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THE most successful cowgirl in Australian Professional Rodeo Association history is planning to start her quest for a seventh title in rodeos in three states.

Lockington (Vic) rider Cherie O’Donoghue has won six all around cowgirl titles in the APRA, two more than the next most successful rider and could rightly be dubbed “The Queen of Rodeo”.

After 20 years on the circuit, she hasn’t even thought of retirement.

“I have slowed down a little,” she said now concentrating on rodeos in the southern States and a trip to Warwick in Queensland on the last weekend in October.

She hasn’t competed on the Northern Run in Queensland since she was pregnant with three-year-old son Beau and won’t make the trip north this year.

Partner Lee Kimber is one of the best timed event cowboys in the APRA.

“I am hoping we can return to the Northern Run next year,” O’Donoghue said.

Her first Queensland Rodeo this year will be on the last weekend in October at Warwick.

Beau hasn’t yet shown a desire to follow his parents into rodeo.

“He is not that interested in horses but that doesn’t concern me at the moment,” she said.

“Beau is more interested in his tractors, trucks and crocodiles when we go to a rodeo.”

With six all around titles to her credit between 2001 to 2013, O’Donoghue has shown outstanding form in both the barrel race and breakaway roping.

Like a top of the shelf cricket all rounder, she hesitates when asked what is her best event.

“I would have said barrel racing is my best but I have started to get a lot keener on breakaway roping.

“Last year when we loaded our horses for Warwick, I said to Lee we had a whole new lot of horses on the truck,” O’Donoghue said.

Two of those horses are her barrel racing horse Bingle who returned from injury and her roping horse Sparkie.

The family will be on the road to rodeos at Tamworth (NSW), Marrabel (SA) and Warwick (Qld) in spring.

“Bingle likes the surface at the Warwick Rodeo where we won the final and finished second in the aggregate last year,” she said.

She recalls an era when there were six top opponents in the barrel race.

“Now there are 15 top riders, the sport has grown so much,” she said.

While she can rattle off the names of a number of top riders in the barrel race, O’Donoghue believes fellow riders will need to keep an eye on two of the young guns in the next few years, Mt Tarampa (Qld) cowgirl Cheyenne Whitwell and O’Donoghue’s niece Shianne O’Donoghue-Kent.

“Shianne and her sister Montana are now in America at the high school finals, Shianne has won a junior title and has beaten me in the barrel race,” O’Donoghue said.

While O’Donoghue and Kimber only expect to compete in three rodeos in the first six months of the new season starting May 1, they will compete in all the Christmas Run rodeos in Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia and head to South Australia for Wilmington at the end of January.

After competing on the first two trophy saddles she won as all around champion, O’Donoghue has kept her next four along with the steer wrestling and team roping trophy saddles Kimber has won at APRA National Finals Rodeos.

While she won’t be in Queensland for the Northern Run, O’Donoghue warns fellow competitors to look out for her nieces, Shianne and Montana, as well as Victorian cowgirl Leslie Moore and timed event expert Terry Evison who will be some of the riders to beat at the Cloncurry and Mt Isa rodeos on the Northern Run.

Rodeo Program: July 19 Taroom; July 26 Richmond; August 1-2 Cloncurry; August 8-10 Mt Isa; August 16 Katherine (NT); August 23 Darwin (NT). August 30 Mataranka (NT).

More information from APRA on 07 4661 8183

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