Buyrl Shirley, of Sparta, Tennessee, and Diego Marquez Garcia, of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, made the most of a last-minute call, winning the #9.5 Key Card Advantage Ariat World Series Finale qualifier at the 2026 Cinch USTRC National Finals with a 33.10 on four head, worth $47,800.

Thanks to a mutual friend, the two decided to rope.

“I was over at a Mexican restaurant and got a call from Orlando Jauregui—‘I’ve got a buddy that needs a run,’” Shirley said. “I said, ‘You haven’t steered me wrong yet. Let’s enter it.’”

By the next morning, Shirley, 46, and Garcia, 21, had met for the first time. Four steers later, they were champions.

They opened with a 7.79 and a 9.15 before coming back with a 6.82 in the third round to take the high-call position.

“We were high call,” Shirley said. “I just tried to go make a business run.”

On the head side, Shirley rode a borrowed horse that “really scores great, runs hard and faces,” while Garcia—who trains horses and comes from a charrería background—rode a palomino that took ropers to the pay window in a big way during the Finale in Las Vegas the year before.

They finished with a 9.34 to seal the win—and Shirley threw his hat.

“I won a truck 20 years ago at one of Johnny’s (Johnson) ropings,” he said. “Our company has been making banners and wrapping trucks for JX2 for years and I always go rope but this is the most I’ve ever won at one time. This is kind of an emotional deal!”

“I like the money,” Garcia said with a grin.

For the header who’s never roped in Las Vegas and the heeler just getting into World Series ropings, the win couldn’t have come at a better time and this is a win neither one of the will ever forget.