Julie Smith’s story is one of pursuing passions and leaning on a foundation of faith to overcome the daily battles that fear can bring. A barrel racer, mother, wife, and owner of “Be Fierce”, Julie lives with her family in Travelers Rest, South Carolina.
Julie fell in love with horses at 4 years old and when she turned 5 years old her Papa bought her one. She focused on trail riding and western pleasure work, enjoying the companionship of her horse above all else. When she was 10 years old she tried Hunter Jumper and English riding lessons but just didn’t feel that the culture fit her, so she returned to her beloved western world.
There was one discipline that had caught her eye and held it: barrel racing. At the time, barrel racing wasn’t as big as it is now and when she told her Papa about her interest he told her that barrel horses were crazy and she’d just get hurt. So Julie focused on leisure riding. She got another horse in the 4th grade and kept that horse until 2014. He was 37 years old when he passed away and had lived an incredible life with her.
Julie was a single mom for many years and put her two boys at the forefront, focusing on their needs and not having much time for riding. She later remarried and the boys grew up. With the boys interested in their own pursuits, and her husband having his own hobby (deer hunting), she found herself struggling with time she wanted to fill.
It was time to pursue her barrel racing dreams. She was 47 years old and determined to show others it was never too late to pursue your passions.
She felt totally green–after having that one horse for so long and being somewhat isolated from the horse world, she didn’t know what tack to use and pretty much had to learn how to ride all over again.
Julie found a few trainers to work with, learned the barrel pattern, and rode their horses. After a while she heard about an upcoming rodeo in Marietta. She had wanted to ride in a rodeo her whole life and went to her trainer at the time and asked if she could enter. They asked if she was sure, and in retrospect she says if she’d realized what she was getting into she might not have been so sure. But she was bold (living out that fierceness) and saddled up anyways. The arena was really muddy and nobody had a good run that night but she had done it—ridden in her first rodeo. That was in the Spring of 2019.
On June 2, 2019, Julie was riding a friend’s horse on the back side of her property at dusk.
She remembers swatting at endless summer bugs and bees and the horse tossing his head at the insects. Then everything goes blank. Nobody is sure exactly what happened, but she was somehow thrown from her horse and hit her head hard enough to be knocked unconscious.
At 4 foot 11 she has always needed a boost to get up on a horse, normally from a fence or a mounting block. After being knocked out, she somehow got back on the horse and rode halfway back to her house where her husband was. Her memory starts back at that moment of arrival close to her house when she touched her head and felt blood and saw dirt all over her clothes. She and her sister don’t know if it was her Papa or Jesus himself who put her back on that horse and got her home, but there seemed to be some Divine intervention for sure.
She went to the hospital and found out she had broken ribs in addition to her traumatic brain injury. Months of all different types of therapy ensued, and she found herself a changed person, quieter, a little fearful, and worried about whether she would ever become herself again.
As part of her therapy, she and the other patients made jewelry, bracelets and such. She asked about how it worked and was told that the jewelry was sold and the money was used to buy the supplies for patients to make more jewelry. This idea stuck with her.
Julie’s life had become a rollercoaster of trying to heal. Issues with her memory, her walking, and dizziness all kept surfacing and some days were better than others.
Through the uncertainty of the journey, Julie clung to her faith. One verse in particular kept coming into her mind. Joshua 1:9 where God commands his people to be strong and courageous and also assures us that we can be because He is with us wherever we go. As she leaned on this verse, she started thinking about the phrase “Be Fierce” and how that courage meant not being scared to ride or let fear dictate your life.
She decided to start sharing this vision with other people, both by recognizing those in her community who had acted boldly and by advocating for people to wear helmets while riding–not being preachy but trying to make it acceptable or “cool” to do.
The people she encountered ranged from those who were fighting addiction, to those who had disabilities and even just people who needed someone to believe in them.
As she encouraged others, Julie began to see her own strength build. Exactly 1 year to the day of her accident, she rode her horse in her first jackpot. Then, in 2022 she and her horse won a 4D championship buckle and a 4D NBHA District Saddle. In addition, they qualified to go compete at the NBHA (National Barrel Horse Association) World Finals in Perry, Georgia.
As a way to raise money to go to the Finals in Georgia she began selling Be Fierce t-shirts. Even after the Finals, people kept requesting Be Fierce gear, and soon she was ordering hoodies and sweatshirts too.
Her vision is to continue to grow the business and to use a portion of the proceeds to help others. She has already made a few contributions (some anonymous) and wants to do more to help others. She says, “I love the opportunity of sharing blessings, especially ‘anonymously’. I never want Be Fierce (BF) to be just about me, it is about encouraging others to believe in themselves and to never give up!”
Julie often sells her BF gear at rodeos and is frequently adding new items to the lineup. This year she added tank tops, BF caps and tie down keepers. She also collaborated with the head injury clinic, having the patients currently going through therapy make BF bracelets. Julie is especially grateful to have a partnership with the head injury clinic. She states that it is a great way to promote traumatic brain injury awareness.
While she is grateful for the success, she wants to share her message above all else. She includes a little card with every sale so that folks know the meaning behind her brand. It is just as important for her to have the reminder to “be fierce” too as she still gets nervous and scared sometimes while competing, but she also knows you can’t let fear hold you back from enjoying the things that you love and you can’t live with regrets…so she chooses every day to “Be Fierce.”
Want to order some gear? Contact her at BeFierce19@gmail.com.
