Forrie J. Smith of “Yellowstone.” Photo courtesy Visit Hot Springs.
Forrie J. Smith, the real cowboy who rode to fame as the beloved Lloyd Pierce in the insanely popular “Yellowstone” TV series, will be the official starter March 17, 2024, in the First Ever 21st Annual World’s Shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Hot Springs.
“We could have looked forever and never have found a more perfect person to fire the official starter’s pistol for our world-famous little parade,” Visit Hot Springs CEO and parade founder Steve Arrison said. “Forrie is a real cowboy who plays a real cowboy, and he has ridden into the hearts of millions of ‘Yellowstone’ fans. He’ll be perfect for the 21st edition of our parade on 98-foot Bridge Street next March.”
The parade annually attracts more than 30,000 fans from across the country to Bridge Street, which Ripley’s Believe It or Not declared the World’s Shortest Street in Everyday Use. It features an array of 40 or more zany entries that include a troupe of marching Irish Elvis Presley impersonators, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, marching Irish wolfhounds, wacky floats, marching bands, and assorted marchers who adopt the parade’s irreverent take on the boisterous holiday.
Smith got his start as a movie/TV stuntman in the 1980s and also began taking on small acting roles as well.
“I use a lot of the things I learned from rodeo in the film industry,” Smith says. “Like breaking things down into steps, thinking positive and not being negative. Thinking about what you did wrong and forgetting it, thinking about what you did right and building on it. Hurry up and wait — that’s all learned from rodeo.”
For more information call Steve Arrison at 501-321-2027.
