As the 10 days of NFR churned on, each night Smith would take out that one rope and swing it. And each night, it felt good. So good, in fact, that Tomlinson and Smith were the only team to stop the clock on all 10 head. They finished their run in Las Vegas with a 53.0 on 10, setting a new average record. They knew they had won the average after round 9, so they brought it in round 10 with a 3.7 run to split first in the round and set the average record.

It was 1998 when Patrick Smith’s legendary career began. Smith rode horses for three-time world champion Allen Bach and was introduced to Tee Woolman.He joined the PRCA in 2003 and qualified for the NFR that...