Finally, Tears of Joy, Not Agony, Flow from PRCA Team Roping World Champion

The road to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo is a long, grueling journey for any competitor who qualifies.

But some roads are even longer, more grueling and more gut-wrenching.

Such is the case for Jake Long, the 2025 PRCA Team Roping Heeler World Champion.

At age 41, Long had qualified for rodeo’s biggest stage 15 times, including in 2025, but had never won a Gold Buckle before last season.

Those 14 previous trips were difficult enough, but when you add in the years when he didn’t even qualify for Las Vegas, the doubts and emotions were more pent up than one of the calves he and header partner Andrew Ward chase each time they saddle up.

“The emotions were more than thinking about just one year; it was about all the years,” Long said during a June 2026 NFR media event at the Rio Suites Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. “I’d been to the NFR so many times, and for all of that to finally come together and reach the mountaintop in our sport was unbelievably emotional. I cried like a baby most of the night. Every time I thought about it, it hit me again. It’s something I’ve worked toward my entire life, and after getting so close so many times, you start wondering if maybe it’s just not meant to happen.”

Doubt is never an athlete’s ally, but even the toughest competitors are human. Long not only had to perform at the highest level, he also had to overcome the disappointments that lingered from years past.

“I had made peace with the possibility of never winning a world title, but when it finally happened, it felt like all that pressure had been lifted off my shoulders,” Long said. “It was an incredible feeling. I’ve had a great career, so I never felt sorry for myself that I hadn’t won a world title. Of course you want to win one, but they’re hard to win. Everything has to go your way. I finally told myself it was okay if it never happened. Whether that was a coping mechanism or not, when it finally did happen, and kind of came out of nowhere, it made the moment even more emotional.”

Long and Ward didn’t think things were breaking their way during the 2025 Wrangler NFR, but they stayed in contention for both the average title and the world championship. Long and Ward captured the NFR average after tying Nogueira and Kaleb Driggers in Round 10 to finish with a cumulative time of 44.0 seconds on 10 head. Long finished the season with $372,091.71, edging Junior Nogueira by just over $4,000. 

“Winning honestly felt a little unexpected,” Long said. “We started the week really well, but things slowed down in the middle. We drew some tougher steers, and that’s a bad combination when you’re on the wrong end of the cattle draw. We just weren’t winning as much during those rounds. Then I roped a leg in the ninth round, so I really didn’t think we had much of a chance. Before the final round, I told myself, ‘Let’s just make a good run, try to win second, win the average and leave with a lot of money.’ Fortunately, a few things went our way. It was a childhood dream come true.”

Long is usually meticulous about the standings and every possible scenario. But with the championship race so close, even he couldn’t calculate exactly where things stood until after the final run.

“That was actually the funny part; I’m usually on top of the standings and know exactly where we stand, but that last day I couldn’t figure the numbers out,” Long said. “We had to go first, so I just told myself, ‘Make a good run. If God wants us to win, it’ll happen. If not, that’s okay.’ We made our run, and I knew it had a chance if things broke our way. During the victory lap, I still had no idea. We took our picture with the saddle for winning the average, and I kept looking around, thinking someone would post the standings or announce it. Nobody said anything. Then, as we walked through, Katie Lucas said, ‘We need you to do an interview.’ I asked, ‘Okay, but who won the world?’ She just looked at me like, ‘We need you to do an interview.’ That’s when it finally clicked.”

A team roping world title carries an extra level of meaning because the journey is shared with a partner every step of the way.

“Andrew is an awesome partner,” Long said. “He’s happy-go-lucky, keeps me positive and is a great header. I’ve always said I ride the emotional roller coaster a little more than I should, and he’s the steady influence that balances me out. I couldn’t ask for a better partner.”

Long has always loved Las Vegas and the Wrangler NFR, but now he’ll return with a Gold Buckle and memories that have replaced years of frustration with fulfillment. However, he and Ward still have work to do if they want another trip to Las Vegas in December 2026.

As of July 14, Long ranked 28th in the PRCA world standings with $48,338.20, while Ward sat 30th with the same amount. Only the top 15 qualify for the Wrangler NFR.

“The first thing that comes to mind is the electricity,” Long said of the NFR experience. “At the end of the day, it’s another rodeo and another set of steers, but everything changes when you walk into that building. It’s a childhood dream to compete there, and I still get goosebumps every time I enter. If that feeling ever goes away, it’s probably time to quit.”