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Bull fighter Smets sailing into retirement
GUY CLIFTON
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
Posted: 3/4/2006
Last week in St. Louis, bull fighter Rob Smets found himself soaring
through the air, an unexpected flight courtesy of an 1,800-pound
bull
with a bad attitude named Cat Daddy.
Smets crashed down in the arena dirt, separating his shoulder.
Wearing a microphone for the national telecast on OLN, Smets simply
said "at least I didn't land on my neck" and promptly went back to
work. After all, Smets wasn't about to let a little separated
shoulder keep him from protecting bull riders, something he's been
doing at an elite level for 30 years.
"Rob is a legend," said Adriano Moraes, a two time world champion
and
the No. 1-ranked rider on the Professional Bull Riders Built Ford
Tough Series, which is making its annual stop in Reno this
weekend. "He's been saving lives for 30 years and never missed a
season."
Nobody has more fun in the arena than Smets, but nobody takes his
job
more seriously when the chute gate opens.
"I don't know that people understand what a passion he has for it,"
said barrel man Flint Rassmussen. "Every story he tells is about
being at a rodeo or a bull riding somewhere fighting bulls. He still
has that passion for it and still gets excited inside the arena."
Lately, though, some of those stories have included the exploits of
his children's high school basketball games and other exploits.
That's one of the reasons Smets, 46, has decided to retire at the
end
of this season.
It wasn't a decision that came easily.
"I have some real mixed emotions about (retiring)," he said. "I mean
I ask myself, can I still play the game, and yeah I could, but at
the
same time it's been an awful good run and I have no complaints. I
set
out to win one world championship and I won five. I've worked six
NFRs and been voted to work the PBR Finals nine times. I have been
truly blessed. It's gonna be tough at the end of the season to say
good-bye. I love the game. I love the guys I'm with in the arena.
There will be tears."
Early in his career, Smets earned the nickname of Kamikaze Kid for
his fearless style. Wrangler sponsored bull fighting competitions
and
Smets won the world championship five times.
He spent many years as a bull fighter at the Reno Rodeo and has been
with the PBR virtually since it's inception. One badge of honor for
bull fighters is when the riders vote them to provide protection at
the National Finals Rodeo and the PBR World Championships.
"He's always one of them," Moraes said. "That says a lot about Rob
Smets."
Smets has also become one of the most recognizable faces of the PBR.
"That guy, he's done so much for the sport," Moraes said. "He's an
ambassador. He's always talking positive about the sport. It's kind
of sad to think that it's his last season."
Even after retirement, Smets plans to stay involved in some way.
"Anything I can do to give back to the sport, I would do," he said.
But he is also eager to spend more time with his family. Smets lives
in Shamrock, Texas with his wife, Carla, and daughters Corey, Josey,
Sammy and Dylan.
He'll also stay active as a cowboy. Smets is an avid team roper and
has roped in such events as the $1 million Reno Rodeo Invitational
Team Roping event in past years.
Unfortunately, Smets was injured during Friday night's opening round
when he was flipped in the air by the bull Stinger and landed
awkwardly on his neck. He was strapped to a backboard and fitted
with
a cervical collar before being transported to Washoe Medical Center
for evaluation. His status was not available at press time.
*******Rob Smets has returned home. He is squedualed to see a neck inury specialist monday********
