R. Smith was foaled on January 19th, 1971. He was bred by C. E. Nicholas in Dillion, Montana. R. Smith was by Seasonal, an unraced son of British champion, Windy City II. Windy City II was the sire of Restless Wind, a multiple stakes winner, and Old Pueblo, a sire of Quarter Horse stakes winners. Through his dam, Samoa Winds, Seasonal was a half-brother to California Thoroughbred Breeders Association Hall of Fame inductee Windy Sands. Seasonal also sired Thoroughbred race winners, but not as many as his sibling. His best starters were Andreas Amber, Jade Wind and Pitch Pine. He also sired Quarter Horse race winner Tuff Lady Buck.
Marcy Lynx, the dam of R. Smith, was by multiple stakes winner Mount Marcy. She was out of Lynx, by Revoked, a multiple stakes winner and influential sire. Revoked was the damsire of Staunch Avenger. He was also the grandsire of Jo-Ann-Cat, the dam of Beduino. Marcy Lynx made an impressive 84 career starts. She produced five Thoroughbred foals for Nicholas, including race winners New Music and Dr. Taylor. She sold to Robert Schleicher of Kentucky where she produced race winners Arron and Elroy Braun. Her last recorded foal, Junior Lynx, was bred by Irish Acres Farm in Florida. In total, she produced nine Jockey Club registered foals. R. Smith was her most successful son at stud.
R. Smith did not make a start on the track. He covered his first mares as a three-year-old. His first crop of six Quarter Horses included four Racing Register of Merit earners – Logans Smith, Doolin Good, Express 77 and Touch Smith. He only covered about ten mares each season until he moved to Turkey Track Ranch in Sallisaw, Oklahoma, where he was properly promoted and advertised. His first stakes winner, Breezy Smith, was foaled in 1980. She won the 1982 Alamo QHBA Futurity and earned $114,207 on the track. Robin Smith, another early stakes winner by R. Smith, won the 1983 Northeast Colorado Futurity.
Unfortunately, by the time R. Smith’s offspring really started winning, he had already passed away. He was fifteen years old when he died at the beginning of the 1986 breeding season. That year, The Black Smith, a gelding by R. Smith, won the Black Gold 350 Futurity and the Black Gold 400 Futurity at Blue Ribbon Downs. R. Smith offspring were dominant in 1st Division of the Black Gold 400 Futurity. After The Black Smith won the race in 1986, Smith Girl won it in 1987 and Runnin John won it in 1988.
Also in 1988, Squawbug Smith, a brown mare by R. Smith and out of a daughter of Lady Bug’s Moon, set a new track record for 350 yards in 17.350 seconds in the Gr. 3 Coors Distributors Derby at La Bahia Downs. She also won the Vespero Express Stakes and the Ruidoso Sprint Stakes. The following year, she set a new track record in the 1989 Spring Break Maturity. Other track record setters by R. Smith included Irish Lady Bee, Whizzer Smith Two and Chukker. His other stakes winners were Go Smith Go, Bubba Who, Shaky Smith, That Smith Boy, Smiths Affair and Hurricane Gertie. In total, R. Smith sired 308 Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse foals in thirteen foal crops. They included 155 Racing ROM-earners, 148 winners, 40 stakes finalists, eleven stakes winners, ten Superior Race Award earners and two graded stakes winners, with earnings of $2,290,855 on the track.
A few of his offspring competed in performance events. Mr Frosty Smith, a bay gelding by R. Smith, earned a Performance ROM. Miss Network, a black mare by R. Smith and out of a daughter of Ettabo, earned Performance ROMs in the Open and Youth divisions. Gentleman Cherry Bug, Wandering Smith, That Smith Boy, Village Smithy and Run Smith Run contributed to the 170.0 points that R. Smith offspring earned in the arena.
JJ Smith was his most successful son at stud. He sired 35 registered Quarter Horse foals. Jimmy J Smith sired race winners Jamie J Smith, Lacy J Smith and Lil Liza Jane Smith. Hesa R Smith, Smitty Lynx and Snazzy Smith also sired Quarter Horses and Appaloosas.
Daughters of R. Smith were far greater producers than his sons were sires. A Special Smith, a bay mare by R. Smith, produced Sassy Smith, winter of the Gr. 1 Kindergarten Futurity and the Gr. 1 PCQHRA Breeders’ Futurity. Sassy Smith won seven races and earned $412,011 on the track. Star Smith produced graded stakes winners Casa Corona and This Snow Is Fast. Other graded stakes winners out of R. Smith mares included Hes A Special Smith, Lark Smith, Bully Bud, Royal Miss Smith and Miss Lucky Lucky. Ginlark, the 1996 Central High Point Three-Year-Old Filly, and Wallstreet Darlin, the 1999 Oklahoma High Point Aged Mare, were both out of daughters of R. Smith. Collectively, his daughters produced 520 Quarter Horse foals. They included 164 Racing ROM earners, 144 winners, 21 stakes winners, ten Superior Race Award earners and two Regional Champions. They won $2,906,440 on the track.
His Appaloosa descendants are not included in those statistics. Notably, Go to the Well, an Appaloosa mare by Easy We Go and out of Lynn Smith, won the Cricket Bars Futurity and earned an ApHC Bronze Medallion.
Grandget of R. Smith really stood out in the barrel pen. Nancy Ann Smith was his best producing daughter of barrel horses. She put R. Smith on the list of leading maternal grandsires for several years. Dial a Red Rooster, Nancy Ann Smith’s third foal, earned an unprecedented $235,601 in barrel racing. He was the Old Fort Days Barrel Derby Champion and BFA World Barrel Sweepstakes Reserve Champion. Dialaroosterforcash, her second highest earning foal, won $129,664 running barrels. His career highlights included a BBR World Barrel Racing Open 1D Reserve Championship. Other barrel racing money earners out of Nancy Ann Smith included Hezanuther Rooster, Roosters Cashin In, Cash Dealins, Vegas or Bust and Dialin A Dynasty. Dashin Dynasty, a brown mare by FDD Dynasty and out of Nancy Ann Smith, was the 2022 AQHA Reserve World Champion Senior Pole Bending Horse.
Other mares by R. Smith also produced barrel horses. Slipper By, a brown mare out of Touch Smith, placed 4th in Barrel Racing at the AQHYA World Championship Show. First Down Smith, a bay mare out of Lil Miss Smith, earned a Superior Barrel Racing award. She also earned Performance ROMs in the Open and Youth divisions. Dr Smithfield, Pure D Miss Smith and Strawflyin Smith also earned money in barrel racing.
His grandget excelled at performance events other than barrel racing and pole bending. A Magnificent Beauty, a bay mare by Lovem Easy and out of Beautys Wind, by R. Smith, was the 1998 AQHYA World Champion Stake Racing horse. She was also the Reserve World Champion in 2000. Casey Impress, a chestnut gelding by Impressive and out of Rose Smith, placed sixth in the Yearling Gelding class at the 1986 AQHYA World Show. He later won an Amateur All-Around title and earned a Performance ROM. Freckles Smith and So Slew Me also earned Performance ROMs.
Although R. Smith died in 1986, his granddaughters Cash Dealins and Dashin Dynasty were still running barrels and poles last year. Some of his notable descendants include 1D barrel horses A Dash Ta Glamour, Famous Sierra and Mr Sassy Frenchman.
Sources: Equineline, Equibase, The American Quarter Horse Association, Speedhorse Magazine, All Breed Database, Thoroughbred Database
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