Levi Lord’s summer has seen its fair share of big hits, but it’s also been a testament to the consistency that’s kept him No. 3 in the PRCA world heeling standings for nearly half the 2025 season.
Lord, who has $138,326.82 won on the year thus far, has sat no lower than third in the world standings since at least May, thanks in part to wins at two of the summer’s biggest rodeos.
“It’s just been pretty steady,” Lord, 29, said. “I don’t think I’ve done anything crazy, just have won decent. I’ve had two big wins in the summertime that I think helps you stay up there toward the top. Dustin (Egusquiza) and I got back together and won the [NFR Open] and won $16,000, and then the Salt Lake win was $20,000. Anytime you can win those big chunks at a time, it definitely makes it easier to stay toward the top.”
The four-time NFR heeler laid the foundation for a solid year right off the bat, however. Seven-time NFR header Dustin Egusquiza and Lord kicked off 2025 with $8,741 a man, thanks to a successful Texas Circuit Finals in October. In January, they won the San Diego Rodeo, and while not a PRCA event, that $24,750 win kept their momentum for the winter run. Egusquiza and Lord then pocketed $23,130 a man for the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo win in February, marking their largest win of the year.
“That early in the year to win $25,000 down there and put it with what we had already won, I guess that gives you a pretty good boost,” Lord said. “Then, same deal—not anymore huge wins but won a decent amount at Houston. I think I had $65,000 whenever May rolled around when it kind of slows down for a minute, and then that’s when we switched partners.”
After nearly three successful seasons with Egusquiza—which included winning the 2024 PRCA regular season—May marked a change in the lineup for Lord as he began his new partnership with three-time NFR qualifier Shay Carroll in June. While new partnerships come with building a new run and almost relearning how to enter, Carroll and Lord got things figured out quickly. They picked up $7,467 a man the second week of June and really got the ball rolling with nearly $20,000 over Cowboy Christmas.
“I definitely had to kind of regroup right there for a minute, but at the end of the day, I feel like I’ve roped good enough to where I’m going to get somebody that’s going to give me a chance,” Lord admitted. “So, I just tried to tell myself no matter who’s heading, if I just do my job and try to catch every steer, I should win enough. And I ended up getting Shay, and I think he has been right there—obviously made the Finals heeling—getting close to making it heading. So it was good to team up with him to where I think he’s got a great chance now, too.”
After the Fourth of July run, Lord went on to win the NFR Open with Egusquiza in Colorado Springs for $15,250 a man, but it wasn’t until two weeks later that Carroll and Lord hit again. They pocketed $24,321 a man the week of July 20-26—often referred to as Pioneer Week with an abundance of Utah rodeos—highlighted by the Utah Days of ’47 win.
Carroll and Lord didn’t exactly kick Salt Lake City off on the right foot, roping their first steer in 6.5 seconds in a tough set. To stay alive and advance, Carroll and Lord had to be 4 flat to be in the top two of the two-head aggregate. Instead, they broke the arena record with a 3.5-second run to win the round for $914 a man and qualify to Saturday’s sudden-death finals.
“Salt Lake, honestly, it’s one of the more fun wins I’ve had because we were last out in our set, had to be 4.0 and then did it, then same thing in the finals,” Lord explained. “Last out, Lightning (Aguilera) blasted one right before us, he was 4.3, so we had to make a pretty dang good run to win it and then did that too. I don’t know if I’ve ever remembered being in a spot where you’re last out, you got a chance to walk off with the win and then come through both times. It was pretty fun.”
Carroll and Lord took the $18,000-a-man win with a 4.1-second run July 26, to pocket $19,943 apiece. Like the rest of his season, Lord gives major credit to San Jo Deacon, aka “Little Blackie,” who he added to his herd this year.
“You can tell a horse is going to fit you,” Lord said of the 16-year-old gelding. “He can really run, he’s smaller and moves his feet fast; all the stuff that I like, he does really, really well. And it didn’t take long. I rode him everywhere once I bought him. Took him to the Odessa roping and won that, and then I took him to San Diego and won that. So, it didn’t take him long to earn his keep around here. He has sure been good for me as far as just letting me compete anywhere.”
With less than two full months left on the 2025 ProRodeo season, Lord is proving yet again that he’s one of the elite heelers in the sport, even despite a major transition in his season. This consistency isn’t new, either, as he won the regular season in 2024 with $201,007.70 and finished fourth in the 2023 regular season with $136,979.70 won on the year.
“It’s good to see your name up there, and everybody’s so good nowadays to where I feel like I’ve been pretty consistently maybe in the top five for the last three or four years, and it is nice,” Lord said. “It just kind of lets you know that you can compete and that your horses are good enough. But it takes way more than just me. I’ve got great sponsors and some people behind me that allow me to be out here and make it easier. And then the partners; obviously in team roping your partner is a huge part of it.”
“I feel like as long as I’ve been doing my job, I’ve kind of stayed up there toward the top,” he added. “It’s just doing your part, making sure you’re doing the best you can and having the best horses. I think after rodeoing for long enough you start to figure stuff out, and it gets a little bit easier—how to enter, where to be and stuff like that. So it’s been good; the last few years have been great for me.”
