Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883

Runnin' Down a Dream

Connie Soderholm is a farmer’s wife, a mom of two, and an educator. She’s also a top 10 barrel racer and breakaway roper in the Roughrider Rodeo Association. And she’s getting it all done at the young age of 50.

Her story begins in Velva, N.D., where her mom was a first-generation horse owner. She got her daughters involved in 4-H horse shows at a young age with an equine companion purchased for her by her husband.

Spurred on by her sister, Connie started competing in rodeo at age 15. Connie bypassed the high school rodeo circuit and joined the Roughrider Rodeo Association right out of the gate. The association has members all across North Dakota, as well as in Montana, Minnesota, South Dakota and Canada. Connie’s primary events were junior goat tying and junior barrel racing. She ran for money and standings in the regional circuit for 14 straight years, from 1985 - 1999.

Connie chose to attend NDSU so she could compete in rodeo. She pursued an education degree, and finished her general ed courses. But she faced a bit of a dilemma, as her chosen profession was elementary education, and NDSU didn’t offer the degree at the time. However, she ended up in the right place at the right time so to speak. Quite a few athletes there were pursuing elementary education degrees, so NDSU entered into a cooperative agreement with nearby Valley City State University. Connie was among the first class to graduate through this cooperative agreement, and as a result she holds an elementary education degree from Valley City State University without ever taking a class on the Valley City campus.

This agreement continues today. According to the NDSU website, students are concurrently enrolled in the human development and family science (HDFS) major (child development option) through North Dakota State University and the elementary education major through Valley City State University (VCSU). The culmination of these requirements leads to a bachelor’s degree from NDSU (human development and family science major/child development option) as well as a bachelor’s degree from VCSU (elementary education major). Students remain on the NDSU campus to complete all coursework for a dual degree. The courses specific to the elementary education major (VCSU) are offered on the NDSU campus by VCSU faculty.

After her older son Seth was born in 1999, Connie slowed down and then eventually stopped competing in 2006. After all, her focus was on her two sons, training them to compete in rodeo and cheering them on in the arena as well as in other sports. Seth is now in his senior year at Valley City State University, and Colter graduated from New Rockford-Sheyenne High School last spring.

Facing an empty nest, Connie recently redirected her focus back into rodeo competition. She purchased an 8-year-old American quarter horse from Phil Haugen of Weatherford, Okla., in October of 2017. Haugen has trained over 1,000 horses for the public with a training career spanning over 30 years.

Wishing Stik, or Wish for short, had been started, roped with, and patterned for barrels before she landed in the stables at the Soderholm farm, but she still needed to be finished. “I got her just in time to do that,” Connie says.

Connie worked with Wish for a couple of years, grooming her for competition. Colter actually started using her for rodeos first, as he needed a heeling horse for team roping, Connie explained. She and Wish did compete in a couple of rodeos last year, but it wasn’t until December of 2019 that she dove head-first back into full-time competition. She set a lofty goal too, as she aimed to make it to the Roughrider Rodeo Finals in both of her events- barrel racing and breakaway roping- in her first season.

Connie and Wish competed in an indoor barrel racing series this past winter in St. John, N.D. Then, COVID-19 hit as they prepared for both Colter’s spring high school rodeos and Connie’s barrel racing events. The high school rodeo season was cancelled due to COVID-19, but Connie was able to compete in some barrel racing events.

Roughrider Rodeo Association cowboys and cowgirls had the opportunity to run in seven different rodeos this past season, with the other three events in the 10-rodeo series canceled due to COVID-19. Connie and her trusty steed competed together in both events, which is rare in the rodeo circuit. “That just shows, you know, the all-around ability of the horse,” Connie explained.

At the end of the season, Connie discovered that she had indeed met her goal. She sat in eighth in both events, enough to qualify for the Roughrider Rodeo Finals in Jamestown on Oct 16-18. The top 10 competitors in each event earn the right to compete.

After strong runs at the finals, she finished in 8th place for breakaway roping and moved up to 6th place in barrels She ended up third overall for ladies all-around events. “Especially considering the people who I was up against, I was proud of how we had done,” Connie reflects.

Connie’s son Colter also competed in the finals. He wasn’t able to practice due to college demands, which had an impact on his performance. He was in fourth place in tie down roping heading into the finals, and he dropped to seventh after the event.

Lacey Grann of Sheyenne captured the Roughrider Rodeo Association goat tying championship for the first time in her career, a longtime goal of hers. She was in the top position headed into the finals.

What’s next for this seasoned cowgirl? Well, hold onto your hats. Next weekend, she’s headed to the Women’s Pro Rodeo Association (WPRA) World Finals in Waco, Texas to participate in a permit barrel race. She has her sights set on the next level of competition. Connie bought her pro rodeo permit for barrel racing. She needs to fill her permit by winning $1,000 in WPRA sanctioned events in order to buy a card and begin regular competition on the pro rodeo circuit. She would be part of the Badlands Circuit, which consists of North Dakota and South Dakota. Her long-range goal is to qualify for the Badland Circuit finals.

“You have to put yourself out there,” Connie concluded. “You’re not growing and improving if you are not uncomfortable.” This whole rodeo journey has been about that for Connie, and right now she’s shining in that discomfort.