Courtesy PRCA

Stran Smith has a new horse, Destiny, he hopes will carry him to the WNFR title.

At first glance, it might seem Stran Smith has been down this exact road before.

The popular tie-down roper from Childress, Texas is once again in the top 15 in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association World Standings and heading for a spot in the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.

He's been there nine times in his career, only missing the finals in years where his health cut his season short. He's finished as high as second in 2004 (losing the world title by $1,778 to champion Monty Lewis) and as low as 13th in 2001.

But look a little deeper and there are plenty of indications that 2008 is altogether different for Smith.

For one thing, he is competing pain free for the first time in years. For another, he is in the best shape of his life. He's riding what he calls a godsend of a horse. He's eating better, sleeping better, traveling differently, practicing more, and he's able to spend more time, even on the road, with his wife and their three young sons.

In other words, life is great and about the only thing that could make 2008 better for Smith would be the addition of a world championship to his resume.

Courtesy PRCA

Stran Smith competing in the 2007 WNFR, where he finished second in the average and fifth in the world.

"I think I'm roping probably better than I ever have," said Smith, 37. "I'm in better condition physically than I have been in the last six or seven years. I'm probably in the best shape of my life. Then you can put your experience mixed in with that. I haven't slowed down any. I've gotten stronger and I've gotten faster."

After shoulder surgery in November 2006, Smith made a commitment to changing his lifestyle. He started eating better and exercised more — losing 30 pounds in the process — and he bought a bus that allows him to travel with his wife, Jennifer, an ESPN reporter at rodeo events, and their sons.

"It's just been a complete life transformation," he said.

Despite missing the winter run of rodeos in 2007, he returned in late May and was able to qualify for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, where he finished second in the average and wound up fifth in the final world standings. Smith also went through a tragic event in 2007 when he lost his horse, Topper, a two-time AQHA tie-down roping horse of the year.

"After Topper got killed in kind of a freak accident in front of my house, it forced me to start looking for another horse," he said.

That led him to Logandale, Nev., where Wes Adams, the father of PRCA team ropers Randon and Jay Adams, had a horse named Destiny.

"I ran just a handful of calves on her at a practice place and felt like I could win on her," Smith said. "She felt good. I was very optimistic about the whole thing."

Courtesy PRCA

Stran Smith finishes out a run at the 2007 WNFR in Las Vegas.

"It was just kind of like she was made for me, really," Smith said. "She's a winner and we have a lot of chemistry."

That chemistry has paid off in 2008.

So far this year, Smith has won six regular season rodeos (Austin, Texas; San Angelo, Texas; Red Bluff, Calif.; Salinas, Calif.; Rio Rancho, N.M.; and Norco, Calif.) and this past week, he won the tie-down roping championship of the Heartland Series in Waco, Texas.

The $7,500 he won in Waco jumped him into sixth place in the world standings with $87,002. It also pushed him into a tight group of cowboys chasing world standings leader Josh Peek, who has earned $142,169 this year.

Smith is also among the 10 cowboys who have qualified for the regular-season-ending Texas Stampede in Dallas next month, so he has an opportunity to win some more money and close the gap between himself and Peek even more before the NFR in December.

"That's the goal, to be within striking distance," he said. "You never want somebody to get so far out in front that you can't catch them. Now you can go to Dallas and have a good rodeo at Dallas and then you're within (an NFR) round or two of the top guy. You have yourself in position to make a run for the world. That's all you can ask for."