Header Jake Smith turns his steer for heeler Douglas Rich during their 4.6-second run Tuesday night to take the team roping lead at Rooftop Rodeo.
(PHOTO BY PHILLIP KITTS)

 

ESTES PARK, Colo. – Team roper Jake Smith takes a spiritual approach to rodeo, and it’s paying dividends.

He’s a header, roping with heeler Douglas Rich of Herrick, Illinois. They are fourth in their respective standings and arrived in Estes Park needing a bit of a spark. They got it with a 4.6-second run during Tuesday’s second performance of Rooftop Rodeo.

“I’ve been super blessed to get to do what I love to do,” said Smith, 33, a two-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier from Broken Bow, Oklahoma. “I’m especially blessed with friends, family and the sport of rodeo. It’s awesome.”

He grew up in a roping family in southeastern Oklahoma. For a long time, he was a heeler and switched ends to heading about three years ago when he teamed with Rich. They’ve qualified for the NFR together each of the past two years.

“We still pray every time before the rodeo starts, and that’s a great thing,” said Smith, the younger brother of two-time world champion Clay Smith. “What makes it nicer is just to realize that, hey, this isn’t the most important thing and doing what God wants you to do is. I’m a work in progress always, but it makes me enjoy things so much more to know rodeo ain’t first, and that makes rodeoing much more fun.”

True to form, Smith explained that he and Rich struggled recently. They wanted things to turn around, but the faith he shares is what has guided him through the down-cycle.

“I haven’t done great, so it was nice to kind of turn it around right here,” he said. “Hopefully we can keep pushing on. If I turn a steer, Doug will catch him, so that’s all it takes.”

That’s the confidence the two have in one another, and it’s a proven commodity. Only the top 15 in the world standings at the end of the regular season advance to the NFR. They are in good position to return to Las Vegas together for the third straight year, but they need to maintain the ups and downs that come with rodeo.

“I have a great partner and a great family, and he has a great family,” Smith said. “Everybody wants us to do good, and if we don’t, it ain’t the end of the world. We can still laugh and cut up and stuff like that. It makes the downs way better.”

For now, Smith and Rich are riding high in the Rocky Mountains.