Mitchell Smith, who operates Mid-State Farrier Services out of Licking, Mo., in Texas County, was born and raised in New York state and attended horseshoeing school at Cornell University, a long way from the Ozarks.
After 10 years of construction work, also in New York, he is happy to share that cowboying for a living in the Ozarks is his chosen lifestyle, one that he thoroughly enjoys.
His good friend, Wes Clancy, who runs Mid-Missouri Forge out of Cooks Station, Mo., in Crawford County, also a farrier, shares common interests, not only in the care of horses and cattle and the preservation of a uniquely American lifestyle but also in passing all of that on to the next generation. The results of that collaboration include a rodeo Bible camp, for kids ages 9 to 18, held each summer the first full week of June at Whispering Winds Bible Camp in Crawford County’s Cook Station. They also offer various horsemanship clinics throughout the summer.
“We were both just sort of going along with our own little thing when this crazy idea from God came along instead. At the rodeo, we offer the regular rodeo events, as well as horsemanship and trick roping,” Wes explained, before 7 a.m. one morning, as he and Mitchell were shoeing the 11 horses, belonging to Rolla’s own Camp David of the Ozarks, a Christian summer camp and mentoring program for the children of Missouri’s prisoners. A cowboy’s day almost always starts early and lasts long.
On his own 160 acres, Mitchell runs 12 cows with his parents, Jeff and Kelly Smith, but his company primarily serves other larger operations, like one out of Cabool with 3,500 head of cattle. He provides seasonal help which includes branding, beginning in the spring, calving and other hands-on services throughout the busiest times of the year.
“Horseshoeing pays for the living,” he added with a grin, as he catches up another horse hoof and proceeds to shave it down, making it ready for the next shoe. And while his chosen profession finds him in the middle of a church camp early of a morning, shoeing some not-always-so-willing young horses, Mitchell has no complaints about what he does. “Cowboying may not pay as well as construction but the day goes by quicker and I enjoy the work.”
Wes Clancy, who runs a 60 head cow-calf operation at home with his wife, Esther, also rides, trains and sells Quarter horses. He currently has about 12 horses, on his 1,000 acre ranch of both pasture and woods.
The Clancys also sponsor a Christian ministry, The Trail to the Cross, which sponsors the June Bible Camp and similar events throughout the year. Their next big event is an Extreme Cowboy Race, on Oct. 15 at the Trail to the Cross rodeo grounds in Cooks Station.
“It will include a race over an obstacle course, creek jumping, swimming through a pond, and various other events to test how well the horse is trained,” Wes explained.
Cowboying for a living takes these two gentlemen on all kinds of adventures, including Wes serving as the Master of Ceremonies at Camp David’s annual fund-raising banquet this past January in Rolla.
“He wasn’t too sure about it, at first,” Camp David’s assistant director, Grace Smith remembered, “but we had a western theme to all of it this year and his brand of humor was just perfect. We raised more funds than we have in several years and that is how we make this camp work since the vast majority of our campers are sponsored by others, coming out of foster care and similar situations.”
Camp David is a non-profit ministry that depends totally on donations and fundraisers to sponsor their 200 plus campers each summer.
Mitchell Smith and Wes Clancy, a couple of cowboys of the 21st century, proving every day that the spirit of the American West still lives and is being passed on to the next generation in the very best way possible.
