Emma Smith has moved into the Resistol Rookie lead the hard way, cashing at five straight weeks of rodeos and winning two of them outright in Montana.
Through Aug. 30 Smith is No. 1 in the Resistol Rookie standings at $58,497, $1,462 clear of Morgan Bagnell. When the board was last checked here on July 21, Smith was No. 3 and $32,215 back.
The month turned in Montana. Smith won the Bozeman Stampede in Bozeman, Aug. 6-8, in 17.30 seconds for $4,139, then won the Fallon County Fair and Rodeo in Baker, Aug. 13-15, in 16.07 seconds for $5,505.
She cashed at the Playoff Series rodeos on either side of those wins. Smith was third at Heber City, Utah, in 16.78 for $5,031 and second at the Cache County Fair and Rodeo in Logan, Utah, in 16.97 for $5,431. She tied for fourth in the first round of the Caldwell Night Rodeo in Caldwell, Idaho, in 17.00 for $3,128, then tied for third in the first round of the Horse Heaven Roundup in Kennewick, Washington, in 17.07, and placed in the average there as well.
The same run moved her up the world standings. Smith came into the top 50 from No. 56 in the first week of August and has climbed every week since, reaching No. 37 through Aug. 30.
Smith laid the goal out in June, when she was No. 3 and roughly $28,000 behind.
“I would love to win rookie,” Smith said. “That is my goal.”
Bagnell, the Heath, Texas, college sophomore who led the standings from the winter through the summer run, has held at $57,035 since July 14. Catherine Asmussen is No. 3 at $41,028 after adding $9,750 since mid-July, and she sits $20,903 clear of No. 4 Sonya Madsen. The rest of the field is racing for fourth.
- Storybook Ending for Return Of The Mac at BFA World Championship Futurity
- Good Horses and Great Mentors: Emma Smith is Making a Name in ProRodeo Ranks
Resistol Rookie standings, top 15 (through Aug. 30)
| Rank | Rider | Hometown | Earnings |
| 1 | Emma Smith | Pleasanton, TX | $58,496.65 |
| 2 | Morgan Bagnell | Heath, TX | $57,035.00 |
| 3 | Catherine Asmussen | Laredo, TX | $41,028.21 |
| 4 | Sonya Madsen | Honeyville, UT | $20,124.82 |
| 5 | Jaylan Neatherlin | Brock, TX | $16,608.54 |
| 6 | Brooke Krolczyk | Cypress, TX | $14,804.47 |
| 7 | Savannah Shumpert | Mooreville, MS | $14,200.17 |
| 8 | Parker Asam | Murrieta, CA | $13,247.50 |
| 9 | Hazlee McKenzie | Muldrow, OK | $12,445.71 |
| 10 | Mylee Modlin | Blanchard, OK | $11,309.22 |
| 11 | Chery Pinkston | Kaufman, TX | $11,015.67 |
| 12 | Alona James | Ada, OK | $9,684.23 |
| 13 | Ashley Dixon | Silverdale, WA | $9,395.54 |
| 14 | Maya Zerbe | Womelsdorf, PA | $6,956.16 |
| 15 | Lexus Hommer | Fort Pierce, FL | $6,922.10 |
Full WPRA Resistol Rookie field extends to 101 cardholders.
The title is a long way from settled. The Resistol Rookie standings count every official-entry WPRA barrel race at a PRCA rodeo and run to the end of the season, and the fall run is still in front of both of them. Last season the rookie lead was inside $1,000 in the first week of September, and Makenzie Mayes went on to win the title by $15,000.