A Paragon of Western Style – Bobby Smith & Rod Patrick Boots

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34 – November/December, 2026

By Brittany Vermeer

For over 50 years, Bobby has been part of the very fabric of the horse industry, an ever-present sight at shows across the country. But you might not know how it all began—how Bobby became “Bobby”. It all started in McLean, Illinois, in a decidedly hors-ey family. “My mother drove that interest, and I can’t remember not ever having horses. I had a pony growing up, and horses have always been a part of my life,” Bob-by says.

When he was old enough to compete on his own, Bobby started showing horses in 4-H. He was a member of the Illinois Quarter Horse Youth team in 1976 and competed at the AQHA Youth World Show in Reining, back when the event was in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He rode Ebony Power, a 14-hand tall, coal black gelding, to place tenth in Youth Reining. When he was a freshman in college, he sold Ebony, and the horse went on to win Youth and Amateur titles in Reining and Working Cow Horse for his new owners.

“Horses were always central to my life, but I really got more involved in AQHA when Kelly and I had our daughters, Sydney and Caroline, and they started showing,” he says.

Not an Accounting Man

Bobby went to the University of Illinois where he studied Accounting. “Pretty much by the end of that stint in college, I knew that I didn’t want to do that for a living,” he laughs. “Like a lot of people, I found myself in Western retail.”

Bobby’s exposure to the Western industry came in many different forms, from working with tack and horse equipment to clothing. He had a Western store for a few years and then had the opportunity to get into the distribution business. “I was a multi-line rep for companies and got to be known as ‘that guy’ in the Midwest. I had a great relationship with all the retailers and introduced a lot of great lines in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio for 23 years,” he says.

In 1996, Miller International came calling. For almost 30 years, Bobby has represented all their lines including Cinch, Cruel Girl, and Rocky Mountain Jeans. “It was a big change for us, because we moved to Denver, Colorado. For four years, I served over development and design for all the brands in Miller International,” he says.

Then, the company made a new acquisition–Rod Patrick Boots. Bobby was on board from the get-go. “We really liked what we saw, and I thought it had a lot of potential. I was totally on board with making that acquisition and spearheading it,” he says.

The company leadership felt it was important to keep the Rod Patrick in Weatherford, Texas and Bobby agreed. So, he packed up the family once more and moved to Fort Worth, Texas. “I’ve spent the last 15 years developing, designing, and promoting Rod Patrick Boots, and really introducing it to the horse world–and supporting distribution at major shows across the country,” he says.

The Man Behind the Boots

Click here to read the complete article
34 – November/December, 2026