Celebrating the Life of Leo ‘The Lion’ Camarillo

Leo Camarillo was crowned World Champion Team Roper a fourth time in 1983. – Photo by Jim Fain/PRCA

By Kendra Santos
Special to Ropers Sports News

Leo Louis Camarillo was born January 25, 1946, the son of hard-working parents Ralph and Pilar. He grew up in California’s Santa Ynez Valley with his younger brother, Jerold, and their little sister, Christie. Ralph was a ranch manager, and Pilar worked in the kitchens of area restaurants. The Camarillo kids learned work ethic the hard way on the ranches of their youth, and according to cousin Reg, Leo looked at roping early on as his way to “get out of this ghetto,” which was how he viewed running other people’s ranches. 

Lovell & Eaves Come Through In NFR Clutch For World Team Roping Titles

When it was all said and done, Eaves and Lovell had a lot to celebrate. – PRCA ProRodeo Photo by Roseanna Sales

By Lane Karney
Special To Ropers Sports News

Colby Lovell and Paul Eaves hit it out of the park in the last three rounds at Globe Life Field to become the 2020 World Champion Team Ropers. In a strange year that particularly lent itself to a split championship—a header and heeler from different teams taking the titles—Lovell and Eaves rallied to keep both championships in-house. Just six teams showed up to the 2020 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Arlington, Texas, with matching money between partners. Actually, Lovell and Eaves were not even one of those teams, with Lovell entering NFR 2020 fourth among headers with $65,509, about $9,300 ahead of Eaves’ $56,159 on the year that brought him in eighth among heelers.