Australian rodeo
Encyclopedia
Rodeos have long been a popular competitor and spectator sport in Australia
, but were not run on an organized basis until the 1880s.
The National Agricultural Society of Victoria ran one of the earliest recorded events in 1888, when a roughriding competition was held at their annual show.
During the 1890s there were many Australian and some international Wild West shows travelling the country. Wirth's Wild West Show travelled Australia until the banks' crash in 1893. They then toured England, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, South Africa and South America.
Proprietors such as Thorpe McConville, plus the outstanding buckjump riders; Lance Skuthorpe, the Gill family and Colin McLeod ran travelling roughriding shows. These shows increased the popularity of roughriding throughout much of Australia. The travelling rodeos provided displays of riding bucking
horses and bullocks, whipcracking
, performing dogs and ponies and rope-spinning. By 1930 the Great Depression
left only a few of these travelling shows on the road.
The equipment used by early roughriders consisted of a poley saddle or exercise pad, without stirrup
s or a crupper
and a chest rein that ran from the girth to the rider’s hand, leaving him without any control of the buckjumper’s head. Bullock and bareback riders were still permitted to use two hands at this stage.
During 1927 a rodeo organized in Adelaide, South Australia attracted an estimated 50,000 spectators. Melbourne, Victoria staged a Wild West Show in 1934 which hired top Australian riders as well as a number of visiting cowboys. Following the success of the rodeo events at the Melbourne show the Royal Agricultural Society of New South Wales
(NSW) planned an international rodeo for its 1935 Sydney Royal Easter Show
and continued to invite international cowboys to its show.
Bushmen's Carnivals, the Australian equivalents of American rodeos, originated in Northern New South Wales in the 1920s and were well established by the 1930s. In 1930 Warwick, Queensland
added the American-style contests of clowns, ropers and trick riders to its programme to promote more public interest. These carnivals were sports days that held the main event of campdrafting, plus buckjumping, bullock (or steer) riding and bullock throwing. During World War II
many Queensland towns such as Charters Towers, Goondiwindi, Hughenden, Ingham, Rockhampton and Toowoomba held rodeos to raise money for hospitals and returned soldiers. The end of the war saw a revival of the carnivals and the birth of the tradition of donating proceeds to local charities, service organizations and sporting clubs. Some small town rodeos such as those held at Burketown, Queensland
(population 173) have donated around $36,000 to the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Bushmen's carnivals are held in the main country towns of the cattle country across the eastern states of Australia and South Australia.
In 1944 Sydney was the centre of rodeo being the home to the Ladies’ Rodeo Club, and competitions that attracted all of the top roughriders, plus American cowboys from Arizona, California and Texas.
By the late 1960s Australian roughriders were known as cowboys and rode broncs instead of buckjumpers. American clothing now, too, replaced the previously worn R.M. Williams clothing. Americans and Canadians were many decades ahead of Australia in developing and promoting rodeo as a professional sport and entertainment.
Mount Isa, Queensland
staged a major rodeo in 1977 which attracted 30,000 people and in September 1978 riders from the USA, Canada, New Zealand and Australia competed in the World Rodeo Titles at the showground for prize-money totaling $60,000. The Royal Agricultural Society (RAS) Show in Sydney held rodeo competitions in 1980 between Australian and Canadian roughriders and have continued to have other international competitions. In 1982 an Australian Bushmen's Carnival Association team competed in the North American Rodeo Commission's championships in Denver, Colorado
, finishing sixth overall.
, bulldogging, wild-cow milking, wild bullock races, wild horse races and releasing the surcingle. Other common sporting events such as flag and bending races (similar to pole bending
) were held for the competitors’ horses.
Later the term "rodeo" became more commonly used, with American saddles used and the events took on American naming patterns. The ABCRA now affiliates the sports of campdrafting
, roughriding (saddle bronc and bareback riding
, steer
and bull riding
) and timed rodeo events: barrel races
(ladies and junior), rope and tie
, (ladies), steer wrestling
, junior calf riding, team roping
and breakaway roping
(ladies).
