BFI Rookies Ready To Do Battle In Reno
By Kendra Santos
Special To Ropers Sports News
Every kid who ever picked up a rope in the last 35 years has dreamed of backing in the box at the BFI. This year’s Feist roping freshmen are no different. We thought it’d be fun to introduce you to three BFI rookies before you get there. Brothers Clay and Jake Smith of Broken Bow, Okla., will rope together, and Zayne Dishion of Bishop, Calif., will head for BFI veteran Lance Harvey of Oakdale, Calif.
If the sound of Jake and Clay sounds familiar, it’s no doubt due to their seven-time World Champion Team Roper and ProRodeo Hall of Fame namesakes, Jake Barnes and Clay O’Brien Cooper. Big brother Clay, 21, who’ll head, is actually Clay O’Brien Smith. When Mark and Tammy Smith had their second son, Tammy wanted to name him after her late brother, Billy.
But according to Clay Smith, “All the team ropers said you have a Clay, you need a Jake. So she called Jake Barnes to find out what his middle name was, and told him they were going to name their kid after him. My mom told Jake they were looking for a good middle name to go with Jake. Jake told her, ‘Ma’am, my real name is Billy Jake Barnes.’ So my brother is Billy Jake Smith. It was a meant to be deal that worked out perfect.”
Jake Barnes had an Uncle Billy also. He lived in the Cowboy Capital of Oakdale, California, and picked out Jake’s ropes for him early in his career. Billy Jake Smith is 19 now, and will heel for big brother Clay on BFI day. “We’ve always liked our names,” Clay Smith said. “Jake and Clay are idols in team roping. We’ve always liked being named after them, for sure.”
The Smith brothers appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno when they were 7 and 5, respectively. “That all started when the Tonight Show got to looking on the internet and noticed something about a world champion dummy roper,” Clay explained. “They didn’t know what a dummy roper was, and they wanted to find out. They called (now late) Booger Barter about who to talk to. They also contacted Bob Feist from the BFI and Digger Howard, who ran the Coors ropings in Texas. Bob Feist was announcing the (world championship) dummy roping in Vegas then, and Jake had won it that year so they pointed them our way.
“Our dad thought it was a joke at first, but they talked to us on the phone for a week, asking us questions and writing the script for it. Jake was only 5, and he talked their ear off about a horse rolling with him in the branch (creek), and laying down right there in the water when were penning cows. I’m sure they thought we were crazy, but they invited us to come on the show. Our dad told them, ‘I don’t know, we’ve never been to New York before, and it’ll cost a lot to get there.’ They told him, ‘First of all, we’re in Hollywood, and second of all, we’ll pay for you to come.’ It was a neat deal. They had no idea what a roping pen was. They were thinking ink pen.”
Baby brother Britt Smith is 11 now, and I had to ask if he can still do the wave with his stomach. “Oh yeah, Britt still does the belly roll,” Clay smiled. “He’s stacking up the saddles, and is a really good baseball player, too.” Britt Smith pitched two no-hitters in May.
Clay Smith has won three trucks—at 11, 13 and 15. The Smith brothers have a wall of saddles at home, and one of their favorite wins to date was when they swept both the No. 13 preliminary and shootout ropings at the 2009 USTRC Finals in Oklahoma City. “That was a pretty good win for us,” Clay said. “We won $140,000 together that week.”
Zayne Michael Dishion’s middle name is also no coincidence. His dad, Deston, grew up the best friend of late Wrangler National Finals Rodeo header Mike Boothe in the town where the Mike Boothe Memorial Arena is now a community centerpiece. Mike’s dad, Roy, taught both boys to rope. Zayne, 18, is a 2012 high school grad who will head for longtime family friend Harvey at the BFI.
“I’ve stayed at Lance’s house and practiced with him a bunch,” Dishion said. “We’ve roped a lot of strong, fresh muleys. I think we can catch them all. We’re really good friends, and we’ve spent a lot of time together. We’ve gone to some rodeos and other ropings, and have done good in the past. I’m excited about it.”
Jake Smith, 19, of Broken Bow, Okla., will heel for his big brother Clay at BFI 2012.
“We know everything about each other, and we practice every day together.”
(Lone Wolf Photo)
It’s always interesting for young ropers to decide when to take the BFI plunge, and Dishion is no different. “I got help from a sponsor (Remington Construction) and I have a good horse,” he said. “Experience at the George Strait and Hork Dog ropings this year made me want to go to these ropings to try and compete with the top-tier ropers to see what I can do. The chance to rope at $60,000 a man is a pretty big deal. I’ve always wanted to enter this roping. I’ve talked about it forever.
“All the good guys go to the BFI every year. They don’t miss this one. They limit it to 100 teams, so it’s a spectator sport, too. Not just anyone can enter. Everyone who’s ever gone on to be anybody has roped at the BFI. All the champs are there.”
So is the high-caliber horsepower, as Clay Smith pointed out. “You have to have a good horse to enter the BFI, and that has a lot to do with why we’re entered this year,” he explained. “You can’t get by on a regular horse at this roping. You aren’t going to find a team to win it that doesn’t have good horses and rope good.”
“I’ve always seen it as a fun roping,” said brother Jake. “This is one of the ropings everybody watches growing up. We went to sleep watching this roping when we were little. Now we have the chance to rope against the best guys and the best horses in the world.”
The Smith boys are planning to hit the rodeo road when the 2013 ProRodeo season starts in October. “We’re on our (Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association) permits this year, and the plan right now is to get to every (Prairie) circuit rodeo we can and hit all the jackpots we can, to see how we do,” Clay said. “We’ve listened to people and taken advice. Kory Koontz told us to hit the big jackpots, so we want to test the water. Then next year we want to go to as many ProRodeos as we can. So many people, like Billie Bray from Classic, have helped us out so much. NAC Services, an oilfield services company, is sponsoring us to go out there to the BFI. I’ve wanted to go forever, but it all kind of came together this year.
“Horsepower is the main thing. Me, Dad and Jake ride horses for a living and train our own horses. It takes a special horse to go out there. I think we’re riding good ones now. We’ll be ready to try it this time.”
“We finally have horses that are good enough,” Jake added. “Now we want to see if we can handle it. It’s time to test ourselves. I grew up roping with Clay. I know everything he’s going to do, so I don’t ever worry about anything at all when I’m roping with him. He’s the best partner I could have. We know everything about each other, and we practice every day together. I can’t find a better run than Clay. With all the teams there, there’s no way there’s a team that’s run as many steers together as we have—for years—on all kinds of different horses.”
There’s a lot of action at the Smith family arena every day they aren’t at a roping or rodeo. “We get to practice together every day,” Clay said. “I’ve been real fortunate to have Jake. He’s two years younger than me, but I promise he tries as hard as I do every time and works as hard as I do. A lot of people have to move to get around good ropers. I’m around him every day. And he’s good at either end. He’s the best partner I could get, and he’ll always be there. I know where he’s going to be the night before the roping, so I never have to worry about him. It’s handy to have him to depend on. He’s always right there with me.
“Everybody grows up wanting to rope at the BFI. We’re glad to get the opportunity to go this time. We’ve watched all the tapes. Now we get to find out what it’s all about firsthand.”
BFI rookie Zayne Dishion of Bishop, Calif., will head for Oakdale’s Lance Harvey at the 2012 BFI.
Here, Dishion turns one in the mud for Tristen Luther at the 2012 Oakdale Saddle Club Rodeo.
(Larry Smith Photo)
