Northwestern Oklahoma State Univerity freshman Riley Smith grabbled the steer wrestling title for the Rangers this past weekend at the Fort Hays (Kansas) State Rodeo. It was his first intercollegiate title.
(PHOTO BY DALE HIRSCHMAN)

 

ALVA, Okla. – Riley Smith’s rodeo resume looks like an octopus’ arms.

He’s a bronc rider, a team roper, a steer wrestler and a tie-down roper for Northwestern Oklahoma State University. He might be one of the busiest cowboys at any intercollegiate rodeo. The kicker? He wasn’t even raised in a rodeo family.

“My grandpa team roped a little bit,” he said. “Ever since I’ve started, I’ve worked both ends of the arena and tried to do as many events as I could. I just enjoy doing all of it, and I think it helps be to be able to go to a rodeo and if one thing doesn’t go well, then I have another even that I can try to make up for it.”

He more than made up for it this past weekend, winning the Fort Hays (Kansas) State University rodeo’s steer wrestling title. He dropped his first steer in 4.7 seconds to finish in a three-way tie for second place, then stopped the clock in 5.3 seconds to finish fourth in the championship round. His two-run cumulative time of 10.0 seconds was just enough for the outright victory.

“I do all the events, but steer wrestling is definitely my top priority,” said Smith, a freshman from Poteau, Oklahoma. “I knew I wanted to go to a school where I was going to grow with that. I looked at a couple of schools that were closer to my home in southeast Oklahoma.

“But I came up here and saw what they had, and I really liked it. I thought it would be a good group of people to be around to help me get better and push me.”

It must be working. The Rangers had five bulldoggers in the Fort Hays State short round, and all gathered points. Nathan Duvall of Henryetta, Oklahoma, finished third; Tydon Tsosie of Crownpoint, New Mexico, was fourth; Sam Daly of Tryon, Nebraska, was sixth; and Hazen Sparks of Talihina, Oklahoma, joined Smith in that three-way tie for runner-up in the opening round.

In the Central Plains Region standings, Duvall leads the charge with 735 points. Tsosie is second, 170 points behind. Four more Rangers bulldoggers are among the top 10. Smith, who sits eighth, has a legitimate chance to move up in the points race during the final rodeo of the region’s season this coming weekend in Guymon, Oklahoma.

“That would mean a lot,” said Smith, who recognized a lot of things must go right if he were to finish among the top three and advance to the College National Finals Rodeo. “That’s been my goal since I came here. I had to send my bulldogging horse home at the start of this semester because she got hurt, and it’s been rough just trying to get some practice runs in and trying to get a horse I can get a feel for.”

He’s found it in Daly’s Rogue, an 11-year-old sorrel gelding. The combination of a trusted stead and all-around athleticism worked in Smith’s favor.

“I’m just grateful for the opportunity, and coming to college has been a lot of fun and been a lot of help in my events because I’ve had a lot of resources and a lot of supportive people,” he said. “I think I drew good, and I also rode Sam Daly’s bulldogging horse. He gave me a good opportunity to do my job. After I sent my bulldogging horse home, I’ve been mounting out on other people’s horses, and Sam was nice enough to let me ride his and haze for me as well.”

That’s teamwork at its finest.

“I’m really excited for Riley to get his first college rodeo win under his belt,” coach Cali Griffin said, pointing out that assistant coach Emmett Edler has been an asset. “Emmett’s been doing a great job in the practice pen with the guys, and I think it shows in the standings as well as individual rodeo placings.

“Riley is a great kid who works hard in multiple events for us. I’m glad to see his hard work is paying off.”

The Rangers had several others in the championship round at Hays, including tie-down roper Kerry Duvall of Oakdale, California, who finished sixth. Bleu Hall of Okmulgee, Oklahoma, led the way for the Rangers women, placing sixth in both breakaway roping and goat-tying. Maggie King of Granville, New York, scored a tie for third place in the opening round of goats.

Joining Hall in the breakaway finale were Payton Dingman of Pryor, Oklahoma, who earned the most points, and Savannah Greenfield of Lakeview, Oregon, who also earned a short-round bid by winning the first round of team roping with teammate Grady Aasby of Highmore, South Dakota. Dingman placed in both rounds and finished second in breakaway roping.

The tandem of Greenfield and Aasby weren’t the only Rangers in the short-round field of team ropers. Y’Leigh Yarbrough of Cheyenne, Oklahoma, and John Harrell of Sperry, Oklahoma, placed in the first round. Header Carter Anderson of Merriman, Nebraska, placed in the finale and average while roping with James Drueke of Southwestern Oklahoma State University. Header Kendyll Miller of Hennessey, Oklahoma, made the short round with Cole Beasley of Southeastern Oklahoma State University.

With just one rodeo remaining, there are several Rangers fighting to finish among the top three to advance to Casper, Wyoming, in June. Dingman is second in goat-tying; Miller and Brylee Zook of Garnett, Kansas, are in the mix in breakaway roping; Anderson has an outside shot in tie-down roping; and Colter Snook of Ford, Kansas, is third in heeling.

Duvall and Tsosie are locked into their steer wrestling qualifications to the college finals, but there are three other Northwestern cowboys in the hunt: Edler, a graduate student from State Center, Iowa, is fourth, just 10 points out of third place; Daly and Smith are also on the outside looking in.

“I think the big lesson for me this year has been to not let your performance in the arena affect how you feel about yourself,” Smith said. “I think if you have a couple of bad rodeos or some bad practices, you want to get down on yourself and let that affect you. I think you have to separate what happens inside the arena from your life outside the arena.

“That’s something I’ve been having to remind myself about a lot. It might not go your way sometimes, so you’ve just got to keep a positive attitude and keep going.”