A Blackie cowboy can’t be tied down in one spot for long during the Foothills Cowboy Association (FCA) rodeo season.
After all, hitting the road and competing in as many FCA rodeos as he can is how 15-year-old Sloan Smith is going to learn the ropes of rodeo.
Smith plans to hit seven rodeos this weekend to compete in the team roping and tie-down roping events.
“I am just going to go and try my best,” Smith said. “My goal is to try and make as much money as I can and hopefully make the finals. If I can do it, I will be one of the youngest. I think that would be a great accomplishment for me.”
He admits it is tough for a high school rodeo athlete to compete against men in the FCA, some of who have competed for years.
“It is quite a bit tougher because you are roping against guys who are bigger and stronger and have quite a bit more experience,” Smith said. “I believe it is doable for a guy of my age to make the finals.”
It’s not as if Smith is total greenhorn when it comes to roping.
He started roping off a horse when he was five. He has done the whole tie-down deal – jumping off the horse and tying the calf’s legs -- since he was 11.
“I have been to schools and it has been tough, but I am starting to think I know what I am doing,” he said.
His FCA schedule will be sidetracked in July when he heads to Gillette, Wyoming for the National High School Rodeo Association championships.
Smith, a Grade 9 student at Highwood High School, and his team-roping partner Logan Bird from Nanton, finished third in the team roping at the Alberta High School Rodeo finals in Ponoka on the weekend to qualify for Gillette.
Smith is the header and Logan Bird is a healer.
Smith’s goals are to earn a rodeo scholarship to a school south of the 49th parallel and then comeback and compete for a spot in the Canadian Finals Rodeo in the pro circuit.
But riding in the amateur FCA circuit for a few more years fits him just fine for now.
“The FCA is really important in helping us get ready for the pro rodeos and maybe going down south,” Smith said.
Although Bird is old enough to drive, it’s the moms and dads who are doing the driving.
It was mom and dad who helped get Smith involved with roping.
“My mom, dad, auntie and my grandfather all roped,” Smith said. “It’s kind of been with me all my life.”
This weekend will be the first FCA event of the year for Smith. He was planning to attend the rodeo in Caroline, however it was cancelled due to concerns of the equine herpes outbreak.
Smith could be a Travel Alberta agent this weekend. His itinerary is Crossfield and Killam on Friday and them come home. They then head close to the line going to the border town of Coutts, Foremost and Arrowwood.
On Sunday, he is going to Gooseberry Lake and Cold Lake.
Smith will also stop in Innisfail to watch Bird compete in a pro rodeo on Sunday.
