Entering Round 10 of the 2023 Finals, Caleb Smidt announced his intention to step away from the rodeo road in favor of spending time with his three children—daughter, Myla, and sons Chaz and Cru—and his wife, Brenna, running the family’s feed yard in Bellville, Texas.
“It’s time,” Smidt, 34, said. “I’ve done this for 10 years, and I’m over it. I don’t enjoy it as much as I used to. I feel like if you want to do this sport and be the best at it that you have to love it and pour your life into it, and that’s not where it’s at for me right now. I’ll work in my father-in-law’s feedlot come January when I am done hunting. We partner on a bunch of cattle. We turned out a bunch of yearlings on two places around Uvalde and Fort Stockton. I’ll work there and take care of those for him. I am going to go work for a living, and it’s a bad choice because I’ll work seven days a week. I hope it pays good—I enjoy it.”
Smidt is the earner of four NFR average titles—2015, 2018, 2021-2022—and four gold buckles—2015, 2018, 2021-2022.
Smidt finished fourth in the world in 2023, earning $296,165.21 on the year. That’s plenty to qualify him for all the winter rodeos, so he’ll probably duck off to those.
“I probably won’t enter anything. I’ll go to Houston, it’s 45 minutes from the house and pays $50,000, and The American, and fly to Canada for Calgary. That would be awesome for me, if those were the only rodeos for me.”
But what if he comes out of the winter with $50,000 won from RodeoHouston and another $100,000 from The American?
“Nope, not going to anymore.” Smidt laughed. “Say I win Calgary. It took more than winning those two rodeos to make the Finals this year.”
Smidt’s legendary calf horse, “Pocketful of Light,” known as Pockets, who’s carried him to every NFR appearance since 2014, will also retire with Smidt.
“Pockets is going to live in his pen with his pony and be done,” There’s probably two people in rodeo that I would let ride him, and they know who they are. He’s not crippled, he just needs a little maintenance. I’ll probably pull the shoes off him next week and he’ll hang out with his pony until my kids want to ride him or someone wants to ride him at the NFR or something.”
Smidt gave $50,000 for Pocketful Of Light, now 17. He’s by Grays Starlight stallion Jonathan Starlight and out of Playful Pockets by Freckles Playboy. Smidt bought Pocket in 2015 from trainer Ian Wells, and the horse has now won over $2 million.
