story by Lily Weinacht
Jose “Junior” Zambrano III is a five-time GCPRA finals qualifier. The Grand Canyon rodeos have helped the 19-year-old roper build his competitive edge since he joined the association in 2012, and those skills took him to the biggest stage of his career thus far at the 2017 PRCA Turquoise Circuit Finals Rodeo. The circuit finals was the first pro rodeo Junior entered with header Brady Payne, his current team roping partner, and while they didn’t place in the first round, they took third in the second round and won the short-go with a solid 5.2-second run. It was enough to put them in first place in the average and send the team to their first Ram National Circuit Finals Rodeo in Kissimmee, Florida.
“Now that I’ve accomplished something so big so early, I’m focusing more on college this year and more of a serious education,” says Junior, who’s tie-down and team roping on the Central Arizona College rodeo team. He’s also keeping up with the GCPRA rodeos, entering the open team roping in the heeling. “The best Grand Canyon rodeo of the year I think is the finals, not just because it’s the finals where year-end champions are crowned, but the Avi Resort is always good with hospitality, and the (Mojave Crossing) arena there is really nice.”
Junior started entering jackpots and USTRC ropings just a few years before joining the GCPRA. His grandpa Jose Zambrano is a well-known cowboy in the Nogales, Arizona, area, and Junior’s dad, also named Jose, grew up roping and riding on the family’s ranch. Junior started going by his nickname after one of the first jackpots he entered with his dad, where the announcer called him Junior to tell father and son apart. “I’m really the first one who’s gone out and been competitive in the rodeo world,” he says. “I started going to USTRC ropings where all the kids can rope, and I got some recognition at bigger ropings.” Junior’s roping abilities caught the attention of professional team roper Cesar de la Cruz at one of his clinics, and Cesar invited Junior to come rope with him. “Cesar de la Cruz and George Aros (Cesar’s uncle) helped me out growing up and showed me more about rodeo than just going and competing,” says Junior. “To win on a constant basis, you have to practice as much as you can and work as much as you can, and it does get overwhelming, but once you put in all those hours and once you win, it’s one of the best feelings in the world no matter where you’re at.”
Now that he’s in college, time management is even more important as he’s rodeoing, training several outside horses, and studying equine science. Junior’s dad runs beef cows and Corriente mix on their land outside of Tucson, Arizona, and he and Miguel Martins provide team roping cattle all over the state. Junior helps with the ranch when he’s home from school, and is branching out to training performance horses. “I’m trying to get a little more into the business aspect in school. Everything is so much more technological now, and I’m just trying to keep up with the times.”
His own horses were all finished when he got them. Junior’s ridden Saber, a 14-year-old palomino gelding, since sixth grade. “He’s my best buddy and the one I can always go to no matter how much money we’re roping for or the situation. I have a sorrel horse, Rita, I got in Mexico, and she’s a solid backup heel horse and one of those you can trust on anything.” Junior plans to rope the most on Callie this season, since Saber is just coming back after an injury from last season. “She belonged to one of my buddies who passed away, RT Heredia, and she’s the one stepping in big shoes this year.”
When he’s home from school, Junior loves spending time with his parents, Jose and Kimberly Zambrano, and his triplet sisters, Lexus, Summer, and Victoria. He’s in the middle of a run of college rodeos every weekend, along with entering several pro rodeos before heading to the RNCFR in April. “I’m just trying to make the college finals now that I’ve won a pretty big PRCA title. It was really a big blessing for that to happen. Now I want to get the best education I can while still going to rodeos.”
