04/10/2024
Two very special people who I had the chance to meet a long time ago. Make sure to attend the Riggins Rodeo
***2024 RIGGINS RODEO GRAND MARSHALS***
Larry and Sue Ellen Smith
The Salmon River runs through Larry and Sue Ellen Smith like blood through their veins. This year’s Grand Marshalls of the Riggins Rodeo have history with the event and the steep country surrounding it that goes back generations. Keeping that tradition strong has been top priority for Larry, Sue Ellen, and their entire family. Larry’s family has been in the Riggins area since 1862 when they settled on John Day Creek. After a short stint away, his parents moved back in 1956, and he spent the rest of his formative years in Riggins, with ranching, riding colts, and the Riggins Rodeo as important parts of his life. His dad, his brother, and he started riding colts in the Riggins Rodeo arena, and at the age of 13, Larry won his first check there. Sue Ellen began attending the Riggins Rodeo in the 60’s when her dad, Herb, began competing in the calf roping and wild cow milking. By 1968, her passion for the community and the rodeo had taken root, and she ran for Queen that year. She had lost her hat during the contest, and a kind young gentleman named Larry retrieved it for her. That spark did not turn into a flame, however, until they met later at the Queen’s Dance. Even then, however, the fire took a bit to light in that Larry excused himself from Sue Ellen midway through their first dance, leaving her alone on the dance floor. When he returned, Larry was apologetic about his departure, explaining he had had to go help his brother, who had gotten into a fight outside. From then on, Larry and Sue Ellen were a duo, marrying in 1973. Their early years of marriage were spent in Denver where Sue Ellen worked for the airlines and Larry rode colts, drove truck, and built saddles, a skill he had learned while in Riggins, working under Jerry Clay. That saddle making trade has served the Smiths well, with Larry crafting utilitarian works of art now for 53 years. After having spent time building saddles at Hamley’s, Severe Brothers, Wood’s Western World, and now managing the saddle shop at Hamley’s, Larry has spent a lot of time at the bench as one of the west’s finest saddle makers. Once their son Bob came onto the scene, Sue Ellen quit flying for a while, ultimately allowing the Smith family to move to White Bird where they worked for Rich Anderson for five years. After that, the family moved back to Riggins where they raised Bob, Stacy and Keri and built saddles until they moved to Pendleton in 1992.Every step of the way, however, the family was very involved in the Riggins Rodeo. The kids have all won or placed at Riggins. Larry and brother Claude won the team roping one year, and he and Sue Ellen’s brother placed, as well. Larry judged the rodeo for years; Sue Ellen still times it. Although they say they are not old enough to be Grand Marshalls of the Riggins Rodeo, they are honored with the title. Larry and Sue Ellen were inducted into the Idaho Cowboy Hall of Fame in 2017 for their years of commitment to rodeo and the cowboy way of life in Idaho. When Larry retired from judging, both the Pro West Rodeo Association and the Idaho Cowboys Association honored him with a buckle recognizing his service. Over the past 51 years, they have built a family of three children,
ten grandchildren, and four great grandchildren. They have served on the board of the Riggins Rodeo, Larry as President, Sue Ellen as Queen chairperson. Their involvement even extends to helping with Rodeo Bible Camps in the area, including Cambridge and Council, moving on to Filer, Union, and Pendleton, as well. Although they’ve spent a lot of the years traveling the Northwest, the Salmon River country will always be home for them.
