BY BRETT NIERENGARTEN @PRORODEOBRETT
Lefty Holman has qualified for his second NFR in 2022 after a broken leg in 2021 prevented him from going to back-to-back.
Holman has been the best version of himself this season. He has set career-highs in riding percentage (94.6 percent), average score (83.6 points) and 85+ point rides (35).
His best career finish was No. 6 in 2020 and he will enter the NFR in 2022 No. 5 in the PRCA World Standings.
BIGGEST PAYDAYS
Calgary Stampede, $18,750
Holman won the Wild Card Round and the Semifinals at The Calgary Stampede with consecutive 88.5-point ride en route to a third place finish in the Showdown. On seven rides at the Stampede, Holman was marked at least 80.5 on every single one and averaged 85.9 points.
Cinch Playoffs, $10,100
The new year-end event in Puyallup was kind to Holman. He won the First Roun which paid $3,600 and made the Finals, where he was 83 on Baby Kibitz to take third and cash an additional $6,500 check. Holman ended the season with 10 consecutive rides in the 80s.
San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo, $8,000
Holman made the Finals of San Antonio by placing in two rounds in Bracket 2 before splitting Semifinal 2 with Zeke Thurston. Both cowboys were 89.5 points, which was Holman’s best ride of of the rodeo.
HIGHEST MARKED RIDES
Tri-State Rodeo Cinch Chute Out, 90.5 Points
Holman won both rounds of the Tri-State Cinch Chute Out and put an exclamation point on his win with 90.5 points on The Cervi Brothers’ Womanizer in the Finals. He left Fort Madison, Iowa with nearly $4,000 in prize money.
Xtreme Broncs Finals, 90 Points
The highly competitive Xtreme Broncs Finals had four rides of 90+ in the Finals and one of them belonged to Holman, who did so on Freckles. He was 88.5 in the First Round to bring his two-head Average to 178.5 points to tie Ryder Wright for second. Every cowboy in the Top 7 in the Average at the Xtreme Broncs Finals made the NFR in 2022.
NOTABLE WINS
Oakley Independence Day Rodeo, 89 Points
One of his two wins over the Fourth of July, Holman rode Hell Boy for 89 points to win in Utah. He also won the Killdeer Mountain Roundup with 87 aboard Straight Jacket. Those two rides paid him over $8,000 combined.
MSU-Northern PRCA Extreme Broncs Challenge, 84 Points
The win in Killdeer was not the only time J Bar J’s Straight Jacket carried Holman to the winner’s circle. On April 2, he rode that horse for 84 points to share the MSU-Northern title with Sage Newman, who finished the regular season No. 1 in the world.
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