MIGHTY MOUNT ISA

Mighty Mount Isa

Outback Queensland has a knack for producing stand out rodeos and there are none finer than the mighty Mount Isa Rodeo. Backed by years of prestige and phenomenal prizemoney, Mount Isa is the rodeo every cowboy and cowgirl wants to win. This year saw a healthy mix of repeat winners, Australian champions dominating and fresh faces claiming their first taste of victory on a big stage.

Jane Ryan made it her second win in the famous arena, in a hotly contested Ladies Breakaway Roping. Her average time of 6.95seconds edged her in front of Moonbi roper Lauren Smith by merely 0.1 seconds. While current Australian champion Leanne Caban and her standout gelding Akka Dakka dominated in the Ladies Barrel Racing. A strong performance by Leanne in the Ladies Breakaway Roping also saw her sashed as the Allround Cowgirl.

It was the young guns who shined the brightest in the Rope and Tie, with Tamworth’s Logan Penfold taking home the coveted buckle, holding at bay allround sensation Toby Hale and Shane Iker. The 2023 Team Roping buckles will also find themselves at home in the Tamworth region, with Ben Smith and Kai Clark proving why they’re the current Australian Champions, winning by a clear margin 1.5 seconds faster than anybody else.

Jarrod McKane was the only cowboy to back up his win from the previous week at the Curry Merry Muster and he now finds himself in the heat of a Pro Tour title race with second placegetter Brendan Crawley. Victorian David Stacey proved too good for the Saddle Bronc Riding field, convincingly winning the blue ribbon from Queenslander’s Jordan Iker and Lachie Sheppard.

A Mount Isa rodeo win can boost your career and put you on the cowboy map so to speak. Fresh faces Boston Leather and William Sloan both made a name for themselves with standout performances and the biggest wins of their careers. William Sloan held off experienced cowboys and a pack of young enthusiastic steer wrestlers to claim victory. At the other end of the arena, Boston Leather made his maiden trip to Mount Isa more than memorable. He rode his short go bull in sticky fashion in front of a packed Saturday night stadium making him the only cowboy to ride all three bulls and the winner of the feature Bull Ride.

Season standout Toby Hale wrapped up the winners, claiming the Allround Cowboy buckle, as the northern run of rodeos begins to wind down and the race to see who is crowned Pro Tour winners ramps up.