Keven Daniel and Parker Carbajal won a round and placed in the average at the Southeastern Circuit Finals in Davie, Florida, to secure their place as Southeastern Circuit year-end champions.
The team placed in the first round, good for $1,488 a man, was out of the money on their second steer, but came back in Round 3 for the win and $2,976 apiece. Their runs put them second in the average with a 25.9-second time on three head for $3,348 a man, and at the top of the Southeastern Circuit, qualifying them to the 2026 NFR Open in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Down to the Wire in Davie
Daniel and Carbajal had to make every steer count to hold on to their lead in the standings.
“It was a little bit of a stressful weekend,” four-time NFR qualifier Daniel admitted. “We went in and had a little bit of a lead, but they darn sure got it down to the last day.”
The pair’s 9.1-second run in the first round kept them in the average.
“I knew if we caught all three, we’d probably have a pretty good chance,” Carbajal said. “The steers were fairly tough, not real user-friendly.”
A leg in the second round set them back a step, and it came down to the third steer to decide the year-end winners.
“I think Braxton and Brad (Culpepper) were winning it whenever we had to rope,” Carbajal, of New Smyrna Beach, Florida, said. “We knew if we won anything that we’d be good, so no matter what they did, we had to win something in the last round and draw a good steer.”
“I knew the guys in front of us had really good steers,” Daniel, of Franklin, Tennessee, remembered. “I was just like, hey, it’s do or die right here, because if we don’t catch this steer, they got us.”
They did just that, running their last steer in 5.1 seconds to beat the 5.2-second run the Culpeppers posted just before.
“I knew the steer was really good, and man, he dang sure heeled him good; we made a good run. I didn’t think we would win the round, but once I knew we went five and got ahead of Braxton, we were good.”
Their runs at the finals were made possible by their horsepower.
Daniel was riding Spikes Ole Man—“Walt”—the 2006 model gelding by Cowans Blue Cowboy out of Macs Three Bars Gold.
“He’s very forgiving. That arena is kind of like the NFR—you ride those horses that darn sure want you to win. They don’t get to leaning on your leg or do anything bad. At that place, the wall can get there pretty fast, so you need something forgiving. He scores good, too.”
Carbajal was on Blu Luv Bug—“Replay”—the 2015 gelding by Once In A Blue Boon out of Meradas Luv Bug that he’s ridden most of this season.
Consistency Pays Off
The 2025 season was one of consistency for the team, as they didn’t have monumental wins across the board but steadily placed all year.
“We won a lot of checks,” Carbajal said. “Nothing big, but a lot of those three- or four-thousand-dollar weekends add up.”
For Daniel, it’s easy to win with a young gun like Carbajal.
“He’s such a good partner,” he said. “He ropes good, he’s easy to deal with. Team roping is like a marriage sometimes—you’ve got to get along. I’ll rope with him until he says he wants to do something else.”
Daniel has taken a few trips to Colorado Springs, but for Carbajal, it will be his first.
“There’s nothing better than being in Colorado in the summer,” Daniel said. “It’s a cool venue, and getting to go back there makes it even better.”
“I’d like to go for a bit, maybe start in June and work our way back this way,” Carbajal added of their plan for next summer. “We’ll just play it by ear and see what we get into.”
Their win in the Southeastern Circuit put a bow on a strong 2025 season, fitting for a team that built their run on consistency.
