Begay set for top competition

Derrick Begay wants this weekend's 33rd annual Indian National Finals Rodeo to be the first of two major rodeos in which he competes in Las Vegas over the next 10 weeks.

Begay is the reigning all-around champion in the INFR, and when it begins Thursday at the South Point Equestrian Center, he'll try not to shift his focus to the north.

That's where he could be headed in December when the Thomas & Mack Center hosts the 50th annual National Finals Rodeo.

Begay, 25, is a member of the Navajo nation and ranks 12th in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association's world standings, from which the top 15 in each rodeo category advance to the Dec. 4 to 13 NFR.

This weekend, however, the resident of Seba Dalkai, Ariz., will focus on competing against top Native American rodeo athletes through Sunday.

Begay, a team roping header, has won major PRCA rodeos in Laughlin and Clovis, N.M.

• BULL RIDERS -- Three events remain before the Professional Bull Riders World Finals Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 and Nov. 6 to 9 at the Thomas & Mack.

Brazilian Guilherme Marchi is first in points. He won the 29th event of the PBR Built Ford Tough Series on Saturday in Oakland, Calif., to claim his fifth title of the season.

The series competes Friday and Saturday in Cincinnati. ...

Two-time and reigning PBR world champion Justin McBride has won two of the five events he entered this year after missing the first seven months of the season following shoulder surgery.

He became the first rodeo athlete to surpass $5 million in career earnings three weeks ago in Grand Rapids, Mich.

• ADAMS LEADS ROPERS -- Randon Adams of Logandale has the top spot in the PRCA world standings for team roping heelers. He has won $105,733 in PRCA competition this year.

Adams, 26, is headed for his third NFR qualification after missing last year's event. He's competing with header Matt Sherwood of Pima, Ariz.

Las Vegas resident Colin McTaggart is ranked eighth in bull riding, and Alamo's Jake Wade is 24th but only $15,000 out of 15th place and the last qualifying spot.

In calf roping, Southern Nevada resident Matt Shiozawa is 19th as he tries to qualify for his fourth consecutive NFR.

• HUNTER JUMPER -- The Las Vegas National Hunter Jumper Horse Show is scheduled for Oct. 30 to Nov. 2 at the South Point. For more information, call (949) 443-1841 or go to showpark.com.

Contact reporter Jeff Wolf at jwolf@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0247.