For the week of August 8 - 14, 2001

Definitely a cut above the rest

Ashley Smith wins national cow cutting title

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By JODY ZARKOS
Express Staff Writer

Ashley Smith of Hailey is piling up loot faster than bank robbers on a Sunday.

Her last two wins have not only given her an unprecedented level of prestige and respect, they’ve garnered more belt buckles than she can wear in a lifetime and a couple of squeaky new saddles.

And now, she’s a national champion for the second time.

The engaging 15-year-old has had a whiplash-busy summer since wrapping up her freshman year at Hailey’s Wood River High School.

In June, Smith claimed the Fifth District High School rodeo girls’ cutting title by the slimmest of margins, a point and a half over Natalia Ferris of Bellevue with Amy Walker of Glenns Ferry and Whitney Wines of Gooding close behind.

That gave Smith the right to compete in the Idaho State High School Rodeo Championships at Pocatello in June.

Carrying 10 points as district champion, Smith scored 304 out of a possible 320 to win the Gem State title and a trip to the national meet in Illinois.

Next thing she knew, Smith and her family, parents Greg and Chris, 12-year-old brother Kade, and 5-year-old sister Sadee, were off to Springfield, Ill. and the National High School Finals Rodeo, July 22-29.

Riding 9-year-old Quarter Horse mare Stylish Lil’ Jubie, Smith surprised everyone, including herself, by winning the first go-round with 148 points.

"I never get nervous and I was so nervous," Smith said.

Adding to the tension was the fact Smith had to wait three days for the rest of the girls to complete the go-round and see if her score would stand up.

"It was nerve-wracking," her mother Chris remarked. "At first we didn’t think her score would hold. Then we thought, wow! she really did do well. She could really do this."

Three days is an extremely long wait when the event itself takes two-and-a-half minutes. Competitors try to separate a cow from the herd and prevent it from going back. Generally a person will "ride" two to three cows per go round.

"You try and play defense with the cow," Ashley said. "You can never take your eyes off of it."

Greg Smith remarked, "There are so many variables. You have the horse, the cow, the judges, the ground. There is a lot that could go wrong."

Or in Ashley’s case, a lot that could go right.

After winning the first-go, Smith finished the second go-round in a three-way tie for second. She advanced to the final round of 20 in first place on the average.

Riding in soaring heat, Smith and the athletic and aptly-named Stylish scored a 146 to win the national girls’ cutting championship.

It was the second time Smith has won a national title. She was the girls’ champion in 1997 and reserve champion in 1999.

"I just try my hardest and have fun," Smith said.

She also claims not to practice too much, but "is on horses all the time."

Her father Greg is a professional trainer and rider and everyone in the family is involved in all aspects of the business.

"It takes all of us to make it work," Greg said. "I think their involvement makes it successful."

Brother Kade is a two-time national cutting champion in his own right and Sadee has her sights set on being a rodeo queen.

It’s all a by-product of the lifestyle the Smith family has chosen.

"They have always been around them (horses)," Chris said. "When my kids were little they would play ‘cut’. They would get on their stick horses and play like they were cutting cows."

Cutting and winning still seems like child’s play for Ashley.

• National finals results (top averages for the national title): 1—Ashley Smith, Hailey, ID., 440. 2—Nikki Sokol, New Smyrna Beach, FL., 436. 3--Dallas Logan, Kechi, KS., 435. 4—Janet Strain, White River, SD., 433. 5—Linsay Rosser, Wheatland, CA., 431.5.

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