In a dramatic and exciting final round, one team reshaped the standings. Andrew Ward and Jake Long swept the round, average, and world championships at the 2025 NFR.
The team roping world championship came down to a single steer Saturday night, delivering one of the most dramatic finishes of the 2025 National Finals Rodeo. All expectations were rewritten in the final couple of runs inside the Thomas & Mack Center.
Andrew Ward, header, and Jake Long, heeler, entered Round 10 with plenty at stake but without the projections. By the end of the night, they had done something huge, winning the go-round, the average, and the world championships all at once.
They did it without even knowing it until the end.
One Steer, One Chance
The team roping standings shifted repeatedly throughout the entire finals. The race was among the Top 15 teams and was tightening as Round 10 approached. Schmidt and Torres entered the night projected to win the world championship, coming from 14th and 15th in the world, respectively. A no time in the final round opened the door.
Ward and Long had already roped their steer and didn't even know they had just won the gold buckles. This is just how tight it really was.
They made a clean, composed run, doing exactly what they had done all week—executing their job without chasing anything extra. Their time was good enough to split the round. As a result that also pushed them to the top of the average standings with a total time of 44 seconds on 10 head.
All of this excitement was enough to secure the average title and more than enough to claim the world championship too.
“I felt God all over these rounds. We are so privileged to be here in front of all these great fans,” Ward said in his world championship interview.
Long, still processing the moment, added simply, “I don't know what to say this is surreal.”
Veterans Finally Get Their Moment
This win marked a huge career milestone for both guys.
For Andrew Ward, an Oklahoma cowboy, the title came in his sixth trip to the National Finals Rodeo and delivered his first world championship. Ward’s smart runs and consistency finally aligned with the right opportunity.
For Jake Long, the win was even longer in the making. The Kansas cowboy earned his first gold buckle in his 15th NFR appearance. What a testament to longevity and perseverance in one of rodeo’s most competitive and unpredictable events.
This was an NFR where the wins and leadds swung nightly, and no team was safe. In the end, experience ultimately mattered.
Ward and Long split the Round 10 win with Kaleb and Junior, who entered the Finals ranked No. 1 in the world. After a rough start to the week, Kaleb and Junior started winning a little late, finishing second in the world standings by less than $10,000. This goes to show just how tight the race was.
Ward and Long, meanwhile, stayed steady. They capitalized when opportunities appeared, and let the gold buckles just come to them.
Team roping championships are rarely won with a single flashy run. More often, they are earned through repetition and teamwork. Ward and Long embodied that this year. They delivered when it mattered most, on the final steer, on the final night, with everything on the line.
For two veterans who had spent years chasing a gold buckle without ever holding one, the moment was overdue and well earned.
Jackie Jensen Photography