Post by Gus on Mar 21, 2006 20:09:43 GMT -5
On their selection for the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. It couldn't happen to two more deserving guys. Here's a snapshot of their bios from the PRCA press release:
Born Oct. 6, 1965 in Kermit, Texas, to a rodeo family, Jim Sharp rode his first steer at the age of nine and never looked back. In 1981, he won his first of four (1981, 1983-85) bull riding championship titles in the American Junior Rodeo Association and went on to win the Texas High School All-Around title in 1984.
Sharp continued his dominance at the collegiate level, winning back-to-back National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association bull riding titles (1986-87), while attending Odessa (Texas) College.
As a rookie in the PRCA in 1986, he won the Resistol Rookie of the Year and Texas Circuit rookie of the year titles in the bull riding and set a new record for most money won in a rookie year ($100,160). He also qualified for his first of seven consecutive trips to the National Finals Rodeo.
In 1988, he rode his way into the history books by becoming the first bull rider to ride all 10 bulls at the National Finals Rodeo. The record-breaking performance earned Sharp his first of two PRCA world titles. The following year, he won the NFR bull riding average for the second consecutive year and in 1990, he won his second world title. His last year to qualify for the NFR was 1992, when he picked up his third bull riding average title.
Known as “The Razor,” Sharp has been quoted as saying, “(My favorite memory was) when I rode 10 bulls at the NFR and won the world championship.”
Rob Smets has been among the elite professional bullfighters for many years and with his induction into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame, he will forever be remembered as one of the best in the business.
Smets, born on Sept. 11, 1959, in Palo Alto, Calif., joined the PRCA in 1978 and has been fighting bulls ever since. He was selected to work his first Wrangler NFR in 1983 and did so five additional times (1987, 1989-91, 2000). He was selected as the alternate bullfighter a total of four times (1980-81, 1986, 1995).
Starting in 1981, Wrangler Jeans and Shirts began sponsoring the bullfighting competition in which a world champion was crowned each year. Smets, who listed Salinas, Calif., as his hometown, won or shared the award a total of five times. His first title came in 1983, and he followed that with back-to-back wins in 1985 and 1986. In 1988, he shared the title with Miles Hare and in 1994, he won his final title.
Smets and his wife, Carla, now make their home in Merkel, Texas, where he spends time speaking to school, church and civic groups and visiting hospitals. He had planned to retire from bullfighting at this year’s Professional Bull Riders Finals in Las Vegas, but on March 3, a bull hooked him, breaking his neck for the third time. His hobbies include team roping, steer roping and spending time with his kids Corey, Josie, Sammy and Dylan. Smets will be inducted in the contract personnel category.
Born Oct. 6, 1965 in Kermit, Texas, to a rodeo family, Jim Sharp rode his first steer at the age of nine and never looked back. In 1981, he won his first of four (1981, 1983-85) bull riding championship titles in the American Junior Rodeo Association and went on to win the Texas High School All-Around title in 1984.
Sharp continued his dominance at the collegiate level, winning back-to-back National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association bull riding titles (1986-87), while attending Odessa (Texas) College.
As a rookie in the PRCA in 1986, he won the Resistol Rookie of the Year and Texas Circuit rookie of the year titles in the bull riding and set a new record for most money won in a rookie year ($100,160). He also qualified for his first of seven consecutive trips to the National Finals Rodeo.
In 1988, he rode his way into the history books by becoming the first bull rider to ride all 10 bulls at the National Finals Rodeo. The record-breaking performance earned Sharp his first of two PRCA world titles. The following year, he won the NFR bull riding average for the second consecutive year and in 1990, he won his second world title. His last year to qualify for the NFR was 1992, when he picked up his third bull riding average title.
Known as “The Razor,” Sharp has been quoted as saying, “(My favorite memory was) when I rode 10 bulls at the NFR and won the world championship.”
Rob Smets has been among the elite professional bullfighters for many years and with his induction into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame, he will forever be remembered as one of the best in the business.
Smets, born on Sept. 11, 1959, in Palo Alto, Calif., joined the PRCA in 1978 and has been fighting bulls ever since. He was selected to work his first Wrangler NFR in 1983 and did so five additional times (1987, 1989-91, 2000). He was selected as the alternate bullfighter a total of four times (1980-81, 1986, 1995).
Starting in 1981, Wrangler Jeans and Shirts began sponsoring the bullfighting competition in which a world champion was crowned each year. Smets, who listed Salinas, Calif., as his hometown, won or shared the award a total of five times. His first title came in 1983, and he followed that with back-to-back wins in 1985 and 1986. In 1988, he shared the title with Miles Hare and in 1994, he won his final title.
Smets and his wife, Carla, now make their home in Merkel, Texas, where he spends time speaking to school, church and civic groups and visiting hospitals. He had planned to retire from bullfighting at this year’s Professional Bull Riders Finals in Las Vegas, but on March 3, a bull hooked him, breaking his neck for the third time. His hobbies include team roping, steer roping and spending time with his kids Corey, Josie, Sammy and Dylan. Smets will be inducted in the contract personnel category.
