Sue Smith made her last NFR in 2011 and hasn’t finished better than No. 32 since. In 2023, she hit the road hard again and ended up No. 14 in the WPRA World Standings.
BIGGEST PAYDAYS
Cheyenne Frontier Days, $22,259
Smith placed fourth in the Qualifier Round, which would end up being her worse finish. She took second in the Sixth Performance and then first in the First Semifinal. It all culminated with an arena record run of 16.89 seconds in the Finals. Smith made at least $1,800 on all four of her runs and three of them paid more than $4,700.
Snake River Stampede (Idaho), $13,995
It was a clean sweep for Smith at the Snake River Stampede. She won Round 1 by more than a tenth of a second before a stunning 15.42-second run in Round 2 when no other barrel racer was better than 15.96. She won the rodeo by more than six tenths on two.
FASTEST RUNS
Cave Creek Rodeo Days, 15.21 Seconds
Smith was 15.21 and no one else was better than 15.3 in Cave Creek. After winning almost $4,000 there, Smith won more than $5,000 during her very next run at the Clark County Fair and Rodeo (Nevada).
Ogden Pioneer Days (Utah), 16.83 Seconds
Smith won over $10,000 for one run in Ogden and no one was else even close. Smith was 16.83 and Kelly Allen was second at 17.10. It was great weekend for Smith as the win came the same weekend as the Snake River Stampede.
NOTABLE WINS
Brawley Cattle Call Rodeo (California), 17.19 Seconds
Perhaps Smith could tell it was going to be a good year when she won just the third rodeo she entered during the 2023 regular season. She won $2,577 for the win and won checks of more than $1,500 on three of her first four runs of the season.
Meet the NFR Athletes is presented by Montana Silversmiths #EveryBuckleHasAStory #BrandOfChampions #FromGreatToGold
