’s just like every other event, it keeps getting better. The dimensions of that Thomas & Mack arena haven’t changed, but that’s a very unique place to compete. The nuance of it and the magnitude of it make it a unique setting, and now everybody knows more of what to expect there.
Q: How do you like TWade and Thorp’s chances of defending their title in December (they are, as of today, 9-13-25, ranked seventh and sixth in the world, respectively)?
Jake: I’m the kind of guy who in sports always picks the previous year’s winners. I just think your odds are a little bit better, because you’ve been there. There are generally two or three teams that stand out, but nobody’s just run off with it in the last many years. I’m obviously a Kaleb (Driggers) and Junior (Nogueira) fan, because of my history with Junior and him being like a son to me. Tyler and Wesley (who’ve won back-to-back gold buckles in 2023-24) have figured out how to be consistently fast, with Tyler swinging in the box and sticking it on them. (Derrick) Begay and Colter (Todd) have been jamming all year, too. In my eyes, there are five or six teams with the talent to get it done, so it’s a tough one to call.
Clay: I think they’ve got as good a shot at defending again as anybody. We still don’t know what’s going to happen the last couple weeks of the regular season, and there’s a lot of big money yet to be won in the next couple weeks. It looks pretty tight to me between several teams up toward the top. The guys at the top are there for a reason. They’ve shown all year long that their run is one of the best. With all the money in Vegas now, guys have proven that you can come from 15th and win it all (NFR rounds will this year pay $36,668, and first in the average $94,036). The only thing I know for sure it that it’s going to be a dogfight.