The wild horse race begins with untamed horses in the chutes. Teams of three people then run to the chutes
and saddle the horses. One member of the group must then ride the horse across a finish line in the arena, ahead of any other riders. The wild bullock race is conducted in a similar manner to the wild horse race. In the steer undecorating event a competitor has a hazer to keep the steer running straight, while the woman attempts to remove a ribbon from the steer’s shoulder as fast as possible.
In 1992 the National Rodeo Queen
Quest was founded by the National Rodeo Council of Australia to promote and encourage young women into the sport of Rodeo.
Carnivals and rodeos typically take place during the spring and summer, and are usually arranged to avoid date clashes, so that competitors may take part in as many events as possible. The prize money is obtained from donations and entry fees, with the main prize money being for the open campdraft event.
The biggest rodeos are in Queensland, with the National Titles Rodeo held on the Gold Coast, the Mount Isa Rotary Rodeo, Mareeba rodeo and Warwick Rodeo where there are prestigious campdraft events in addition to rodeo events. Some of the large events in New South Wales are at Tamworth which runs a big rodeo at the Australian Equine and Livestock Events Centre
, Sydney has the large (RAS) show and Walcha holds a four day campdrafting and rodeo competition annually. Omeo, Victoria
also holds a large rodeo, with lucrative prize money for the bronc riding competition.
. Attwater suffered for several days afterwards, though. At 27 years of age, “Rocky Ned” was still Australia’s most famous buckjumper. He was bucked at the Thorpe McConville shows from 1934 to 1940 and was unridden during this time.
During the early days of bushmen's carnivals the local committees owned their own buckjumpers (broncos) which were agisted by local graziers. Local residents also supplemented these mobs with rogue buckjumpers that were difficult to ride. The cattle, bullocks, steers and calves were and still are owned by local graziers that lend them for the campdrafting and rodeo events. Nowadays stock contractor
s supply both associations with buckjumpers, bulls, dogging steers and calves for the roping events. Contract stock has produced a more uniform range of bucking stock which are also quieter to handle.
Chainsaw was one of Australia's most famous bucking bulls. Only nine contestants scored on him and he won the Australian national title of Bull of the Year a world record eight times during 1987 to 1994.
There are strict standards for the selection, care and treatment of rodeo livestock, arenas, plus equipment requirements and specifications.
and did general duties around the homestead
.
Some of the top roughriders of the 1920s included Alan McPhee, Colin McLeod, Dan Edwards, Hilton McTaggart and Jack Stanton. In 1964 Queenslander, Doug Flanagan, became the first Australian to win a major competition when he won the bareback ride at the Calgary Stampede
.
The Australian Bushmen’s Campdraft & Rodeo Association (ABCRA) members who are winners and placegetters in recognised events are awarded points that are used to determine inductees into the annual National Champions Hall of Fame. John Caban, Glenn Morgan, Ron Raynor and Kevin Cooper are among the most successful inductees with at least ten awards each. Top riders from the APRA include Bernie Smythe jnr., Bonnie Young, Vic Gough, Ray Crawford, John Duncombe, Doug Flannagan, Shane Kenny, Darren Clarke, Brad Pierce, Scott Fraser and Jim McGuire who was All-Round Champion Cowboy five times (1967, 1969, 1970, 1975 and 1976).
In 1988 Dave Appleton from Clermont, Queensland
won the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association
All-Around Rodeo Championship in America. Bernie Smythe won Australian titles before gaining international successes during 1990 and 1992, in Canada, where he now lives. In 1997 and 1998 Australian, Troy Dunn became the top bull rider of the world. Glenn O'Neill from NSW, moved to the United States and dramatically increased his earnings there, before becoming the world champion bronco rider in 2002 and a runner-up the following year.
