ProRodeo Sports News - January 25, 2019

RAM FIRST CIRCUIT FINALS FRONTIER

BIG GOALS FOR 2019

rodeoing … In the Southeast

Now, Smith has bigger fish to fry. “I hadn’t tried for the Finals the last few years, but this year I want to make the NFR and give it a go,” Smith said. It’s not just talk. Smith is hitting the gym with Doug Champion, the older brother of bareback rider Richmond Champion. “He’s my personal trainer and puts together workout routines,” Smith said. “I feel I’ve gotten a lot stronger. At the circuit finals, everything felt so good, it was easy. I wasn’t sore and hurting, so mainly it’s just taking care of your body.” So far, Smith’s best season was in 2013 when he won $30,057 and was 32nd in the world standings. As of Jan. 25, he was on track to surpass his personal best, as he’s ranked 11th in the 2019 PRCA | RAMWorld Standings with $11,032. “That’s a big boost for the world standings,” Smith said. “It sets me up and allows me to go rodeo. It makes a guy want to go rodeo and see what he can do and try to make the Finals.” Considering how the 2019 season is going, Palmer is confident his traveling partner can make his Wrangler NFR dream come true. “We will start going hard in a few weeks,” Palmer said. “He just needs to keep it simple and do what he knows and have fun. When you put too much pressure on yourself that’s when you mess up. If you love it for what rodeo is, and don’t worry about riding, he’ll have a blast and do it.”

you can get four rodeos a weekend, but up there you’re lucky to get two in

a weekend if they have rodeos other than Cowtown (Rodeo at Woodstown Pilesgrove, N.J.) and the Pony (The Painted Pony Championship Rodeo in Lake Luzerne, N.Y.), so that’s what makes it so hard. For a guy who doesn’t live up there it’s tough to be away from home and have to move up there and live.” But Smith wasn’t going at it alone, he had 26-year-old Arkansas bareback rider Tim Palmer in the rig with him. Palmer’s rookie season was 2018 and his first time going hard. “It’s pretty cool because Matt’s been in the game a long time,” Palmer said. “So, for a guy like me just getting going he’s been very instrumental in helping me get from not even in the Top 100 to being in contention for going somewhere.” GOING BIG IN HARRISBURG Smith entered the RAM FFCFR leading the circuit’s standings with $11,296. Smith and TimKent were

tied going into the final round, but Smith came out five points clear in the three-head average. “TimKent is a beast up there,” Smith said. “He’s won the circuit five or six times, and to be honest I just out-drew him.” Smith placed second in the first round with 78 points and won the final two rounds with 81- and 82-point rides, respectively. “His second two horses bucked good and consistently,” Palmer said. “I was proud of him.” Smith’s 82-point ride on Painted Pony Championship Rodeo’s Lovely Lexi was the deciding factor in Harrisburg, Pa. “I knew what horse I had and how many points I needed, and I knew she would do her part and I just had to do my part,” Smith said. “It worked out perfectly for me.” His total of 241 points on three head was worth $7,863. “Man, it’s great, there’s some good competition up there, and I’m thankful and blessed to be able to do it,” Smith said. “It’s hard rodeoing up there. To win that circuit, it’s a goal I can check off.”

John Leinaweaver won the All-Around thanks to his third-place ride in the first round of bull riding and winning the steer wrestling average with 15.6 seconds on three head. Casey Martin photo

Complete results on Page 44

SADDLE BRONC RIDING 1. Clovis Crane ............. 217 pts. on three 2. Joe Farren ..................................... 205 3. Will Stites .......................... 121 on two No other qualified rides.

TIE-DOWN ROPING 1. Tim Naylor .............. 31.4 sec. on three 2. Darren Morgan ............................. 41.6 3. Drew Carnes ................................. 47.4 4. J.R. Myers ........................ 20.6 on two

BARREL RACING 1. April Masterson .... 44.90 sec. on three 2. Dawn Powell ............................... 45.73 3. Wendy Chesnut .......................... 46.38 4. Crystal Marshall ......................... 46.40

BULL RIDING 1. Austin Beaty ............ 154.5 pts. on two 2. Jamie Griswold .................... 79 on one 3. Parker Shimp ................................... 76 4. Scott Sellers ................................. 75.5

ProRodeo Sports News 1/25/2019

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