Valencia County ropers wrangle world title, huge payday

It took a tick under 8 seconds for Adrian Martinez and Mikey Ortiz to wrap up a jackpot in Las Vegas, Nev.

There may have been some lady luck involved, with plenty of skill, but this had nothing to do with a roulette wheel, craps table or one-armed bandit.

The team ropers from Valencia County won their division last month at the World Series of Team Roping (WSTR) and with it prize money totaling $225,000.

“It’s a pretty big deal,” said Martinez, who lives in Tomé. “It’s the biggest one of the year … the most prestigious” team roping event.

When the sponsors presented the oversized ceremonial check, Ortiz, a Belen resident, called it, “just the coolest thing in the world. You feel like you’re on top of the world and no one can beat you.”

In a touch of irony, both Martinez, 35, and Ortiz, 25, graduated from a high school in Las Vegas — not in Nevada, but in New Mexico, at Las Vegas Robertson High School. From there, the two migrated separately to Valencia County and started roping together about five years ago.

Ortiz is the header, who ropes the horns on a steer, turning it to the left so that the heeler, Martinez, has a clear view to snare the animal’s legs. The goal is to rope both ends as quickly as possible in this timed competition.

When Martinez was asked what he enjoys about team roping, “the money” was the initial response.

“I love the sport, but it’s nice that you can do something you really enjoy and get a chance to make some life-changing money at the same time,” Martinez said.

Ropers earn a spot at the WSTR, held at the South Point Hotel Casino & Spa in early December, through a series of qualifying events around the country, including Albuquerque and Las Cruces.

It is a handicapped event, with the combined ratings of the two ropers determining the category for the team. This allows cowboys and cowgirls of similar skill levels to compete against each other.

In the case of Martinez and Ortiz, they were in the 12.5 division, which is popular in jackpot roping held in many rural communities.

In Las Vegas, the lowest combined time after three runs, or three head, wins the championship. On the last run, Martinez and Ortiz were the final team to go, so they knew exactly how fast they needed to rope the steer to win; anything under 8 seconds.

Ortiz, who found a spot beforehand near the arena to collect his thoughts, said, “I was pressured up. I was so nervous.”

Ortiz recalled other situations when he didn’t come through. When the moment arrived, “I just kind of blacked out. It was just muscle memory after I nodded my head,” to release the steer from the chute.

It was a clean run, and even though the crowd let out a thunderous roar, Martinez wasn’t sure if the effort was a winner.

“When the crowd got so loud, we could barely hear our time,” from the arena announcer. “We didn’t know if we had won it or not.”

Their time of 7.61 was plenty good enough.

“We knew exactly what we had to do to win the roping and we just went out and executed the game plan,” Martinez said.

The game plan now is to keep roping, with the next competition coming up in central Texas.

The “life-changing money” mentioned earlier is being spent wisely. Both men quickly bought another horse. Martinez said he purchased a few things to improve the homestead, but mostly he’s “trying to make it (the money) last.”

“Just buy some necessities. Pay some bills,” is what Ortiz is doing with his windfall.

Ortiz and Martinez are appreciative of those who have helped along the way; friends who let them use arenas for practice in Isleta, Bosque Farms and elsewhere, while giving pointers on the finer aspects of the sport.

“We have some friends that probably rope a little better than us,” Ortiz admitted. “We get to learn and we get to take advice.”

Most importantly, don’t forget their four-legged partners — Jag for Martinez and Dagger with Ortiz.

In the team roping world, Martinez and Ortiz have become celebrities, thanks in part to social media.

“It’s cool the amount of people who come up and congratulate you,” Martinez noted.

Ortiz jokes that he was “kind of a big deal” before the WSTR. And now, “I’m a world champ.”