Lefty Holman Savors Home State Win in Salinas, Calif.
By: Alex Riley
The words meant more to Lefty Holman than the prize he was chasing.
Easing onto the back of Corey & Lange’s Monster inside the chute, Holman was preparing for his short go-round ride at California Salinas Rodeo on Sunday, chasing a championship that had eluded him.
Holman, a Visalia, Calif., native, came close to the Salinas buckle last year before settling for runner-up. The words of his grandfather, John “Witch” Holman, were the reassurance he was looking for.
“To have him on the back of bucking chutes was cool. He said, ‘Go do what you do.’ I heard that and it just calmed me down,” Lefty Holman said. “The little moments like that are just what’s special to me. It was a pretty awesome day man.”
After posting an 87-point effort, Holman’s 173 points on two rides proved good enough to hold off the field and secure the Salinas title.
Of course, getting to this point was far from easy.
After an 88-point ride in Nampa, Holman took a hard fall trying to dislodge himself from the pick-up man. He briefly lost consciousness and was worried he would miss his flight from Idaho to California.
Luckily, he boarded the plane just in time with only his gear bag and saddle. It turned out to be all he would need to get the job done.
Holman came into Salinas knowing he’d have a sizable cheering section. Along with his grandfather, his family is litany of rodeo royalty, including his uncles Joe, Pete, and Mike Marvel, all of whom are Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifiers and ProRodeo Hall of Famers. Additionally, his family-by-marriage includes current competitors Clayton Sellers, Dawson Hay, and Dakota Eldridge.
But it was his grandfather who proved to be the good luck charm once again. While Joe Holman doesn’t hit the road as much anymore, he’s almost a guarantee at California-based events. He was present in Livermore earlier in the year when Lefty got the victory.
“Every time he’s been there this year, I’ve won. I might have to just take him on the road with me,” Lefty joked.
A victory in California and a second-place effort at the Snake River Stampede in Nampa, Idaho on Saturday night will go a long way to keeping Holman among the top 12 saddle bronc riders in the PRCA | RAM World Standings.
Only in his fourth season as a PRCA rider, Lefty is aiming for a third NFR qualification after finishing as runner-up in the world standings last year.
Whether it’s a lucky charm relative or drawing good horses, he’s focused on making sure the positive momentum keeps rolling.
“There’s a lot of luck that comes into this game with draws and stuff. When they run a good one underneath you, you just need to take advantage of that,” Lefty said. “I knew if I did my job and that horse did his, it would be good results and we ended up walking out of there with the Salinas buckle, so it was a success.”
Other winners at the PRCA Playoff Series rodeo were bareback rider Orin Larsen (171 points on two head); steer wrestler Tucker Allen (20.2 seconds on three head); team ropers Coy Rahlmann/Jonathan Torres (48.5 seconds on five head); tie-down ropers Caleb Smidt and Ty Harris (34.2 seconds on three head); breakaway roper Josey Murphy (13.3 seconds on three head); barrel racer Taycie Matthews (65.18 seconds on four runs); and bull rider Josh Frost (84.5 points on Flying 5 Rodeo Company’s Gringo).
Courtesy of PRCA