Carl Green from Walcha, New South Wales
was a winner of the 2009 National High School Finals Rodeo “All Around Rookie Cowboy” at Farmington, New Mexico
.
Violet Skuthorpe was an outstanding lady roughrider, who in 1938, was invited to join the McCoy’s Wild West Show in America and she (then 15) toured there along with her mother and brother Lance, 19. Also travelling with the show were three other Australians, Art Creasy, Jack Watson and Ron McPhee. Violet was billed as the “World’s Champion Lady Buckjump Rider” after the American tour. Kitty Gill, Gladys Gill and Beryl Riley were other notable lady roughriders. In 1947 the ARRA decided that women competitors should have their stirrups tied. It is estimated that there were about 20 to 25 women who regularly competing in about 1944 to 1951. Later more there were more women competing as rodeos became more popular. Nowadays the women's events consist of barrel racing, breakaway roping and steer undecorating. Marie Edwards won the ABCRA All-Round Cowgirl a record five times from 1988 to 1994.
as secretary. Later that year this association adapted and adopted American rules and regulations for their competitions. They held their first rodeos in South Australia
and the “Hoofs & Horns” magazine publicized and supported this group. The ARRA adopted a standard saddle, for the buckjumping, which had a 15 inch tree, 2¼ inch kneepads and was held in place with a crupper and girth. In 1988 the ARRA changed their name to the Australian Professional Rodeo Association
(APRA).
On 28 March 1946 the Northern (N.S.W.) Bushmen's Carnival Association was founded at Maitland, New South Wales
. The name was again changed in 1960 to the Australian Bushmen’s Carnival Association. On 17 July 1985 the association became a company limited by guarantee, and had yet another name change, to the Australian Bushmen’s Campdraft & Rodeo Association (ABCRA). The ARRA had more good roughriders though, and in 1957 in a Sydney Royal Show competition between the top 25 roughriders from each association the ARRA riders won all of the events.
These two associations gained considerable support and most local bodies are affiliated with one or other of them. They provided affiliated committees by coordinating and assisting all carnivals with standard gear, rules for events and a form of insurance against injuries sustained in competitions. The ABCRA has over 4,800 members and many more ‘day competitors’, which makes it the largest rodeo and campdraft organization in Australia. This association has approximately 200 affiliated committees across the country running events that attract numerous competitors and many hundreds of thousands of spectators annually.
In May 1992 the National Rodeo Council of Australia (NRCA) was formed to further the sport of rodeo and has represented the following associations:
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, but were not run on an organized basis until the 1880s.
History
Newspaper reports recorded public roughriding events that took place in Victoria during the 1880s. These events included competitions for roughriding and bullock-throwing which was accomplished by riding up to bullock, grabbing its tail and throwing it off balance and then tying its legs. This competition arose from the stockman’s skill in capturing feral or wild cattle.The National Agricultural Society of Victoria ran one of the earliest recorded events in 1888, when a roughriding competition was held at their annual show.
During the 1890s there were many Australian and some international Wild West shows travelling the country. Wirth's Wild West Show travelled Australia until the banks' crash in 1893. They then toured England, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, South Africa and South America.
Proprietors such as Thorpe McConville, plus the outstanding buckjump riders; Lance Skuthorpe, the Gill family and Colin McLeod ran travelling roughriding shows. These shows increased the popularity of roughriding throughout much of Australia. The travelling rodeos provided displays of riding bucking
Bucking
Bucking is a movement performed by a horse or bull in which the animal lowers his head and raises his hindquarters into the air, usually while kicking out with his hind legs. If powerful, it may unseat the rider enough so that he falls off....
horses and bullocks, whipcracking
Whipcracking
Whipcracking is the act of producing a cracking sound through the use of a whip. Originating during mustering and horse driving/riding, it has become an art of its own. A rhythmic whipcracking belongs to the traditional culture among various Germanic peoples of Bavaria , various Alpine areas ,...
