By Daniel Hartill,Staff Writer
Former world champion Rob Smets will provide live commentary this weekend

LEWISTON – Bulls broke Rob Smets’ back three times. Yet, he’s still walking.

“It’s more than luck,” the five-time world champion bullfighter said. “I’m living proof that God’s great.”

It’s also proof of Smets’ tenacity, his drive to cowboy up.

After each of his first two accidents, Smets returned to the contest floor. And though he officially retired in March following the third break, he hopes someday to face a bull one last time.

He doesn’t want his memory of being hauled from a Reno arena on a board to be his last, he said. It would mean the bull won.

“I’ve been fighting bulls for 30 years,” Smets said. “I hate to lose, whether I’m pitching quarters against the wall, in a fist fight or fighting a bull.”

Until he can get back in the arena, he plans to talk to live audiences.

This weekend he will be a color commentator for only the third time in his career when he calls the action for the Professional Bull Riders event at the Colisee.

Smets plans to help Lewiston audiences appreciate the athleticism of the bull riders, the bullfighters and the bulls themselves.

“They are phenomenal athletes,” Smets said in a phone interview Monday from near his home in Merkel, Texas. “The bulls play for keeps every day.”

Tour leaders plan to bring 40 bulls and 40 riders to Lewiston for the two-night event. The bulls will be boarded at an undisclosed farm and brought to the arena on the day of the show. Each bull costs no less than $10,000 and can be worth far more, so they demand pampering, Smets said.

“They are taken care of better than some children,” the cowboy said. “Unfortunately, that’s a true fact.”

Man vs. beast’

Just as folks have their misconceptions about bulls, they are often wrong in their notions about bull riders, Smets said.

“On rodeos, they think it’s all party, party,” he said. “I think people would be surprised by the number of college educated riders out there.”

Smets, 46, spent his college years on the road.

The California native was still in his teens when he began riding as an amateur. He quickly became one of the best, drawn to the adrenaline of the sport.

“You’ve got a 160-pound man against a 1,600-pound bull,” he said. “It’s man versus beast.”

The danger always looms. That tension is what draws audiences, he said. Smets compares it to auto racing, where minor accidents give crowds a thrill.

“They don’t want to see you badly hurt,” he said. “But they want to see some fender bumping.”

As a commentator, Smets figures he can help people discern the moments of true jeopardy and appreciate the near misses. Since his accident on March 3, Smets has provided commentary in Texas and last weekend in Providence.

“It’s a whole different type of adrenaline rush,” he said. “It’s time to go to a new chapter.”

His accomplishments go on and on.

The five-time world champion bullfighter qualified for the national finals 17 times and competed in the 2002 Cultural Olympics. On July 15, he will be inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.

“I’ve been blessed,” he said. “I had the best career a guy could have.”

After his accident, the PBR tour created a Web site for people to leave Smets their well wishes. The response overwhelmed him.

After one month, there were about 100 pages of get-well messages.

The notes, 10 to 20 per page, came from people all over the country. Many encouraged him to fight again.

During the phone interview he waited until his wife, Carla, walked away before he spoke of his hopes for another bull and another victory.

Smets’ friends tell him he has nothing left to prove. He needs to wait on his health to see whether it will be possible. He walks well and performs chores at home.

However, Thursday will mark three months since his latest surgery to fuse broken vertebrae.

“The doctors haven’t turned me loose, yet,” he said.