SOLBERG'S LUCKY NUMBER SEVENS
July 14 , 2009

The number seven is considered lucky in North American culture, and for bareback rider Michael Solberg, that luck came in pairs.

The Sunnynook, Alta. cowboy placed second at the Harmon Valley Rodeo in Peace River, Alta. on Saturday afternoon with 77 points on Harvey Northcott’s Fare Warning, a horse the 24-year-old had tangled with once before.

Solberg first met the mare at the Leduc Black Gold Pro Rodeo back in May.

“That horse had a lot of moves, but didn’t really buck at all. I scored really, really, really low,” he remembered.

This time out of the chutes was a lot different.

And it didn’t hurt that he talked with contractor Ace Northcott and was told, “if you ride that horse you should be able to win, and if you spur her, she’ll jump and kick,” Solberg shared.

“And I had a little trouble. She left bad at the start, but once I spurred her, she just blew up for me, and it felt good.”

The ride was worth $762. Solberg was up next at the Teepee Creek Stampede on Sunday afternoon.

There he faced off with Dear Abby, a colt that Outlawbuckers Rodeo Corp. had been trying out in the novice events, but recently graduated to the open.

“I talked to Reid Rowan, and he said he’d seen her, and I talked to Ward Henry, and he said, ‘just mark her out hard and she should just blow up for you,’ and that’s exactly what she did. I had a little bit of a loose rigging on and I thought I was going to go flying over the neck every time [she bucked], but everything felt good,” Solberg said.

He scored another 77, worth a first place cheque for $1,045.

Both 77-point rides earned him enough money to bump him from 16th in the bareback standings and into the top 10. This weekend he’s up at the Manitoba Stampede in Morris, Man. but he’s not too sure about the horse he’s drawn, Vold Rodeo’s North 40.

“We’re just going to fly out there, fly back, and hopefully win.”