Tyrell Smith keeping the faith; it’s paying off
Faith and family have helped many a man persevere.
The combination is certainly paying off for Great Falls-area cowboy Tyrell Smith. The 29-year-old saddle bronc star is making a push for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo thanks to a renewed commitment to what he says are the most important things in life.
“I’ve been more focused on why I’m riding, just that I’m grateful and blessed to be able to do it,” he said. “I guess it’s kind of a second chance of doing things right.”
Smith isn’t partying with alcohol these days. His marriage is nearly a year old. And he’s riding better than ever.
Smith won more than $3,000 with a victory Sunday at the Fallon County PRCA Rodeo in Baker. Last week he also won third place in Canby, Ore., and pocketed a little money in Caldwell, Idaho.
It’s enough to vault him into the top 15 in the PRCA world standings. He’s dominating the Montana Circuit in the bronc riding with more than $20,000 in earnings, which has been the basis for his NFR surge
THE SADDLE BRONC ace qualified for Las Vegas for the first time in 2012 and now feels like a different cowboy.
“Completely,” he said. “Some of the people I know of how I used to be, and thinking back on it it’s a completely different person.”
He hasn’t had a drink for more than 18 months.
“Heck, it’s easy,” he said. “It was difficult at first, but not now. It’s not that big of a weight on a guy’s shoulders when you know what you’re riding for and you’ve got your faith in your corner. That’s been a big help to me.”
Smith was born in Great Falls and graduated from high school in Geyser. He and his wife, Janelle, purchased a small horse ranch near Sand Coulee.
Smith said his marriage has contributed to his rodeo resurgence.
“She’s kind of been the focal point,” he said. “Janelle was the one who led me back to my faith and to dive into it wholeheartedly instead of just when it was convenient. I believe that’s been the biggest factor this season. The little mishaps or weeks when you don’t draw good aren’t as crushing because as my God tells me, it’s His will and not mine. And whatever happens is supposed to happen. And the little bumps in the road are either to make me stronger in character or shine His glory even more than an ultimate victory in the end.”
This could be the year he returns to Las Vegas. And if so, he plans to be riding high.
“It’s been on my mind and in my heart this year that I’ll be back there regardless,” Smith said. “I believe that the guy I am now is more than worthy of getting a gold buckle won. It’s just a matter of whether it’s this year or in the years to come. If I just keep focused and doing my job and looking into my faith even more, it will come to pass.”
Smith is healthy, other than a sprained ankle that bothers me when he’s walking and not in the saddle.
He had back surgery in 2009, shoulder surgery in 2014 and wrist surgery last fall. He said he’s now in the best shape of his life.
“I spent the better part of the beginning of the season doing two-a-day workouts and stuff, knowing that come July and August as hard as we run it’s hard to maintain that level of working out all the time consistently,” he said. “It’s worked out. Nothing’s falling apart on me.”
Smith will never forget when he first qualified for the NFR in 2012. Is it possible anything could be more fun?
“It’s more fun now,” he said. “More fun for me because the conversations I have with these young guys these days are maybe more enlightened. We can sit down and talk about bucking horses, or our individual faiths, and really get into solutions instead of the ‘poor me pity-party stuff.’
“It’s been a lot more fun for me, just a different kind of fun. It’s not the stereotypical rodeo guy that goes and parties all the time. To me that’s about as far from fun for me as it can get.”
MONTANA HAS LONG been renowned for great bronc riders, a list that includes such champions as Dan Mortensen, Ryan Mapston, Jess Martin, Bud Munroe and J.C. Bonine.
The city of Great Falls was placed on the saddle bronc map a few years ago when Jesse Kruse emerged as one of the most talented athletes in the sport. Kruse earned three WNFR trips, won the PRCA Rookie of the Year Award in saddle bronc in 2007 and four years later earned a world championship.
Now Smith hopes to make more Great Falls history in the bronc riding.
“As long I keep on the path, heck, it wouldn’t be anything to get back there (to the NFR) another four or five times, if not more,” he said. “And instead of just getting there, being in a good spot to be in contention for a world title.
“In the end it would be a heckuva deal to join guys like Dan Mortensen and Jesse as world champions. I can dang-sure say that Kruse left some big shoes to fill as far as being a home-state hero. It’s something I’d dang-sure love to rise to the occasion and if that’s in the cards, I’ll be more than happy to meet that challenge.”
AMONG THE NOTABLE results from PRCA rodeos in Montana last week was Luke Gee’s victory in the bull riding in Circle, and Bill Boyce’s triumph in the steer wrestling in Kalispell.
Boyce, the Lewistown star who took about five years off from competitive rodeo because of injuries and family commitments, is trying to earn his way to the Circuit Finals in several events.
He’s been there before.
Boyce won the coveted year-end all-around championship in the Montana Circuit in 1998. He’s won three year-end titles in tie-down roping and has won average championships at the MPRF in both tie-down and bulldogging.
Entering the week, Boyce ranks sixth among Montana Circuit bulldoggers. He is 14th in the tie-down roping. The top 12 finishers in the standings in each event qualify for the MPRF, slated again this January in Great Falls.
THE PRCA HAS announced that the ProRodeo Hall of Fame is playing host to a special weekend this fall at Paws Up, a 37,000-acre Montana ranch near Greenough that features more than 100 miles of trails and 10 miles of private access to the Blackfoot River.
The event is slated Oct. 20-23 at The Resort at Paws Up and guests will mingle with four rodeo legends and hone their equestrian skills under the tutelage of Hall of Fame athletes.
The special-guest inductees include Larry Mahan, an eight-time all-around and bull riding world champion; Monty “Hawkeye” Henson, a three-time world champion saddle bronc rider; Montana native Bud Munroe, a world champion saddle bronc rider, and Paul Tierney, a tie-down roping and all-around world champion.
The event is an all-inclusive weekend package priced at $3,350 per couple or $2,199 per person. Phone 877-588-6783 for reservations.
Scott Mansch is Tribune Sports Columnist and writes often about rodeo in the spring and summer. He can be reached at 791-1481, smansch@greatfallstribune.com or on Twitter @GFTrib_SMansch