Eight-second ride: Area youth to compete in bull-riding
Wearing chaps, a protective vest and holding his helmet, Cooper Smitley is ready for his shot at the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas in December.
Cooper Smitley is upping his game. In 2012, Smitley, then 9 years old, was the reigning World Champion in the Wrangler Limited division of Cowboy Mounted Shooting. At the time Smitley said he wanted to be a bull rider when he grew up. He didn’t wait long to fulfill that dream.
Smitley began competing in rodeos two years ago in the calf-roping competition. Later he took on bull riding but not without some encouragement.
“At one of our rodeos my friend asked me to do bull riding, and I did it, and I fell in love,” he said, adding that the thing he likes most about the sport is “the adrenaline rush.”
His dedication to bull riding has earned him a spot in the Junior National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, which will begin Dec. 7. Bull-riding qualifiers will begin on that date through Dec. 10 with the final competition to be held on Dec. 11, where only the top-10 finalists will compete.
Bull-riding competitors are separated into four age groups for competition: 10-11, 12-13, 14-15 and 16-17. Smitley is scheduled to begin competing on Dec. 8.
Smitley, 14, is in the eighth grade at Indian Valley Middle School and is the son of Mike Smitley of Uhrichsville and Dawn Smitley of Pickerington.
The National Finals Rodeo is the highlight of the year for rodeo participants and fans alike. Earning a spot in the finals is tough.
“Only 80 kids out of the United States, Canada and Mexico qualify for nationals,” Smitley said.
He competed in many rodeos including some in Maryland and Ohio to get to the nationals.
Keeping in shape is essential to being successful in the sport. “I have a machine in my garage that simulates bull riding, and I get on that every night,” said Smitley, who also lifts weights to increase his strength and does bareback horse riding to improve his balance. He has been riding horses since he was 3 years old.
Not only do you need to have good balance and upper-body strength, but also good foot placement to stay on the bull for the full eight seconds required. Riders must have one hand on the bull rope and one hand in the air to qualify for a score. The clock is stopped if the rider’s free hand touches himself, the bull or the ground. The clock is started when the bull’s shoulder or hip breaks the plane of the gate.
A possible 100 points can be awarded for each bull-riding attempt. The bulls are judged as well as the riders. Each can earn up to 50 points. No score is given to the rider who does not stay on the bull for the required time.
Bull riding is not for the faint of heart, and despite the safety equipment bull riders use, the sport can be dangerous. Smitley had one close call last summer that also showed how hard it is to keep a cowboy down.
“I had a hematoma on my lung that put me in the hospital overnight, and then I [participated in a rodeo] the next morning,” he said of an incident where the bull got the best of him.
For more information on the National Finals Rodeo, go to www.nfrexperience.com. Junior NFR results will be posted daily on their website throughout the event. Some NFR events also will be televised on the CBS Sport Network with digital access available at www.prorodeotv.com.