Kaleb Driggers and Junior Nogueira didn’t know for sure until this week if they’d be rodeoing together in the summer of 2025.
The 2021-2022 PRCA world champions were practicing May 12 at Driggers’ place in Stephenville, Texas, when Nogueira’s horse stumbled and went down, landing on top of his right leg and pinning him under the horse.
The fall fractured Nogueira’s right tibia and damaged the ligaments around his knee, drawing Nogueira out of big-money events like Kid Rock’s Rock N Rodeo and the ever-important and high-paying spring jackpots.
“It was a regular day of practice,” Driggers said, because Nogueira is fuzzy on the day of the accident himself. “We had just got started. We ran four steers, and on the fifth one I stuck it on him and was just going through the motions. When his horse went to make the move to come through the turn, his horse overreached and went nose-first into the dirt, causing him to fall over on top of him. As he went down, he then rolled over on top of him so his feet were beside Junior’s head, and he started thrashing to get up. So I went to him, and as I was getting there the horse got up and ran off barely missing kicking him in the head. As dramatic as it was, I’m just thankful that it didn’t kick him. We can get past the broken leg with time.”
“I tried to get up and walk,” Nogueira remembered. “I was going to get on and rope, but I called my cousin, who’s an orthopedist in Brazil. He talked me out of roping again that day, which is good, because I could have made it a lot worse and needed surgery.”
Nogueira called Justin Sports Medicine’s Tandy Freeman, who agreed Nogueira needed to go get x-rays to rule out a break.
Two to four months off was the verdict after those first x-rays—putting him back to roping mid-August. But Nogueira—despite having a winter that included a $100,000 American Rodeo win and his second-straight BFI title—is currently 36th in the PRCA world standings with only $19,908.78. He and Driggers, who’s 40th in the world with the identical sum won, have a lot of ground to make up. The summer has been the team’s best season, with multiple record-setting Fourth-of-July runs.
“I told him he should wait at least six weeks to come back that would put him back in time for Reno,” Driggers said. “He said I’ll be back in three weeks, and I said, ‘Ok I’ll be ready when you are.'”
Driggers got Paul Eaves—a two-time world champ who’s focusing on the futurities and heeling for Ketch Kelton at the 2025 Texas Circuit Rodeos—to fill in at the jackpots as needed, while Nogueira sat home with his leg propped up with a Game-Ready Ice Machine on his leg.
He went back to the orthopedist two weeks later, who told him he needed at least three more weeks until he could even get x-rays again to consider using his leg. Team ropers don’t listen very well, however.
“I went to Signature Equine,” Nogueira said. “And they took x-rays, and we sent them to my cousin in Brazil, Dr. Lucas Rocha. He told me I was healing, and how to brace it so that I could ride. He said I could go, so I’m going.”
In the first week of June, Nogueira made a few practice runs at home behind Tyler Tryan, but it didn’t feel great.
“I just went really slow, and the first three days were really bad,” Nogueira said. “The last day felt better. I still have to use my left side more than anything. Plus, my leg is really weak. Everything is healing. I love to kick and rope, but now I can’t. It’s hard because leaning out over is my style, but I can’t. It reminds me of when I hurt my groin a long time ago. These last few weeks, I didn’t get to practice much, so we’re about to find out how it works.”
Nogueira is en route to Vernal, Utah, where he’ll rope Wednesday morning, June 11, followed by Eagle, Idaho, Sisters, Oregon and Nampa, Idaho. He then hopes to duck off to the Old West Futurity in Wallsburg, Utah, where he plans to show My Diamonds R Special, his Whizkey N Diamonds daughter, in the $100,000-to-the-winner heeling futurity.
“She stops hard though,” Nogueira said. “If I can’t ride her, I’ll have Kollin (VonAhn) or someone show her for me there.”
In the rig for the rodeos, Nogueira will have Lucky Bucky—APHA registered Smokin Copper King—as well as Moose—registered as Mr Katz. He can drive with the use of his right foot, but he’s also got a driver in the truck for the summer, too. His wife and kids stayed home this year, so he’ll be out on the road solo.
“That was hard—I almost turned around,” Nogueira said. “My kids were crying, and that was the toughest part of it all.”
Driggers, who also won the Lone Star Shootout this spring, is game-on with his longtime partner back in the rig.
“I’m excited to get back to rodeoing,” Driggers said. “We haven’t been to any in almost two months. Life is so much bigger than rodeoing, and it has taken me a while to realize that because it consumes you. But as excited as I am to be back rodeoing with him, I am more thankful that he is ok and getting back to doing what we love and enjoy doing. God works in mysterious ways, it’s important to learn these life lessons and not to take for granted what we get to do and love.”
