Dear Roper, 

I’m sitting at the Title Fights in Abilene, Texas, as we’re finishing up this November issue. This magazine is a tricky one—it goes to the printer before the ProRodeo season officially closes, and before the Riata Championships and before the American Rope Horse Futurity Association awards its world championships. 

This cover, then, is always a gamble. Unless there’s an insurmountable lead in the PRCA world standings, deciding who to give the cover to is sort of a crapshoot. But late-season standings leaders Dustin Egusquiza and Levi Lord made this call a little easier by pulling off a come-from-behind win at the Pendleton Round-Up that gave us the chance to put Levi on the cover for the first time in his career. And for the second year in a row, PRCA Photographer Clay Guardipee nailed the shot on the grass to make this win come to life in print. 

In that vein, I remind you all to purchase your roping photos from the photographers who spend their days camped out in the cold and the heat at arenas across the country, just to snap an image that brings you all joy when you think fondly on the memory. From Shelby Lynn Photography, who spends so much time at the Ariat World Series of Team Ropings, to Andersen CBarC, who again photographed the Riata Championships, they provide a priceless service to you all that requires skill and stamina. 

Time flies when you’re having fun, and the next issue that drops into your mailbox will be the December 2024 issue—our last of the year, the issue that previews all of the glory of team roping in Las Vegas. 

We’ll see you between now and then, so make sure to say hi somewhere down the road. 

Chelsea