b"From the BackI would like thank my sponsors: Usher Brand Silver and Saddlery, OF THE BOX Omega Fields Supplements,Saddle Right Saddle Pads, Hassayampa Veterinary Servicesand of course Fastback Ropes.By John SamsillYou can contact me directly at johnsamsillteamroping@gmail.com if you have any questionsor would like to schedule a clinic or a lesson.A rizona has a history ofOne guy I roped with a lot when I was younger. I producing some of thealways knew John McKenzie could have made it to best team ropers in thethe NFR and I feel he roped as well as anyone going country. When I was a kid,down the road. John seldom missed or roped the I would look at the PRCAleg. When I was roping with him, I always knew standings, or the RCA as itthat if I did my job, he would always do his and we was called then, and everyone in the team ropingwould be rewarded. It didn't matter if he had the was either from California or Arizona. That has alltime to look one over and just catch or if he needed changed now. We have NFR qualifiers from just aboutto rope on the corner, he was just as deadly. I haveRube Woolsey & Tom Bill Johnsonevery state in the union, including Pennsylvania. Ifalways had the utmost respect for John as he stayed you follow team roping, you're familiar with theirclose to home to build a businessBelieve me when I tell you they all rope names. Arizona has had its share of NFR qualifiersand he built a very successfulextremely well and all of them could over the years. Guys like Rube Woolsey, Nick Sachett,business as a horseshoer. He ishave made a living roping. There was Derek Begay, Colter Todd, Chance Kelton, Aaronconsidered by many, includingalways something special about Don and Tsinginie, Eric Rogers, and Caesar de la Cruz. I knowmyself, to be one of the bestI love to watch him turn steers. There Im leaving some guys out, but you get my point. Wefarriers going.is zero doubt in my mind when I say he have had some of the best ropers in the world. could have made it in the rodeo world. Tanner Bryson is another guy whoThe other thing that has always made The guys I want to talk about in this article are theI've turned thousands of steers forme a big fan of Dons is he is one of the guys who never made the NFR or never tried, but Iand that has not made the finals.nicest, most humble people you will feel theyre still some of the best ropers to come fromTanner was a great heeler when Iever meet. All of the boys are like that. If Arizona. Of course, this is only my opinion, but I haveroped with him, but after that, heyou knew their dad Glenell, a top roper competed against all of them, so I feel I have a prettyset his sights on heading and is stillhimself, it's no surprise they turned out good idea. Each of the guys that I am going to talkone of the top headers in Arizona.to be great men and were top ropers about had their own reasons for not pursuing a livingTanner has gone down the roadTanner Brysonwith the rope, but in no way does that take awayrodeoing, but he always had hisIf you go to any ropings at Dynamite my respect for them. As a matter of fact, I have lotssights on his horse business. Tanner hasArena or Rancho Rio, you will probably see Kevin of respect not only for their roping but the fact thatfound or trained and then sold some of the best teamRedstrom around either flagging or working cattle. they made the decision not to pursue roping careersroping horses in the rodeo business. He knows greatWhat many people do not know is that Kevin was a full-time, which for some couldn't have been an easyhorses and has built a very successful program withgreat heeler who had the talent to make it. His work decision. For some others, the decision to stay closerhis B Cross horses. ethic was second to none. He was always working on to home because of family or work may not have beenhis horses and his roping.that hard.The order that I named them in is in noI feel one of the best headers to ever back in the way the order of talent they have. box is Don Lackey. Don is one of three brothers.Tom Bill Johnson is still a force to be reckoned with in the arena. He was a number 10 heeler all while making a living training horses and cowboying. Tom Bill is one of the best cowboys in Arizona and has trained horses for some of the best ropers around. Did I mention that he used to train horses for a guy you may have heard on the radio by the name of George Strait?The last people I have room for in this article are a couple of brothers from Laveen. Kyon and Bry Sayer. They both have a natural ability with the rope you seldom see. Ky still ropes some, but Bry hardly ropes anymore. These two were so hard to beat when they backed in the box. They were great traveling partners because of what they brought to the table. They had a winning attitude and fierce competitiveness to them.By no means is this a full list of guys from Arizona that I feel could have made a big impact on the team roping world, but it's a good one.Until next time I hope to see you at the back ofthe box. ArizonaRealCountry.com August 2023 11"