, performing dogs and ponies and rope-spinning. By 1930 the Great Depression
Great Depression in Australia
Australia suffered badly during the period of the Great Depression of the 1930s. The Depression began with the Wall Street Crash of October, 1929 and rapidly spread worldwide. As in other nations, Australia suffered years of high unemployment, poverty, low profits, deflation, plunging incomes, and...
left only a few of these travelling shows on the road.
The equipment used by early roughriders consisted of a poley saddle or exercise pad, without stirrup
Stirrup
A stirrup is a light frame or ring that holds the foot of a rider, attached to the saddle by a strap, often called a stirrup leather. Stirrups are usually paired and are used to aid in mounting and as a support while using a riding animal...
s or a crupper
Crupper
A crupper is a piece of tack used on horses and other equids to keep a saddle, harness or other equipment from sliding forward.-Construction:...
and a chest rein that ran from the girth to the rider’s hand, leaving him without any control of the buckjumper’s head. Bullock and bareback riders were still permitted to use two hands at this stage.
During 1927 a rodeo organized in Adelaide, South Australia attracted an estimated 50,000 spectators. Melbourne, Victoria staged a Wild West Show in 1934 which hired top Australian riders as well as a number of visiting cowboys. Following the success of the rodeo events at the Melbourne show the Royal Agricultural Society of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
(NSW) planned an international rodeo for its 1935 Sydney Royal Easter Show
Sydney Royal Easter Show
The Sydney Royal Easter Show, also known as the Royal Easter Show or simply The Show, is an annual show held in Sydney, Australia over two weeks around Easter.It is run by the Royal Agricultural Society of New South Wales and was first held in 1823...
and continued to invite international cowboys to its show.
Bushmen's Carnivals, the Australian equivalents of American rodeos, originated in Northern New South Wales in the 1920s and were well established by the 1930s. In 1930 Warwick, Queensland
Warwick, Queensland
Warwick is a town in Queensland, Australia, lying south-west of Brisbane. It is the administrative centre of the Southern Downs Local Government Area. In 2006 the town of Warwick had a population of 12,562....
added the American-style contests of clowns, ropers and trick riders to its programme to promote more public interest. These carnivals were sports days that held the main event of campdrafting, plus buckjumping, bullock (or steer) riding and bullock throwing. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
many Queensland towns such as Charters Towers, Goondiwindi, Hughenden, Ingham, Rockhampton and Toowoomba held rodeos to raise money for hospitals and returned soldiers. The end of the war saw a revival of the carnivals and the birth of the tradition of donating proceeds to local charities, service organizations and sporting clubs. Some small town rodeos such as those held at Burketown, Queensland
Burketown, Queensland
- Morning glory cloud :From the months of August to November, a rare meteorological phenomenon known as "Morning Glory" - long, tubular clouds, some up to 1000 km in length - is often observed in the skies above Burketown.....
(population 173) have donated around $36,000 to the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Bushmen's carnivals are held in the main country towns of the cattle country across the eastern states of Australia and South Australia.
In 1944 Sydney was the centre of rodeo being the home to the Ladies’ Rodeo Club, and competitions that attracted all of the top roughriders, plus American cowboys from Arizona, California and Texas.
By the late 1960s Australian roughriders were known as cowboys and rode broncs instead of buckjumpers. American clothing now, too, replaced the previously worn R.M. Williams clothing. Americans and Canadians were many decades ahead of Australia in developing and promoting rodeo as a professional sport and entertainment.
Mount Isa, Queensland
Mount Isa, Queensland
-Culture and sport:The local theatre group, the Mount Isa Theatrical Society, or MITS, often holds plays and musicals, at least once every few months or so....
staged a major rodeo in 1977 which attracted 30,000 people and in September 1978 riders from the USA, Canada, New Zealand and Australia competed in the World Rodeo Titles at the showground for prize-money totaling $60,000. The Royal Agricultural Society (RAS) Show in Sydney held rodeo competitions in 1980 between Australian and Canadian roughriders and have continued to have other international competitions. In 1982 an Australian Bushmen's Carnival Association team competed in the North American Rodeo Commission's championships in Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
, finishing sixth overall.
