Travis Heeb is enjoying his best season on the national rodeo circuit and he can thank his new surroundings for the blockbuster year.
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Heeb is from Bowen in North Queensland and made the move to the New England area just over a year ago to give rodeo a red hot crack.
The cowboy hasn’t looked back after he finished second last year in the bareback national rodeo rankings and sits on top of this year’s rankings with a healthy lead.
Heading into Saturday’s Sibelco Attunga Down Under Rodeo, Heeb sits on $17079.93 with Ben Lees – who will also compete at Attunga – next best on $10024.54.
The bareback rider puts his competitiveness over the past two seasons down to the amount of rodeos he can now enter.
“Just consistency I suppose,” Heeb said of his good form.
“I’ve just got to try and get out there every weekend and ride good every weekend.
“You can’t really compete at home, there’s only about 10 rodeos compared to nearly one every weekend down here.”
Heeb also said living at Attunga Rodeo president and former national bareback champion Greg Gibson’s Bective property had its perks.
“I moved down with Greg and we practice here a bit. Greg’s won 10 Australian titles or something like that,” Heeb said.
“He helps me out a lot and that’s why I moved down here for, to go for it.”
The Attunga rodeo will have 19 different categories for competitors aged anywhere from eight right up to opens.
For Gibson, there’s one he’ll be looking forward to more than others – the Bill Newman Memorial Saddle Bronc.
The category will see Accident in action.
Accident was bought by Galton & Co - Stock and Station Agency and stock and station agent Matt Weber and has been contracted out to Gibson.
Gibson said Accident was a sight to behold in the arena.
“He’s an exceptional horse,” Gibson said.
“He’s a well-bred horse, there’s probably 15 years of breeding behind that horse.”
Gibson said Accident had the attributes you look for in a good rodeo horse.
“You can’t say that a horse is going to buck, you look for horses with a lot of heart, they are an athlete in their own right,” Gibson said.
The Sibelco Attunga Down Under Rodeo kicks off with the first performance at 11am on Saturday.
The main performance will start at 6pm.
Bar, barbecue and canteen facilities will be available with no alcohol or glass to be brought into the event. The small rodeo committee thanked all the sponsors who helped make it possible.
