[1][3][5] After returning to the United States as a teenager, he lived in San Martin, California and attended Palma High School in Salinas.
During the 20 years of the Wrangler Bullfighting Tour which culminated at the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) from 1981-2000, Smets was a top-six finisher 17 times.
At the 2001 PBR World Finals, Smets no longer wore his traditional baggy clown outfit and began wearing a sport jersey and shorts that featured his sponsors' logos.
[12] In 2019, he was inducted into the Rodeo Hall of Fame of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.
[14] Jeremiah was active from 2013 to 2017 and began bucking on the elite Built Ford Tough Series (BFTS) circuit in 2014.
[3][8] Although these injuries often paralyze people who suffer them, Smets' main problem from them was limited motion in his neck.
[17] Smets and his wife, Carla, married in 1993, and they have four daughters, Corey, Dylan, Josie, and Sammy.