Events
Original events included buckjumping (saddle broncs), bullock riding, campdraftingCampdrafting
Campdrafting is a unique and very popular Australian sport involving a horse and rider working cattle. The riding style is like that of Western riding and the event is somewhat related to the American events such as cutting, working cow horse, team penning, and ranch sorting.In the competition, a...
, bulldogging, wild-cow milking, wild bullock races, wild horse races and releasing the surcingle. Other common sporting events such as flag and bending races (similar to pole bending
Pole bending
Pole bending is timed event that features a horse and one mounted rider, running a weaving or serpentine path around six poles arranged in a line...
) were held for the competitors’ horses.
Later the term "rodeo" became more commonly used, with American saddles used and the events took on American naming patterns. The ABCRA now affiliates the sports of campdrafting
Campdrafting
Campdrafting is a unique and very popular Australian sport involving a horse and rider working cattle. The riding style is like that of Western riding and the event is somewhat related to the American events such as cutting, working cow horse, team penning, and ranch sorting.In the competition, a...
, roughriding (saddle bronc and bareback riding
Saddle bronc and bareback riding
Bronc riding, either saddle bronc or bareback bronc competition, is a rodeo event that involves a rodeo participant riding on a horse , that attempts to throw or buck off the rider...
, steer
Steer riding
Riding steers in contrast to using cattle for oxen has an equally long history, although not as well known. Steers were ridden by American Indians such as Blue Duck, who choose to raid farmsteads on a steer knowing that loose cattle around the ranches would help hide his tracks. He would ride off...
and bull riding
Bull riding
Bull riding refers to rodeo sports that involve a rider getting on a large bull and attempting to stay mounted while the animal attempts to buck off the rider....
) and timed rodeo events: barrel races
Barrel racing
Barrel racing is a rodeo event in which a horse and rider attempt to complete a clover-leaf pattern around preset barrels in the fastest time. Though both boys and girls compete at the youth level and men compete in some amateur venues, in collegiate and professional ranks, it is primarily a rodeo...
(ladies and junior), rope and tie
Calf roping
Calf roping, also known as tie-down roping, is a rodeo event that features a calf and a rider mounted on a horse. The goal of this timed event is for the rider to catch the calf by throwing a loop of rope from a lariat around its neck, dismount from the horse, run to the calf, and restrain it by...
, (ladies), steer wrestling
Steer wrestling
Steer wrestling, also known as bulldogging, is a rodeo event in which a horse-mounted rider chases a steer, drops from the horse to the steer, then wrestles the steer to the ground by twisting its horns. Like all rodeo events, there are concerns from the animal rights community that the competition...
, junior calf riding, team roping
Team roping
Team roping also known as heading and heeling is a rodeo event that features a steer and two mounted riders. The first roper is referred to as the "header," the person who ropes the front of the steer, usually around the horns, but it is also legal for the rope to go around the neck, or go around...
and breakaway roping
Breakaway roping
Breakaway roping is a variation of calf roping where a calf is roped, but not thrown and tied. It is a rodeo event that features a calf and one mounted rider. The calves are moved one at a time through narrow runs leading to a chute with spring-loaded doors. The horse and rider wait in a box next...
(ladies).
The wild horse race begins with untamed horses in the chutes. Teams of three people then run to the chutes
Cattle crush
A cattle crush , squeeze chute , standing stock, or simply stock is a strongly built stall or cage for holding cattle, horses, or other livestock safely while they are examined, marked, or given veterinary treatment. Cows may be made to suckle calves in a crush...
and saddle the horses. One member of the group must then ride the horse across a finish line in the arena, ahead of any other riders. The wild bullock race is conducted in a similar manner to the wild horse race. In the steer undecorating event a competitor has a hazer to keep the steer running straight, while the woman attempts to remove a ribbon from the steer’s shoulder as fast as possible.
