Dec 1, 2022
Sophia Deluca
Somebody had to be first. Unfortunately for Sophia Deluca, she drew the short straw at the Junior World Finals on Thursday morning at the Wrangler Rodeo Arena.
Competing in her first Junior World Finals, the Sykesville, Maryland, cowgirl was the first competitor in the first event â the 10-11 division of bull riding. Deluca covered her bull for the first couple of jumps before it made a sharp turn to the right and sent her to the dirt.
âShe was already a bundle of nerves,â Tony Deluca, Sophiaâs dad, said. âThat girlâs got too much anxiety in the morning just getting on the school bus on time. So putting her on a bull is five times worse, and being first out of the chute is the worst thing in the world for her. The one thing she said before we came out here was, âI donât care what happens as long as they donât make me go first.ââ
Sophia agreed with her dadâs assessment. âI was all-the-way nervous,â she admitted.
Still, for someone who only started riding bulls a year ago, Deluca has proven to be a quick study. Her family owns a small farm in the north-central part of the state â Tony calls it a âhobby farmâ â but they drive a couple of hours to New Jersey so Sophia can practice. Their usual practice arena is at the home of Michael Carusoâs family. Caruso won the 16-18 bull riding division at last yearâs Junior World Finals.
âA friend of ours does it and Iâd seen it on TV,â Sophia said of her initial interest in the sport. âAnd adrenaline is what keeps me going, so I decided I was just going to try it. And I loved it.â
She had no problem convincing her dad to let her pursue her latest adventure. Convincing her mom, though, proved to be a little more difficult.
âWe have a friend who is a little bit older and he was having a blast (riding bulls),â Tony said. âWe went and saw him ride and she just had to do it. It took a while to beat her mama down, but she finally wore her down. Mom had it in her mind that she would try it and it would scare her to death and she wouldnât want to do it again. But thatâs just not how it went.
âSophia tried it, she loved it, and now thatâs her favorite thing. She plays other sports, and she does a lot of ATV and dirt bike riding, but this is definitely her favorite.â
Sophia competed in the Northeast Region of Lealâs Junior Bull Riding. At first, the 12-year-old seventh grader thought she was simply riding for fun, and the adrenaline rush. She had no idea where her newfound love might lead her.
âHonestly, I didnât even know what I was qualifying for the first few months,â she said. âAt the (regional awards) ceremony, I was like, âWait. What are we doing?â And then when I found out I was all day, every day ⌠âWhen is Vegas? I canât wait for Vegas.â
Tony laughed when recalling Sophiaâs initial thoughts of qualifying for the Junior World Finals.
âShe didnât even know what Vegas was until we got here,â he said. âIt was an eye-opener for her. She just like riding bulls. Sheâs not trying to be a world champion. Sheâs not trying to be the first girl to do anything, she just likes riding bulls.â
Although a number of Junior World Finals contestants have dreams of one day competing at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, Sophia is setting her sights a little lower.
âI donât want to go pro because I donât want to do that to my body,â she said with a smile. âAs soon as I hit that mark where I know what Iâm doing and Iâm comfortable with the sport, Iâm probably going to stop there. Iâve got a long way to go, though.â
She took another step in her development Thursday, even if the result wasnât what she wanted. Sophia has her second ride Saturday morning, which she was already thinking about just minutes after her ride Thursday morning.
âMy nerves will settle down and Iâll be like, âWhoa!ââ she said. âIâll re-watch my ride over and over again until my next one and then weâll see what happens.
âThat (ride) gives me a lot more confidence. Going first probably still wouldnât be the best, but I feel like Iâm way more ready. That was my practice bull and now Iâm ready.â
Tony is confident that Sophia will be up to the challenge.
âThat was a nice bucking bull for these youngsters,â he said of her first bull. âShe would have got a helluva score if she would have covered that bull. I think she did really well and if she rides like that on Saturday I think sheâll probably get a score.â