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GOONDIWINDI COWBOYS CONQUER INTERNATIONAL BRONC MATCH AT WET WARWICK

Cinch International Australian Bronc Match

GOONDIWINDI COWBOYS CONQUER INTERNATIONAL BRONC MATCH AT WET WARWICK

Jake Finlay delivers a spectacular 90.5-point ride to win ahead of Tom Webster in a homegrown one-two at Warwick

Vision, interviews and stills here

 

It was wet, it was wild and it was world class. Despite the rain, the Cinch International Australian Bronc Match delivered masterclass after masterclass at the Warwick Rodeo and Gold Cup Campdraft last night, as 20 of the finest saddle bronc riders from Australia, Canada and the United States matched their skills against an elite line-up of bucking horses.

 

For spectators, it was saddle bronc riding at its absolute best: elite horses beneath elite champions, with consistently high scores and the final placings coming down to the finest technical margins.

 

In a stunning demonstration of why he is revered as one of Australia’s leading international competitors, Goondiwindi-born and Texas-based Jake Finlay rode Garry McPhee’s Big Tie for a spectacular 90.5 points in the eight-man championship round to claim the inaugural sought after title.

 

Fellow Goondiwindi cowboy Tom Webster, who is also based in the United States and competes successfully across the international circuit, completed an extraordinary homegrown one-two. Webster produced an outstanding 88.5-point ride aboard Cherokee Mountain to finish second.

 

American stars Delbert “Shorty” Garrett, from Eagle Butte, South Dakota, and Gus Gaillard, from Morse, Texas, tied for third place, demonstrating precisely why both are ranked among the world’s leading saddle bronc riders. Garrett delivered a spectacular ride aboard Lady X, while Gaillard matched him aboard Whiskey Boy.

 

Finlay collected the $20,000 winner’s cheque, together with a custom-made fender saddle by master saddlemaker Troy Welsh of Beaudesert, and championship buckle, while Webster took home $10,000 for second place.

 

For Finlay, the victory carried special significance, not only because it came on home soil, but because it fulfilled the vision behind an event he helped establish three years ago.

 

“To come home to this part of Queensland, ride in front of an Australian crowd and win against a field of this calibre is incredibly special,” Finlay said. “We founded the Bronc Match because we wanted Australian riders to have opportunities like this, to compete against the world’s best on home soil and to show young riders that there is a genuine pathway from country rodeos here in Australia to the biggest arenas in the world.”

 

The event was called by celebrated American professional rodeo announcer Garrett Yerigan, who travelled to Warwick to bring the international showdown to life. He said the standard of riding and broncs was incredible, with Australian bronc famed around the world.

 

Jeff Miller Warwick Rodeo and Gold Cup Campdraft said the event was, in one word, outstanding!

 

“The Cinch International Australian Bronc Match brings to Australia an extraordinary level of competition, and importantly, it provides our Australian bronc riders with important examples of how to ride, and how to behave in and out of the arena. If we are to keep Australian bronc riders here in the country, we need to provide these pathways, and have people like Jake, Tom and the US boys lead like they are – from the front, both in the chutes and out of the chutes,” he said.

 

Fellow competitor Tom Knight, from Manilla in New South Wales and himself a successful international rider, said the standard across the entire field had been exceptional. “The standard was incredibly and consistently high across all 20 riders, and in many cases the scores came down to the smallest technical details,” Knight said. “Jake delivered an epic ride to take the title. It was an exercise in precision, control and absolute commitment, and against this calibre of riders and horses, it had to be.”

 

Presented by Gill Bros Rodeo and A Rorey Lemmel Bucker, the Cinch International Australian Bronc Match formed a spectacular feature of the Warwick Rodeo and Gold Cup Campdraft, bringing many of the sport’s finest international and Australian riders together for one night of world-class saddle bronc competition.

 

INTERNATIONAL INVITATIONS

• Jake Finlay — Goondiwindi, Queensland WINNER
• Tom Webster — Injune, Queensland SECOND
• Shorty Garrett — Eagle Butte, South Dakota, USA EQUAL THIRD
• Gus Gaillard — Morse, Texas, USA EQUAL THIRD
• Zac Dallas — Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA
• Darcy Wockner — Julia Creek, Queensland
• Joe Macqueen — Millmerran, Queensland
• Warwick Southern — Weengallon, Queensland
• Regan Lyons — Meandarra, Queensland
• Final Australian reserve — to be confirmed

AUSTRALIAN INVITATIONS

• Ben Rasmussen — Nevertire, New South Wales
• Ken Coleman — Bells Bridge, Queensland
• Cade Ferguson — Cloncurry, Queensland
• Mick Knight — Manilla, New South Wales
• Bailey O’Dell — Maldon, Victoria
• Lane Edwards — Stratford, New South Wales
• Tom Knight — Manilla, New South Wales
• Jack Capewell — Rosewood, Queensland
• Clayton Braden — Collinsville, Queensland
• Greg “Dyso” Hamilton — Mitchell, Queensland

 

 

For media information, contact Kath Rose on 0416 291 493 or email [email protected]

 

 

Contact details:

Kath Rose on 0416 291 493 or email [email protected]