In 1992 the National Rodeo Queen
Rodeo queen
A rodeo queen is a female representative and "face" of the sport of rodeo. She represents her rodeo, association, or region for a standard time of usually 12 months and is usually required to wear a cowboy hat, crown, and banner with her title on it. Being a rodeo queen requires skills in western...
Quest was founded by the National Rodeo Council of Australia to promote and encourage young women into the sport of Rodeo.
Carnivals and rodeos typically take place during the spring and summer, and are usually arranged to avoid date clashes, so that competitors may take part in as many events as possible. The prize money is obtained from donations and entry fees, with the main prize money being for the open campdraft event.
The biggest rodeos are in Queensland, with the National Titles Rodeo held on the Gold Coast, the Mount Isa Rotary Rodeo, Mareeba rodeo and Warwick Rodeo where there are prestigious campdraft events in addition to rodeo events. Some of the large events in New South Wales are at Tamworth which runs a big rodeo at the Australian Equine and Livestock Events Centre
Australian Equine and Livestock Events Centre
The Australian Equine and Livestock Events Centre is a multi building and arena complex that was designed for equine usage. It has two indoor arenas, stabling, plus an education and training building, which is located on the New England Highway approximately five kilometres south of the Tamworth...
, Sydney has the large (RAS) show and Walcha holds a four day campdrafting and rodeo competition annually. Omeo, Victoria
Omeo, Victoria
Omeo is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Great Alpine Road, east of Mount Hotham, in the Shire of East Gippsland. At the 2006 census, Omeo had a population of 452. The name is derived from the Aboriginal word for 'mountains' or 'hills'...
also holds a large rodeo, with lucrative prize money for the bronc riding competition.
Livestock
Some of the outstanding early buckjumpers were "Bobs", “Rocky Ned” and later the grey mare, “Curio”. “Rocky Ned” was known as the “four-legged fury” and became somewhat a legend with several riders including Jack Reilly, Gordon Attwater and Lyn Smith claiming to be the first or only one to ride him. Gordon Attwater is the one rider who has an undisputed claim to success, when he rode “Rocky Ned” in 1929 at Grafton, New South WalesGrafton, New South Wales
The city of Grafton is the commercial hub of the Clarence River Valley. Established in 1851, Grafton features many historic buildings and tree-lined streets. Located approximately 630 kilometres north of Sydney and 340 km south of Brisbane, Grafton and the Clarence Valley can be reached...
. Attwater suffered for several days afterwards, though. At 27 years of age, “Rocky Ned” was still Australia’s most famous buckjumper. He was bucked at the Thorpe McConville shows from 1934 to 1940 and was unridden during this time.
During the early days of bushmen's carnivals the local committees owned their own buckjumpers (broncos) which were agisted by local graziers. Local residents also supplemented these mobs with rogue buckjumpers that were difficult to ride. The cattle, bullocks, steers and calves were and still are owned by local graziers that lend them for the campdrafting and rodeo events. Nowadays stock contractor
Stock contractor
A Stock contractor is an individual or business that provides animals for rodeo competition. Stock contractors supply "rough stock" - Saddle bronc and bareback bronc horses and bull riding bulls, plus steers for steer wrestling and team roping, plus calves for calf roping events...
s supply both associations with buckjumpers, bulls, dogging steers and calves for the roping events. Contract stock has produced a more uniform range of bucking stock which are also quieter to handle.
Chainsaw was one of Australia's most famous bucking bulls. Only nine contestants scored on him and he won the Australian national title of Bull of the Year a world record eight times during 1987 to 1994.
There are strict standards for the selection, care and treatment of rodeo livestock, arenas, plus equipment requirements and specifications.
