Australia’s best cowboys and cowgirls are getting set to put it all on the line.
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The pinnacle of the rodeo and campdrafting year, the annual Australian Bushmen’s Campdraft and Rodeo Association National Finals will see the 2018 champions decided, and crowned, over five days and nights of action at the Australian Equine Livestock and Events Centre.
“It’s the biggest event we run all year, and the best,” ABCRA president Matthew Weber said.
The rodeo and campdrafting finals follow on from the ranch sorting national championships which were held on the weekend.
Dubbo’s Ben Lawrence was crowned the Iron Hide high point competitor of the year with a score of 439½ points, while Joe Southern won the Marsh Carney saddle shoot-out.
Staged as part of The Great Australian Round Up, it was the third ranch sorting national finals the ABCRA have held, and the biggest, with 586 runs over the two days and competitors traveling from Western Australia and Queensland as well as all over NSW.
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“It’s a new sport and it’s going ahead in leaps and bounds,” Weber said.
It was a busy weekend for Weber and his team with the ABCRA also running a charity rodeo as part of the Round Up.
“It was probably our biggest crowd we’ve had on the Saturday before,” he said.
His attention now turns to the rodeo finals, which get underway at AELEC on Tuesday night with the first round of the junior finals.
It’s the second National Finals Weber has overseen and the campdrafter is expecting very strong competition.
“There’s a fair few titles that aren’t decided in both the campdraft and rodeo,” he said.
One of the biggest headaches has been sourcing cattle, especially for the campdraft with the ongoing dry conditions forcing several associations to cancel their drafts.
“It’s been a fair challenge but we’ve made it work,” Weber said.
“It’s all coming pretty much locally.”
“We’ve got a few fellas that donate cattle every year for the finals.”
Each night of the rodeo finals will support a different charity with the competitors donning the colours associated with the cause, which will this year include Dolly’s Dream, breast cancer and prostate cancer.
“Our competitors really get behind it. Everyone knows someone that has been affected in some way,” he said.
Gates open at 5pm ahead of a 6pm start.
Entry to the junior finals is free.
The campdraft finals commence on Thursday night and continue through to Saturday.
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