Dustin Egusquiza has roped his way into being considered a constant contender in the world championship conversation. Last year’s regular-season champ, with Levi Lord, is back in team-roping-title contention in 2025, and hoping to hurdle the gold-buckle hump for the first time. His roping’s been on point all along. It’s his horse herd he’s been busy bolstering.
“The regular season means a lot, and one of my goals this year is to try and break the regular-season earnings record (of $227,878 set by Kaleb Driggers and Junior Nogueira in 2022) before the NFR,” said Marianna, Florida’s Egusquiza, who now lives in the Lone Star State of Texas.
“But world championships essentially come down to one rodeo, and if you don’t do good in Vegas, you aren’t going to win it. We’ve done good all year long the last several years, but I’ve had some heck at the NFR. There’s only one place like the Thomas & Mack. You can try to practice for it, but you can’t make it feel the exact same. The start is short, and steers leave fast. I feel ready and confident every time I show up, but when the gate opens in that little building, it takes a special horse.
“Coleman (Proctor) has Heisman, Clint Summers has Transmission and TWade (Tyler Wade) has Spur. Guys who have the right horse for that building have a huge advantage. Finding that right horse for me felt like what I was missing. I left Las Vegas the last five years feeling like it felt hard. It didn’t feel easy, like it does everywhere else. It’s all about the horsepower, and waiting on God to let it be my time.”
Egusquiza was also the regular-season champ with Travis Graves in 2021. Egusquiza and Lord huddled up as a team earlier this year, and doubled down in the horse department.
Dustin’s head-horse herd is now three deep. He bought the 13-year-old brown horse he calls Cajun, registered Cajun Treat, three years ago from Tucker Menz in Weatherford, Texas, and rode him two weeks later to a high-call run with TG at the BFI (he waved it off, but it had nothing to do with the horse).
“I should have paid for Cajun right there that day,” Egusquiza said. “But ever since that day, I’ve had all the confidence in the world in him. Cajun’s just solid in every setup. I’ve ridden him at Cheyenne, Salinas, Sioux Falls, Ellensburg—about every rodeo you can think of, and he’s never messed up in any way. I’ve ridden him a couple times at the NFR, and it’s just not quite his deal.
“Some horses are better in that building than others, and Cajun’s a little bigger and doesn’t move his feet quite as fast as some others. At home, you could put a baby on him in the box. But at the Thomas & Mack, he has some charisma in the box sometimes. It’s like you’re sitting on a dragon. He’s really versatile. I can be 3 on Cajun at Loveland (Colorado) and Logan (Utah), then go to Caldwell and he’ll still run to the steer.”
No complaints about Cajun, but he needed some backup. Enter Pablo–Snoopy Guy–a 7-year-old bay Dustin bought last November from Pablo Robles of RC Roping Horses in San Antonio.
“I rode Pablo when he was 4, and tried a bunch of horses in San Antonio one day,” Egusquiza remembers. “I ran two steers on him, and on the third one he tied his feet up when I was turning off, we went down and I slapped my head against the ground. I handed Pablo back the reins, and told him, ‘When this horse turns 6, I want first option. Don’t sell him to anybody else.’ This horse aged out of the futurities last October, Pablo brought him to my house and I never let him leave. I bought him in November.
“I’ve never sat on a horse that’s so athletic. I didn’t know they made horses like him. It feels like you put a saddle on a wild barn cat. He could do a backflip and land on his feet, he feels so athletic. The first place I took Pablo was The Big Break roping in Stephenville in November, and I won it with Travis. Cajun’s bigger, running bred and really fast. Pablo can be pulling, facing and running backwards as the heeler’s throwing without losing the steer’s head, which makes for a quick finish.”
And there’s more. Egusquiza bought a third horse right before San Antonio this winter. Ranger, registered Cabs Cab, is the 13-year-old brown horse you’ve seen Jake Orman ride, including at the 2022 NFR.
“Ranger’s just so solid,” Dustin said. “I was looking for something easy that just lets me rope, and he scores good, leaves flat and makes my job easy. He doesn’t quite have the run you need at Reno or Cheyenne, but he makes up for speed by being super solid.
“I turn 30 this year, and this is my eighth year pro rodeoing. I’m starting to realize just how much horses can help you. Pablo has really opened my eyes to how much easier a horse can make your job. I was the guy who grew up with a rope in my hand learning to do it with my rope. I’m still learning about the horsemanship side, and besides Levi catching two feet every time, these horses are a huge part of our team’s success. They’re helping me give him more chances to catch two feet.”
Can a team contend for world championships today with only one good horse at each end?
“It’d be a lot harder,” Egusquiza said. “You’d have to pick and choose, and there would be no jackpotting, because one horse just can’t keep up with all of it anymore. What we’ve done to upgrade our horses was dang sure necessary for both of us. It still comes down to us catching the steer, but I think these horses will make our job a lot easier.”
