Women in Rodeo: Emma Smith Builds Momentum in Resistol Rookie of the Year Race

Earning the Resistol Rookie of the Year title is one of the most coveted awards a young athlete can earn. Barrel racer Emma Smith may be the first in her family to enter the rodeo arena, but she is killing it in her first season as she sits at No. 3 in the rookie standings behind Morgan Bagnell and Jaylan Neatherlin.

Smith Takes To ProRodeo

With 24 rodeos under her belt this season, this cowgirl doesn’t plan on slowing down anytime soon as she’s pocketed $16,271. While Bagnell is quite a bit ahead of her, with $36,701, Smith is proving she has what it takes to hold her own against other cowgirls her age.

The cowgirl out of Pleasanton, Texas is setting herself up for success in the race for the rookie of the year title. Now 24 years old, she is navigating the ProRodeo circuit for the first time and doing a solid job. During her time in college rodeo at Texas A&M, she qualified for the College National Finals Rodeo three times.

It was earlier this season that she earned her first big win in Bay City, Texas and although things have slowed a bit for the cowgirl, she has a big summer ahead of her with plenty of chances to earn some cash. Despite sitting at No. 86 in the world standings (a chance for a National Finals Rodeo qualification is unlikely) she isn’t letting that deter her from winning big the rest of the year.

In an interview earlier this year with Barrelracing.com, Smith talked about her goals for this season.

“I want to rodeo hard and I want to give it my best possible opportunity to do as well as I can,” said Smith. “I would love to win rookie. That is my goal.”

A Major Setback

While Smith continues to work her way up in the rankings this year, she does so with some solid horsepower underneath her. Her original rodeo mare, One First Class Lady, took her through college rodeo and when the two were ready to go pro, the mare passed suddenly in December.

While the tragedy set Smith back, she didn’t let it completely ruin her time in rodeo. She soon bounced back with a gelding named Creed. They have had a good run together this year and make a formidable duo as they climb the leaderboard for the rookie of the year title.

While this cowgirl has a solid future in ProRodeo, only time will tell if she has what it takes to earn a qualification for the NFR, but first things first, the Resistol Rookie of the Year isn’t announced until December, and she won’t stop until that title is hers.

Add us as a preferred source on Google