Riley Smith

Smith's parents are Russ and Roxanne Smith. He was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and raised in Marion, Iowa on his parents’ horse ranch.

He became an accomplished rider, competing in a horse show for the first time when he was 9 years old.

When he was 15, he placed 4th in 3-Year-Old Mares division at the American Quarter Horse Youth World Championship, and at 16 won the American Quarter Horse Youth World Championship. When he was 17, he became president of the 50,000-member youth association, becoming the youngest person to serve as president of American Quarter Horse Youth Association.

He graduated from Alburnett Junior-Senior High School in 1997, and his original intention was to earn a college degree to complement his Equine interests, but he was "discovered" at the Westdale Mall in Cedar Rapids by a local talent scout and flew to New York City to compete at the International Modeling and Talent Association (IMTA) Convention. He was signed to a Tommy Hilfiger modeling campaign. He used the money he earned to pay for acting classes.