When the pressure is on, Oakdale pro rodeo cowboy Ryle Smith is money

Ryle Smith was down on his luck with a newborn baby at home.

Life was turning and moving faster than a raging 1,500-pound bull, and the two things he does well -- steer wrasslin' and calf ropin' -- were no longer paying the bills.

During the busiest time of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association season, Smith was was striking out. Not striking it rich.

In July of 2017, Smith, an Oakdale High graduate, went to four rodeos in one week, and failed miserably in the first three. His confidence shattered, Smith was certain he would return home empty handed with orders to hang up the rope and cowboy hat.

"Stuff just wasn't going," he said. "I was falling back. It was rough. The timing was bad. It was intense having a kid. It's expensive and things were just moving too fast."

And then he pulled into the Days of '47 Rodeo in Salt Lake City, the fourth and final stop in blurry-eyed week of rodeo.

Salt Lake City would change the trajectory of Smith's career, turning him from a near-washout to heavyweight in the world all-around standings.

Smith set a PRCA regular-season record for the largest cash, netting $67,600 in steer wrestling and calf roping. He won steer wrestling with a 4-second run, collecting a $50,000 purse, and then finished third in tie-down.

His grand total exceeded the previous high of $61,500 shared by barrel racers Lindsey Sears (2008) and Sherry Cervi (2010).

"It was such a huge surprise," Smith said of his performance that weekend. "I don't think it's really soaked in." After that, "the whole year was different. I pulled out of that rodeo and two days later, there was $68,000 in my checking account. I couldn't believe it."

With that victory, Smith guaranteed himself a top-15 finish in steer wrestling, earning an invitation to the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. He qualified with season earnings of $93,463, of which two-thirds were won during that one fateful weekend in Salt Lake City.

Smith, 31, didn't cash in Las Vegas, but the momentum has carried into 2018. Smith is ranked No. 2 in the PRCA's world all-around standings heading into this week's Oakdale Saddle Club Rodeo, his hometown event. He has made $50,274, despite carrying a lighter schedule.

He won more than $6,000 in San Francisco in October, $7,625 at the California Circuit Finals Rodeo in Lancaster, and another $3,100 in Denver.

He cashed his biggest check of the season at the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo, the largest indoor rodeo of the season. He won the tie-down competition, netting $18,928.

Once again, Smith proved he's capable of his best when his back is against the wall. He missed the build-up to San Antonio with a severe ankle injury and the same feeling of uncertainty that dogged him going into Salt Lake City 10 months earlier resurfaced.

"When I rolled my ankle and couldn't rope and provide, it was a slap in the face," said Smith, who now lives in Texas with his wife, Nika, and 10-month-old daughter, Remy. "That was a big deal and really breathed new life into me."

Smith will compete in two rodeos simultaneously this week: The Clark County Fair and Rodeo in Logandale, Nev., Thursday and Sunday; and the Oakdale Saddle Club Rodeo on Friday and Saturday. He arrives on the West Coast after competing in the National Circuit Finals Rodeo in Kissemmee, Fla.

Smith won the Oakdale Saddle Club Rodeo's all-around title in 2012.

"I haven't been rodeoing hard, but I've had a lot of good wins," Smith said. "It's what you want to have happen every year. Some guys thrive on going hard; they want to be on the road all the time. When you get hot and you got momentum, you want to ride that wave. When your confidence and your horse are clicking, you want to go through like a tornado and tear everything up."

Smith is a California kid, where the rodeo schedule has thinned out in recent years.

He cut his teeth in the practice arena, where he turned himself into a national high school calf roping champion and earned a rodeo scholarship to Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas.

"I've been on a heater before, but myself, the way I was raised, California don't have a lot of rodeos. I didn't go hard. There just wasn't a lot there," he said. "I would prepare a lot -- practice, practice, practice. When I would show up to a rodeo, I was ready to win. That's what I've done this winter."

And it's what he hopes to do again this weekend ... in Oakdale and Nevada, too.

This story was originally published April 12, 2018 at 9:26 AM with the headline "When the pressure is on, Oakdale pro rodeo cowboy Ryle Smith is money."