FORT WORTH, Texas (January 28, 2017) – Ryle Smith had a lot of success at the 2016 edition of the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo, winning the tie-down roping and $15,372.

Success at Fort Worth put him in position to qualify for his first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR) last December. That lit a fire in the Oakdale, California, resident and he is working hard to get back to Las Vegas and compete there again. Fort Worth could make a difference for him again this year, but in a different event.

Smith competed in the steer wrestling at the Saturday morning performance stopping the clock in 5.7 seconds. In the first round, he had a 3.8-second run, putting him in a tie for third place and winning $3,790 in the Will Rogers Coliseum already.

Smith is tied for second overall with a total time of 9.5 seconds. Former world champion Luke Branquinho from Los Alamos, California leads with an 8.3. NFR qualifier Jason Thomas from Benton, Arkansas tied with Smith on Saturday night.  He stopped the clock in 4.3 seconds and is currently tied for third place in the second round.

While Smith is from California, he has some ties to North Texas as well. Before he became a member of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, he came to Stephenville and got his bachelor’s degree in business management from Tarleton State University. Winning Fort Worth was a big milestone for him last year in the tie-down roping. Winning a title this year in a second event would be a huge accomplishment for the 29-year-old cowboy.

Bareback riders here on Saturday had to get on three horses, one at 10 a.m., one at 2 p.m. and the final one at 7:30 p.m. That worked well for Chad Rutherford, a three-time College National Finals Rodeo qualifier from Lake Charles, Louisiana, home of McNeese State University where he went to school.

Rutherford had scores of 81.5, 79 and 83 respectively to give him a total of 243.5. Wyatt Denny is now tied for second with Mason Clements from Santaquin, Utah. They each have 241.5. Clements also rode here on Saturday and took command of the third round at the night performance. He rode Frontier Rodeo’s horse named Night Fist for 87.5 points. This is the highest-marked bareback ride of the rodeo so far this year.

The 121st Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo continues on Sunday with two rodeo performances at 2 and 7:30 p.m.

-Information Courtesy of Susan Kanode