Wrangler NFR qualifiers set pace in Fort Worth

FORT WORTH –The 116thannual Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo (FWSSR) officially kicked off Thursday night, and already is record breaking.

This year’s rodeo is set to payout over $600,000; the largest amount ever for Fort Worth. Cowboys from the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) and barrel racers from the Woman’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) will compete at the Will Rogers Coliseum over the next two weeks. Each contestant is competingforthe same goal – make it back to the 12-man finalround onFeb. 4, and take home the 2012 FWSSR championship buckle of their event and a piece of the record-breaking prize money.

Although the rodeo officially kicked off Thursday night, tie-down ropers and steer wrestlers started competing Tuesday and Wednesday in what is known as slack.The FWSSR is one of the few rodeos that accommodate all timed-event contestants who want to enter.In order for this to happen, the rodeocommittee set aside two days prior to kick-off forthosecontestants. For onerising star,these two days put him at the top of the pack in the tie-down roping.

Fresh off his first trip to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, tie-down roper Cory Solomon, from Prairie View, Texas,was quick to rope his calf, quick to tie his calf, and quick to take the lead in the first round of the rodeo competition.Solomon posted an 8.7-second time in the slack and leads the first round of the tie-down competition.“I finally broke the ice for 2012,” said Solomon.“I said I was going to do it and I knew if I did my job, I would.”

All-Around World Champion Ryan Jarrett and four-time NFR qualifier Wade Sumpter both posted 3.6-second times during the steer wrestling slack on Wednesday; andare tied for the lead in the first round.Although Sumpter was just shy of going to his fifth NFR in 2011, his steer wrestling horse Dashes Dapper Star, better known as Wick, took home the honor of American Quarter Horse Association Steer Wrestling Horse of the Year.

Rodeo action continues with the second performance on Friday, Jan. 20,at 7:30 p.m.