CHEYENNE – Junior Nogueira came to the United States with a hat, a pair of boots, his spurs, a suitcase, a rope, $500 and a big dream.
He now ropes with a seven-time world champion team roper.
Jake Barnes, the aforementioned world champion, was semi-retired and enjoying the spoils of a career in which he earned more than $2 million when a kid from Brazil showed up at his ranch for a roping clinic.
Barnes didn’t stay retired for long, partnering with the young Brasileiro and making the National Finals Rodeo in 2014.
Barnes and Nogueira finished second in the average at the NFR, placing in six rounds and finishing the season in the top five of the overall standings.
Their story is one of serendipity and determination, of mentorship and apprenticeship, the teacher and the student.
And it doesn’t just happen five to seven seconds at a time. It happens on 16- and 18-hour drives between tiny towns seemingly on the fringes of civilization, places that have never seen a guy from Brazil but know well the older fellow traveling with him.
It happens every day on Barnes’ spread on the outskirts of Phoenix. And it might not have happened were it not for some determination on the other side of the world.
“Well, I had a dream when I was little to be a cowboy,” said Lucinei Nunes Nogueira Jr. But in the colloquial, casual Brazilian fashion familiar to any fan of soccer, you can just call him Junior.
He grew up on a ranch near Sao Paulo, Brazil, where his father and mother were proficient ropers. Though both parents headed, Nogueira’s father trained him as a header as well. But the youngster ended up heeling when partnered with his mother, thus he heels to this day.
After experiencing some success, Nogueira made a decision.
“When I was 13 years old, I wanted to be professional,” he said. “I dedicated myself to roping. I had a dream to come over here, be an American cowboy and learn how to rope better and ride better.”
Nogueira experienced incredible success in Brazil, winning nearly everything in sight. Per an article at Wranglernetwork.com, he not only won buckles and saddles, he won nine cars, 54 motorcycles and two horse trailers. He started looking to the horizon for the next opportunity.
Nogueira needn’t have looked far. He had roping videotapes and DVDs by Barnes and Clay O’Brien Cooper, the seven-time world champions. He also had materials by Barnes’ second partner, Allen Bach.
So when Nogueira bought a plane ticket to Phoenix in 2013, he met up with a roper named Robert Reynoso, who Nogueira said “knew everybody in Arizona.”
Reynoso grew up with Jake Barnes’ son Anthony, so it was a matter of a couple of well-placed phone calls. The young Brazilian stayed in Arizona for two weeks, eventually ending up at the Barnes ranch, taking pictures and getting autographs, but also getting on a horse and roping about 15 steers.
Barnes was convinced right away.
“He was a diamond in the rough,” Barnes said, elaborating that he could see sheer talent shining through. Inspired by the youngster’s story, Barnes asked Nogueira to be his partner.
The Brazilian laughed when recalling the story because he had only come for a visit and to maybe rope a little while here. He never intended to stay in the States and had no place to live anyway. Barnes and his wife opened their home to Nogueira. The youngster still prayed about it and realized opportunity was hammering on the door.
Nogueira went back to Brazil to tie up loose ends. Barnes geared up for a big season on the rodeo trail. Nogueira came back to the States in early 2014, this time with his own horse and with a sports visa that allows him to stay here for six years. The two hit the road.
The magic happened instantly. They won some smaller rodeos (Spanish Fork, Utah; Logandale, Nevada; Cave Creek, Arizona, for instance) but consistently placed in the money wherever they went. That consistency helped them qualify for the season-ending National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, the sport’s world championship.
Despite the success, Nogueira struggled at times with the language barrier and the non-rodeo aspects of being in the right place at the right time and getting ready to rope. He also was terribly homesick, having spent months away from the only home he had ever known. Eventually, he had to retire his horse and rope on borrowed horses.
He turned to his first roping partner for support – and she set him straight.
“My mom did everything for me. She encouraged me,” he said. “A lot of times, I wanted to give up, and my mom supported me, gave me the motivation for it. Everything I had gone through to get to that spot, and now I want to give up. She asked, why would I do that?”
To put the team’s success in perspective, think of rookie pitcher Fernando Valenzuela pitching the Dodgers to the 1981 World Series championship. More recently, think of Russell Wilson quarterbacking the Seattle Seahawks to the Super Bowl title in 2014.
While a team roping partnership is about as equal as any in sports, it’s still unusual for a first-year roper to make the NFR. Only Tee Woolman in 1980 has won the NFR’s gold buckle in team roping as a rookie.
Woolman remains alone in that distinction, but Barnes’ and Nogueira’s story continues in 2015. Barnes entered the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo No. 6 in the world among headers, Nogueira No. 5 among heelers. On Friday, Barnes and Nogueira went 8.4, placing fourth in the first go-round.
Barnes observed that Nogueira’s education continues, both inside and outside the roping box. But the youngster is a willing study, taking criticism positively and applying it immediately. Aside from some hiccups in geography, Barnes said he couldn’t have asked for a better traveling partner.
“The sky’s the limit for him,” Barnes said. “It’s still a learning curve. He’s getting better – his horsemanship, horses and roping are all getting better.
“He’s one of the top heelers out there now, but he can’t be satisfied. He’s not one of the best now, but that’s probably his dream to be one of the best. To make it the first year coming from another country is phenomenal. Until he masters the business part of it, he’s just another guy.”
For his part, Nogueira is still living the dream. He said each day he thinks about nothing but the steer in front of him. He certainly doesn’t have to worry about his partner, not with a seven-time world champion throwing a loop.
“I think it’s awesome,” he said. “We’re doing good. When I get in the box, I don’t think of anything. Who else can look to their left side and see Jake Barnes? Just try to do your job and don’t think of anything.
“God brought me here to give me the opportunity to rope. I’m so thankful for all the opportunities to rope and ride.”
Barnes said the goal is to qualify for the NFR sooner, rather than later. He said he needs some medical therapy for his knee, and an early qualification would give Nogueira the chance to spend some time in Brazil for the first time in several months.
Nogueira has set his sights higher than merely qualifying.
“I think to win world championship – that’s everybody else’s goal, too,” he said. “I want to be world champion one day. I lived the dream already. If I won something, I forget about it. It’s important to get better every day.”
In the meantime, Nogueira enjoys going to school every day.
“I’m learning everything,” he said. “He’s an amazing professional and very tough guy. He taught me how to never be high and never be low. Every roper goes through tough times. He taught me how to handle the ups and downs, stay in the middle. If you’re winning, stay in the middle. He’s an amazing professional. He knows everything about rodeo.”
Nogueira has started talking to a lawyer about negotiating the process of becoming a U.S. citizen. That’s a few years away, though. In the meantime, Nogueira took some of his winnings and acquired two horses – Little Man and Green Card.
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