Riders
The early buckjumper riders were known as roughriders. Australian cowboys at that time were the youths or old men that handled the milking cows on stationsStation (Australian agriculture)
Station is the term for a large Australian landholding used for livestock production. It corresponds to the North American term ranch or South American estancia...
and did general duties around the homestead
Homestead (buildings)
A homestead is either a single building, or collection of buildings grouped together on a large agricultural holding, such as a ranch, station or a large agricultural operation of some other designation.-See also:* Farm house* Homestead Act...
.
Some of the top roughriders of the 1920s included Alan McPhee, Colin McLeod, Dan Edwards, Hilton McTaggart and Jack Stanton. In 1964 Queenslander, Doug Flanagan, became the first Australian to win a major competition when he won the bareback ride at the Calgary Stampede
Calgary Stampede
The Calgary Stampede is an annual rodeo, exhibition and festival held every July in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The ten-day event, which bills itself as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth", attracts over one million visitors per year and features one of the world's largest rodeos, a parade, midway,...
.
The Australian Bushmen’s Campdraft & Rodeo Association (ABCRA) members who are winners and placegetters in recognised events are awarded points that are used to determine inductees into the annual National Champions Hall of Fame. John Caban, Glenn Morgan, Ron Raynor and Kevin Cooper are among the most successful inductees with at least ten awards each. Top riders from the APRA include Bernie Smythe jnr., Bonnie Young, Vic Gough, Ray Crawford, John Duncombe, Doug Flannagan, Shane Kenny, Darren Clarke, Brad Pierce, Scott Fraser and Jim McGuire who was All-Round Champion Cowboy five times (1967, 1969, 1970, 1975 and 1976).
In 1988 Dave Appleton from Clermont, Queensland
Clermont, Queensland
Clermont is an agricultural town in the Isaac Region, Queensland, Australia. It is 274 km south-west of Mackay on the junction of the Gregory and Peak Downs highways...
won the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association
Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association
The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association is an organization whose members compete in rodeos throughout North America, primarily in the United States. The PRCA sanctions rodeo venues and events through the PRCA Circuit System. Its championship event is the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo...
All-Around Rodeo Championship in America. Bernie Smythe won Australian titles before gaining international successes during 1990 and 1992, in Canada, where he now lives. In 1997 and 1998 Australian, Troy Dunn became the top bull rider of the world. Glenn O'Neill from NSW, moved to the United States and dramatically increased his earnings there, before becoming the world champion bronco rider in 2002 and a runner-up the following year.
Carl Green from Walcha, New South Wales
Walcha, New South Wales
Walcha is a parish and town at the south-eastern edge of the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia.The town serves as the seat of Walcha Shire. Walcha is located 425 kilometres by road from Sydney at the intersection of the Oxley Highway and Thunderbolts Way...
was a winner of the 2009 National High School Finals Rodeo “All Around Rookie Cowboy” at Farmington, New Mexico
Farmington, New Mexico
Farmington is a city in San Juan County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 U.S. Census the city had a total population of 45,877 people. Farmington makes up one of the four Metropolitan Statistical Areas in New Mexico. The U.S...
.
Violet Skuthorpe was an outstanding lady roughrider, who in 1938, was invited to join the McCoy’s Wild West Show in America and she (then 15) toured there along with her mother and brother Lance, 19. Also travelling with the show were three other Australians, Art Creasy, Jack Watson and Ron McPhee. Violet was billed as the “World’s Champion Lady Buckjump Rider” after the American tour. Kitty Gill, Gladys Gill and Beryl Riley were other notable lady roughriders. In 1947 the ARRA decided that women competitors should have their stirrups tied. It is estimated that there were about 20 to 25 women who regularly competing in about 1944 to 1951. Later more there were more women competing as rodeos became more popular. Nowadays the women's events consist of barrel racing, breakaway roping and steer undecorating. Marie Edwards won the ABCRA All-Round Cowgirl a record five times from 1988 to 1994.
