ProRodeo Sports News - Dec. 21, 2018

TIE-DOWN ROPING AVERAGE WINNER

Tie-down roper Caleb Smidt stopped the clock in 8.5 seconds in Round 5 to place fifth. It was part of his strong Wrangler NFR performance, which helped him win a world championship and an average title.

PRCA ProRodeo photo by James Phifer

Smidt Shines: Texan wins average for 2nd time

BY TRACY RENCK S ince Caleb Smidt first arrived on the PRCA scene he’s been turning heads. The Bellville, Texas, cowboy was the 2013 PRCA | Resistol All- Around and Tie-down Roping Rookie of the Year and qualified for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo that season. Smidt has qualified for every Wrangler NFR since, except for 2014 when he suffered a severe, right leg injury which ended his season in May. At the most recent Wrangler NFR, Smidt had his skills on display in full force, winning the tie-down roping average crown for the second time, which vaulted him to his second world title. Smidt won the average with an 83.7-second time on 10 head. “I started off good, placed in the first three rounds and won the first round,” Smidt said. “I got some money bottled up there, and the second half (the final five rounds), I was just getting them turned around, tying them down, and that’s what won me the average.” Smidt won Round 1 with a 7.6-second run, and that got him going. “This is awesome, and any round you win here is good,” said Smidt, who entered the Wrangler NFR in eighth place in the 2018 PRCA | RAMWorld Standings. “That was good to start off this week like this, and fortunately I was able to keep it going.” That he did. Smidt followed up his Round 1 effort by placing second in Round 2 (7.8 seconds) and sixth in Round 3 (7.9 seconds). He added a fifth-place finish in

Round 5 (8.5 seconds), a split for fourth place in Round 8 (7.6 seconds) and split for sixth place in Round 10 (8.1 seconds). “You get a little nervous every time you back in there, and if you’re not nervous I don’t know what you’re doing here,” he said. “I get nervous back there, but once you get back in the box you have to think about what you have to do and just rope to the best of your ability.” Before arriving at the Wrangler NFR, Smidt acknowledged it had been a trying time for his family emotionally. On Nov. 4, newlywed couple Will Byler and his wife, Bailee Ackerman Byler, were leaving their wedding ceremony in a helicopter and died when the helicopter crashed. Smidt is married toWill’s sister Brenna. “My family has been through a lot, and they came out and supported me and gave me the courage to know that I can win,” Smidt said. “They are the strongest people in the world and rely on God for everything, and that’s what is getting us through this.” Eight days after the tragic crash, Brenna gave birth to their daughter, Myla. This is the Smidt’s second child. Their son, Cru, is 2. “I’m going to celebrate these wins (the world championship and average) by spending time with family,” Smidt said. Smidt also took a moment to reflect on what got him to this point in his rodeo career, where he’s earned more than $1 million. “Just never giving up,” he said. “All I ever wanted to do was rope calves. You can just never give up. I promise you if I can do it, anybody can do it. It takes a lot of work and a lot of sweat, but anybody can do it.”

ProRodeo Sports News 12/21/2018

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