The Great Bullfighters – My Most Memorable Bull: Rob Smets

by Terry Lidral

Bullfighter Rob Smets was given the nickname Kamikaze Kid for his daring athletic skill that led him to 5 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo World Bullfighting Championships.  Smets spent three decades working the arena with bucking bulls who were world champions themselves.  He was a long time member of the all-star Professional Bull Riders Dickies Dura-Bullfighters team.  In the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, he was one of the most sought after bullfighters in the profession.

“I was blessed to be able to fight bulls for over 30 years,” Smets said about his long and illustrious career.  “I went from Hawaii to Florida and from Alaska to Brazil fighting bulls  There were so many great bulls, it’s hard to pick just one.”

Rob Smets joined the PRCA in 1978.  He won the title of World Champion Bullfighter an unprecedented 5 times and went to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo 6 times.  He was a 9-time PBR Finals bull fighter and was awarded the PBR Jim Shoulders Lifetime Achievement Award.  Smets has been inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame, the Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame, the Bull Riders Hall of Fame and the St. Paul, Oregon Rodeo Hall of Fame.  Read more here: https://www.prorodeohalloffame.com/inductees/contract-personnel/rob-smets/

“If I had to choose, I’d have to go with Little Yellow Jacket,” he continued.  “That’s because he was a gamer…a real gamer.  There was no give-up in that red bull and he bucked.”

Smets loved the heart in the champion bucking bull raised by the Bergers on their Rafter Arrow Ranch in North Dakota.  He was in the arena when Michael Gaffney and Little Yellow Jacket tied the PBR highest score record with a 96.5.

Little Yellow Jacket was a 3-time PBR World Champion Bull, the first bull to claim 3 PBR titles up to that point.  He was inducted into the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame, the Bull Riders Hall of Fame and the ProBullStats Hall of Fame.  Little Yellow Jacket was the recipient of the inaugural PBR Brand of Honor.  This bull finished his career with a buckoff percentage of 83.53 % and a buckoff time of 2.66 seconds.  He had 90 outs with 14 rides, the rides earning an average score of 93.3 points.  Read more here: https://writinforthebrand.com/little-yellow-jacket/

“I was there in Nampa, Idaho when Michael Gaffney rode Little Yellow Jacket.  I was looking for that bull’s next trip out.  I loved to watch Little Jacket after he finally got rode because he came back with a vengeance,” Smets said with deep respect.  “The Bergers have a lot to be proud of in that one.”

“They couldn’t ride Little Yellow Jacket often.  He was one of those great champions that, when they got knocked to the floor, they got off the floor fighting,” Smets went on to say.  “It’s easy to smile when you’re winning but then all of a sudden you realize you can be beat.  It’s coming back that makes a champion.  And Little Jacket came back.  He definitely was a champion.”

There are moments that Smets remembers with Little Yellow Jacket after the ride.  There was one especially memorable encounter.

“He’d come chase you,” Smets laughed.  “We were at the PBR Finals and Gary Richards was on the ground.  I saw Little Yellow Jacket coming and I thought ‘you’re going to have to let him launch you.’  So up over his head I went.”

Little Yellow Jacket is at the top of Smet’s list of most memorable bulls.  But there are others he considers to be outstanding as well.

“There’s 777 Vold, 105 of Dell Hall, Trick or Treat, Oscar, Jr. of Christensen Brother’s Rodeo, Dan Russell’s Pacific Bell and I didn’t even throw Bodacious in there yet.  I’ve made a start on a heck of a short round list here,” Smets offered his picks for his list of best bulls.

“The mid-80’s and 90’s were a heyday of the PBR.  There were a lot of great bulls and riders.  Chris Shivers was a gamer like Little Yellow Jacket.  He was a champion.  I was so blessed to be a part of all that.”     

Read more about the legendary bulls of the sport of bull riding here:https://buckingstocktalk.com/topics/legends/

Author: Terry Lidral

Terry Lidral is a western writer/journalist who lives in Idaho. She is the publisher and editor of the online magazine Bucking Stock Talk and the online magazine Western Living Journal. Her publishing credits include Storyteller for Real American Cowboy Magazine, writing feature articles for Humps N Horns Magazine as well as a wide variety of national and international web sites, historical magazines and news publications. She is known for her "up close and personal" profiles of celebrities and industry moguls such as NPR's Tom Bodett; PBR's Wiley Petersen and D.H. Page, PRCA's Sammy Andrews, Cindy Rosser and Julio Moreno to name a few. She has been applauded for her way of making a personal connection between her readers and her subjects. She indulges in her love of rodeo by serving as an associate board member for the Caldwell Night Rodeo. She is also an accomplished trainer and handler in dog agility. Her shelties Amelie and Milo are titled in NADAC, USDAA and AKC.