No. 4 | $168,321.88

“I had just won my second truck,” Lord remembered. “I sold it looking for a horse. I found him in an ad on Craigs-list. I drove down there to a guy named Bruce Standefer who had him. He was too much horse for him. I bought him in Mineral Wells. They weren’t using him. I got to ride him twice, and there was no way I couldn’t buy him. When I got him, I went from a #5 to a #9.”

In 2017, Lord wasn’t really on anyone’s radar as he was in college and heeling for his dad. He hadn’t yet tried to full-time rodeo until RodeoHouston set the stage for his entire career. Lord got matched up with Zac Small, who had roped at his first NFR the December prior. They cruised into the semis before making calculated runs to advance to the finals. Their 4.1-second run tied the arena record and clinched them the $55,000-a-man RodeoHouston win. But in 2017, RodeoHouston earnings didn’t count toward the world standings. For Lord, it wasn’t about the standings anyway—it was about the signal it sent.

“It gave me confidence that I could compete with those guys,” Lord said. “Not that I was good enough at the time—but I knew I could hang. It showed I had a chance.”

Lord didn’t jump into the big leagues immediately as he returned to circuit rodeoing with his dad for a couple more years. Lord won the Badlands Circuit Year-End title three times, twice with his dad. In 2019, Lord made a real run with Nelson Wyatt, narrowly missing the Finals after LB got injured after Deadwood in July. Lord finished 19th that year.

His 2020 season, however, proved the Houston success three years prior wasn’t a fluke–just the beginning. Being on the outside looking in in 2019 also sparked a match inside Lord.

“I think it lit a fire under us, because we didn’t rope together the whole year,” Lord said. “We didn’t start until the summertime, and it felt like if we could have roped all year we would have made it. So we were really looking forward to a whole season together in 2020.”

Lord qualified for his first NFR that December, which was held in Arlington, Texas, due to COVID-19. While it wasn’t Las Vegas, Lord finished fourth in the world standings with $167,589 after placing in five rounds to finish third in the average and take home $115,699.

“It was a dang good NFR, especially for our first one,” Lord said. “We placed in five rounds, won third in the average and over $115,000 a man. To get to go there—especially when we were lucky to even have an NFR that year—was really good. The conditions weren’t the same rodeo as we have in Vegas, with the arena being so much bigger, the barrier being longer and the crowd not sitting right on top of you, like they do in Las Vegas. We were grateful they had it, and it was a good deal for us.”

In 2021, Lord found himself on the outside looking in again, this time ending the season outside the top 30. He teamed up with Jr Dees in 2022, locking in his second NFR qualification and his very first inside the Thomas & Mack.

“Obviously everybody dreams of coming here, and it took a couple years to get back to have a chance, but it’s great to be here,” Lord said. “It’s so crazy how small that arena is, and I noticed it in the run-through. That felt like we were right in front of the chute at a normal rodeo. You go back and watch it and you’re almost halfway; it shows you can go out in the arena and be fast here.”

Lord partnered up in 2023 with a fellow gunslinger: Dustin Egusquiza. They won the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo to really grab everyone’s attention. They topped the team roping field over the Fourth of July, raking in 25,263 a man to be the top earners over Cowboy Christmas.

“We weren’t really struggling ever, it didn’t seem like,” Lord said. “Getting off to a good start to where we knew we were probably going to win somewhere around $10,000 at those first two rodeos was pretty nice for us mentally. So, then we could just go to the one-headers and try to be aggressive. And then once we started making a couple good runs, it just seemed like Mandan, Livingston and now [Basin City] just all fell into place pretty easily.”

Lord made his third NFR appearance that year, finishing ninth in the world after pocketing $52,097 in Las Vegas.

After a rather rough NFR, Egusquiza and Lord bounced back quickly with the January wins at the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo in Denver, Colorado, and the Sandhills Stock Show & Rodeo in Odessa, Texas. That was just the beginning. They won the Guymon Pioneer Days in May, followed by the Greeley Stampede in June. Their biggest hit of the year perhaps came in September when they conquered the Green Mile, winning the Pendleton Round-Up.

“Those are just moments you think you’ll know what they feel like, but you don’t really until it happens,” Lord said. “I just rode to the side and watched Coleman (Proctor) rope, then I saw the steer beat him out of there and, at that point, I knew we got it done. Then you just start running around: you go get on the horse, run across the field and then all the pictures and victory lap. It’s one of a kind over there.”

That win helped them walk away the champs of the 2024 regular ProRodeo season with $201,007.70.

“I think once you get in it, have a chance to win it and get there toward the finish line where you have a chance, you find out how tough it is,” Lord said. “Because it’s all season and only one team wins it. Obviously, you’re roping against a lot of good guys, and it is very tough. So to be able to come out on top over the span of 80 rodeos, on all different setups, all different kinds of roping you have to do and have to be able to stay consistent for a whole year—I’m not saying it’s as hard as winning the world or winning the average but, to me, I kind of set it in there for myself as a huge goal.”

Another NFR to their names, Egusquiza and Lord won another San Antonio title to kick off 2025, cashing in $23,130 a man and setting a solid spring in motion for Lord.

“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.”

Lord decided to focus heavily on upgrading his horsepower in 2025.

“The horses are pretty much everything at our level,” Lord said. “There are certain places where talent and natural ability will let you get by on a lesser horse, and you can use your talent and your rope. But you can’t win at the highest level without riding the right one for the job.”

Egusquiza and Lord split at the end of spring but teamed back up to win the NFR Open in July for $15,250 a man. Lord paired up for the last half of the year with Shay Carroll. Together they won the Utah Days of ’47 in July, and Lord added a fifth NFR ticket to his resume.

“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.”

More with Levi Lord

• Plot Twists, Partner Swaps and Big Wins: Levi Lord’s Road to Vegas
• Year After Year: Levi Lord Steady Toward Top of 2025 World Standings
• Dustin Egusquiza and Levi Lord Win First NFR Open Titles for $15K
• Levi Lord Elevating in 2025 with Stronger Horse Lineup
• Dustin Egusquiza and Levi Lord Bank $23K for 2025 San Antonio Win
• Dustin Egusquiza and Levi Lord Kick Off 2025 with $24K San Diego Rodeo Win
• Dustin Egusquiza and Levi Lord Win Regular Season, Second-Highest Earnings Record in Team Roping History 
• Dustin Egusquiza and Levi Lord Secure 2nd Winter Rodeo Title in 2024 with Denver Win
• Money Moves: Egusquiza, Lord Top Money Earners Over Cowboy Christmas 
• The $2,700 NFR Horse: Levi Lord’s LB