R.P. Smith, Poetry From the Saddle

Nebraska Stories

Air Date: 03/19/2026

He was content to work cattle on his ranch, but he says the Good Lord had other plans that didn’t involve “just following cows around,” setting R.P. Smith on the path to poetry. He wrote his first poem at 27 and soon found his voice on local stages. Today, he performs across the U.S. and is a regular at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada.

R.P. Smith drives into his pasture to check his cattle.

A panoramic scene of R.P. Smith with the Nebraska Public Media production crew.

Grasshoppers hitch a temporary ride on the grill of R.P.'s truck.

A portrait of the Smith family on horseback. (R.P.'s parents on the left, R.P. is in the center and surrounded by his children and wife, Beth.)

R.P. Smith performed at Nebraska’s former Comstock Music Festival.

R.P. Smith was inducted into the Nebraska Sandhills Cowboy Poet Hall of Fame in 2023.