The $100,000 check and a Laredo Custom Haulers truck are heading to Florida.
Florida's Lewis Perry and Keith Heritage got the win at the Ariat World Series of Team Roping #9.5 Laredo Custom Haulers Invitational, roping four steers in 34.32 seconds to earn $100,000 for Perry and a brand-new Laredo Custom Haulers truck for Heritage.
After the short round, the New Smyrna Beach and Alachua team stood in the arena as a red carpet was rolled out and a card table set up beside the truck. A coin toss decided who picked first, and Heritage drew the high card—choosing the truck.
"I've never won, I don't win ropings," Heritage said. "So when we walked out, I was like, nice job, I fist bumped him and thought, we're going to win a nice check. Then somebody started yelling and told us we just won."
"You will spend the money and the money will disappear," Perry said. "But the saddles, the trophies? You're going to hold on to those for a long time."
The longtime friends stayed steady throughout the day, roping their first three steers in 8.59, 8.26 and 8.80 seconds before finishing it off with an 8.67-second short round from second high call.
"I struggled all week," Perry said. "I came today and said, I am going to get out on all of these steers. That's the difference."
"It felt messy," Heritage said. "But it felt great. I thought I hammered them on the first hop%u2026 But we've enjoyed each other; it's been great roping with him."
After missing last year's Finale due to family reasons, the win felt overdue.
"I was like, we're probably due to win a little bit this year," Heritage said.
Perry rode Barney, his trusted 16-year-old mount.
"He's a super nice horse, very honest; he gets you there," Perry said. "I just feel blessed to have him."
Heritage heeled on his longtime partner, Paint Pony, a 17-year-old paint mare.
"I've won like $305,000 on her, but she's a jerk," he said. "She's old, but I've won a lot on her, so she is always my go-to."
Built on friendship and years of roping together, Perry and Heritage proved once again that consistency—and enjoying the ride—can pay off in a big way at the Ariat WSTR Finale.
