9-time NFR qualifier Derrick Begay not ready to retire

Rumor around the rodeo world had it that team roper Derrick Begay perhaps decided to call it a career over these past couple of years. The eight-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier, most recently in 2018, significantly scaled back his schedule in 2019 and 2020, finishing outside the top 50 both years.

But retired? Not yet. And done with the grind of trying to get back into the top 15, to reach another NFR? Well, thanks to some direction from his mom, apparently not.

“As far as the ‘R’ word goes, I wouldn’t really say that. I don’t know what you’d call it — a slowdown?” the 38-year-old Begay pondered. “I don’t think I’m ever gonna retire. I don’t want to be one of those guys who retires and then comes back three years later.”

Coincidentally, three years after his last NFR appearance, Begay is back, qualifying 11th as a team roping header. So how did he regain the mindset required to earn a return to Las Vegas, especially while holding other big responsibilities, not the least of which is raising his 2-year-old daughter?

It pretty much began by qualifying for a spot at The American, a prestigious multi-round rodeo that finishes up inside ATT Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys. Begay teamed up with heeler Matt Sherwood in the early March event.

“The next thing I know, I was in the top four with a chance to rope for a million dollars,” Begay said. “I didn’t rope the way I wanted to, and we took third, but I still got $10,000.”

In team roping, when you’ve got $10,000 banked by early March, it can make you start thinking that a slowdown should perhaps be a speed-up. It’s the kind of jolt that can lead to a trip to the season-ending NFR.

“That kind of put that carrot in front of me,” Begay said. “I didn’t have a full-time partner, so I started asking around, talking to some of the guys at the top. I was going back-and-forth at home, thinking about it. I was on the fence. Should I attempt to try it, put some effort in, find a partner?

“Then I asked my mom, ‘What do you think?’ She said, ‘Yeah, I want to go to Las Vegas.’ That’s all she said, no more, no less.”

But Myrtle Begay’s eight-word reply was plenty.

“I kind of laughed about it, but it cleared my mind and helped me make my decision. My mom was the tiebreaker. She made my mind up for me,” Begay said.

Next came the task of finding a heeler whom he could run full time with, before the big summer rodeo schedule rolled around. Considering the season was well underway, Begay couldn’t have done much better than pairing with fellow Arizona cowboy Corey Petska, a 15-time NFR qualifier.

“I was lucky enough to get a good partner right before summer, right before Reno,” Begay said.

Indeed, Begay and Petska took first place in Reno and added wins at the World’s Oldest Rodeo in Prescott, Ariz., the Wind River Rodeo Roundup in Riverton, Wyo., and the Mountain Valley Stampede in Heber City, Utah.

Begay finished the PRCA regular season with $70,893 to sit well within the top 15 headers and punch his ticket to a ninth NFR. Petska almost joined him but fell just short of the top 15 heelers, finishing 17th, less than $3,500 out of 15th.

“He just missed it. But he helped me get there,” Begay said. “He knew I was still good enough to get there. I couldn’t have done it without him.”

So Begay had to find a teammate among the top 15 heelers. And once again, he couldn’t have done much better, joining with 12-time NFR qualifier Brady Minor. As is the case every year, Minor — who qualified 14th among heelers — teamed with brother Riley Minor during the regular season. But Riley fell achingly short of the top 15 headers, taking 16th, literally less than $550 from heading to Vegas.

So Minor and Begay connected for this 10-day run at Thomas & Mack Center.

“When it comes to rodeo 101, he knows the ins and outs,” Begay said of his short-term partner. “Roping with a guy like Brady puts pressure on guys like myself, but in a good way. Man, that guy likes to win, and he knows how to win. That’ll make me try harder and do better.

“Him being a veteran, I don’t have to worry about him one bit. He knows not to get too high or too low. And if I need to ask him about anything, he’ll have an answer.”

NFR week certainly got off to a good start for Begay and Minor, who tied for fifth in the first go-round to earn a few thousand bucks apiece, then won the second go-round to each pocket $26,997. It’s been a little bumpy since then, but Begay is still up a couple spots to ninth in the world header standings.

Regardless of teammates or money won, Begay is just grateful to get another shot in the Super Bowl of Rodeo.

“The older I get, the more excited I get. In years past, I felt like I never took it for granted, but now that I’m back, I feel like I did take it for granted,” Begay said. “So now, I’m pretty excited not just to rope, but to be in Vegas with my family, eating in fancy restaurants, being around town. I appreciate all the little things around the NFR.”

That said, the competition is still the most important component. His top finish in the world standings was third back in 2015, when he won two NFR go-rounds and tied for first in another. He would love to have a 10-day run that rivals that one.

“The way Father Time works, I don’t have very many steers left to run. So every time the gate opens, I’m going to try to take advantage of it, because it might be my last time at the NFR,” Begay said. “I’m sure my mom knew I wanted to go. She probably could tell, so she probably thought, ‘I’m gonna make his mind up for him.’”