HOUSTON — Rodeo champion Bill Smith came a long way from a small town to make a big name for himself.
In fact, he made it from a little coal mining town in Montana.
"We didn't have football ... we didn't have anything like that. ... But we had them guys that were rodeo guys," Smith said.
Smith is the definition of "cowboy" and for the first time in more than 40 years, he's back at one of the first rodeos that made him a champion: the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
"When I first went to the Astrodome in '64, it was just opened and it was the biggest thing I ever saw," he said.
During the course of his 20-year career, he won plenty of saddle bronc riding titles and cemented his legacy in the sport. Returning to Houston reminds him of his time in the saddle.
"I'm a 'horsey' guy. Crazy for horses anyway and that seemed like what I was born to do," he said. "There's a lot of nostalgia, you know, you got that in your blood and wish you was in there getting your number called and going out there to ride."
That's what RodeoHouston is about: creating memories that last a lifetime.