ProRodeo Sports News -March 5, 2021

DIRECTOR’S CUT SCOTT KANIEWSKI

Solomon’s San Antonio run about more than rodeo C ory Solomon would rather have been somewhere else on Feb. 25 than San Antonio. He wanted to be somewhere more important than a rodeo.

But being a good cowboy, Solomon had already traded with Kyle Lucas in the semifinals of the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo so Lucas could compete Friday. Because of that, Solomon missed out on taking part in laying to rest family friend Brent Husky. Solomon’s good deed was well rewarded. The tie-down roper from Prairie View, Texas, made a 7.0-second run to win his semifinals bracket. Husky passed away unexpectedly five days prior. That same day, Solomon had spoken with Husky. While Solomon couldn’t be at the service, members of his family attended while Solomon took to Freeman Coliseum. Solomon wanted to do his friend proud,

Scott Kaniewski is the Media Director at the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. He previously served more than two years as the editor of ProRodeo Sports News. He has nearly two decades of experience in sports journalism,

“God wanted me there, that’s how I got there,” Solomon said. “I could’ve made it anyways and maybe not touched people’s lives. But he took a guy who wasn’t in and brought a guy in. That’s just God working.” From there, Solomon took off. He placed in five rounds, winning Round 3. He won $124,654. Solomon left the Finals in fifth place. He had jumped 11 spots. Maybe more importantly, he left with a different way of thinking. “Last year was a God story at the Finals,” he said. “It just changed me as a roper and as a person. I’m on the attack and just want to be better.” Solomon might be quick to point to many reasons for his recent success – he thanks God, he thanks his Brazilian horse, Play, he thanks the luck of his draws. Anyone or anything but himself. On Feb. 25, Solomon headed home – a three-hour drive – to spend time with Husky’s family. Solomon might have felt like he should have been somewhere else – with his family, with Husky’s family, anywhere but at a rodeo. But that night, Cory Solomon was right where he was supposed to be. Photo courtesy San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo Cory Solomon made a 7.0-second run to win the first semifinals bracket in San Antonio, Feb. 25.

but going fourth in the set and seeing two sub-8-second runs and another at 8-flat in the first three runs had Solomon thinking a win might be far-fetched. But this wasn’t about making a rodeo run. This was about making a run for someone who wouldn’t be there when the rodeo ends. Someone who won’t be there ever again. “Tonight was a good night to lay a good run down,” Solomon said. “Hopefully it’ll help them get through a tough time. … It wasn’t one of those rounds where you could safety up. Either you’re a hero or nobody knows you. I was blessed that it worked out tonight.” Hopefully people will know Solomon after his effort, on multiple levels. Solomon is a God-fearing man. It’s readily clear when you talk with him. But his level of dedication to his ProRodeo craft was elevated before last year’s Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. About 48 hours before the NFR. Solomon wasn’t supposed to compete at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, the site of the 2020 NFR. Or maybe he was. Solomon was 16th in the 2020 PRCA | RAMWorld Standings, on the outside looking in at the world’s biggest rodeo by less than $200. But when Caleb Smidt tested positive for COVID-19, Solomon was told he was likely up, filling in for Smidt. Solomon had done nothing in the weeks leading with the last few being consumed by ProRodeo.

up to the NFR. He’d turned his horses out. He’d stopped practicing (“I was sitting on my couch,” he said). Heck, retirement from ProRodeo even ran through the 30-year- old’s mind. He didn’t know how to feel about “backing” into the Finals, as he said. He’d been to the NFR six times prior. He knew how to feel about those Finals. This was different. This was benefiting at the expense of a friend. “Each day I was like, I’m not even supposed to be here, and that just changed my mindset of not putting extra pressure on myself, just go and do my job,” Solomon said. In Round 1, Solomon placed fifth, taking $5,500. It wasn’t necessarily the money that triggered things. But Solomon realized he’d been given a special opportunity.

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