Tickets for the world’s richest and most prestigious one-day team roping are on sale starting Valentine’s Day.
With a purse of more than $650,000 and featuring 125 of the world’s best ropers, the 48th annual Bob Feist Invitational (BFI) presented by Yeti, on March 29, will be the ultimate cowboy showcase for fans inside Guthrie, Oklahoma’s Lazy E Arena.
In 2024, a full house watched perennial world-champion contenders and former gold-buckle ropers Kaleb Driggers and Junior Nogueira check off their bucket-list BFI win after nine years of trying. They cashed a check for $160,000 plus a truckload of prizes. The duo will no doubt be back to try repeat dominance; the full roster will be released on March 8.
The legendary event anchors Wrangler BFI Week, which features several amateur roping competitions and runs March 26 through April 1. Last year ropers throughout the week cashed checks for a record $4.35 million.
The public is also invited on the evening before the BFI (March 28) to Edmond’s Hilton Garden Inn for the annual 6 p.m. BFI Dinner and Calcutta, with doors opening at 5 p.m. The 48th BFI will kick off the next morning at 8:30 a.m. sharp.
By Julie Mankin
Wyoming native Julie Mankin has roped for three decades, and in her 25-year career as a former newspaper editor, PRCA publicist and freelance writer, her work has been published in Western Horseman, American Cowboy, AQHA Journal, True West, Cowboys & Indians and more.