Governing organizations
In August 1944 the Australian Bushmen's Carnival Association (ABCA) was formed by the Royal Agricultural Society of New South Wales, as a result of the increase in the number of bushmen's carnivals. The purpose of this formation was to standardize regulations and rules, but insufficient support was given and the association was terminated in 1947. Another national association, for professional riders, the Australian Rough Rider’s Association (ARRA) was formed on 1 January 1945 with Ron Boardman as chairman and R. M. WilliamsR. M. Williams
Reginald Murray Williams AO, CMG was an Australian bushman and entrepreneur who rose from a swagman, to a millionaire. Widely known as just 'R.M.', he was born at Belalie North near Jamestown in the Mid North, 200 kilometres north of Adelaide, into a pioneering settler family working and training...
as secretary. Later that year this association adapted and adopted American rules and regulations for their competitions. They held their first rodeos in South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
and the “Hoofs & Horns” magazine publicized and supported this group. The ARRA adopted a standard saddle, for the buckjumping, which had a 15 inch tree, 2¼ inch kneepads and was held in place with a crupper and girth. In 1988 the ARRA changed their name to the Australian Professional Rodeo Association
Australian Professional Rodeo Association
The Australian Professional Rodeo Association is a national governing body for the sport of Australian rodeo, founded in 1944 APRA has been setting the standards for rodeo in Australia for over 60 years....
(APRA).
On 28 March 1946 the Northern (N.S.W.) Bushmen's Carnival Association was founded at Maitland, New South Wales
Maitland, New South Wales
Maitland is a city in the Lower Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia and the seat of Maitland City Council, situated on the Hunter River approximately by road north of Sydney and north-west of Newcastle...
. The name was again changed in 1960 to the Australian Bushmen’s Carnival Association. On 17 July 1985 the association became a company limited by guarantee, and had yet another name change, to the Australian Bushmen’s Campdraft & Rodeo Association (ABCRA). The ARRA had more good roughriders though, and in 1957 in a Sydney Royal Show competition between the top 25 roughriders from each association the ARRA riders won all of the events.
These two associations gained considerable support and most local bodies are affiliated with one or other of them. They provided affiliated committees by coordinating and assisting all carnivals with standard gear, rules for events and a form of insurance against injuries sustained in competitions. The ABCRA has over 4,800 members and many more ‘day competitors’, which makes it the largest rodeo and campdraft organization in Australia. This association has approximately 200 affiliated committees across the country running events that attract numerous competitors and many hundreds of thousands of spectators annually.
In May 1992 the National Rodeo Council of Australia (NRCA) was formed to further the sport of rodeo and has represented the following associations:
- Australian Bushmen’s Campdraft & Rodeo Association (ABCRA)
- Australian Professional Bull Riders Association (APBA)
- Central Rodeo Cowboys Association (CRCA)
- Indigenous Rodeo Riders Australia (IRRA)
- National Student Rodeo Association (NSRA)
- National Rodeo Association (NRA)
- Northern Cowboys Association (NCA)
- Queensland Rodeo Association (QRA)
- Rodeo Services Association (RSA)
- West Coast Rodeo Circuit (WCRC)
See also
- CampdraftingCampdraftingCampdrafting is a unique and very popular Australian sport involving a horse and rider working cattle. The riding style is like that of Western riding and the event is somewhat related to the American events such as cutting, working cow horse, team penning, and ranch sorting.In the competition, a...
- CowboyCowboyA cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
- EquestrianismEquestrianismEquestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...
- Rodeo bareback rigging
- Rodeo clownRodeo clownA rodeo clown, also known as a bullfighter or rodeo protection athlete, is a rodeo performer who works in bull riding competitions. The primary job of the rodeo clown is to protect a fallen rider from the bull, whether the rider has been bucked off or has jumped off of the animal...
- Station (Australian agriculture)Station (Australian agriculture)Station is the term for a large Australian landholding used for livestock production. It corresponds to the North American term ranch or South American estancia...