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WORLD'S BEST BRONC RIDERS HEADED TO WARWICK, AUSTRALIA

International Australian Bronc Match

Key Facts:

What: Cinch International Australian Bronc Match, presented by Gill Bros Rodeo
When: Saturday 24 October 2026 during the Warwick Rodeo and Gold Cup Campdraft
Where: Warwick Showgrounds, Kingsford Street, Warwick, Queensland
Time: Approximately 6pm; final event time to be confirmed
Field: 24 elite Australian and international bronc riders
Prize pool: More than $50,000, plus an $8,800 custom Australian fender saddle

Ticket link: https://tickets.iwannaticket.com.au/event/ariat-warwick-rodeo-and-prydes-easifeed-warwick--ivra8b

WORLD’S BEST BRONC RIDERS HEADED TO WARWICK, AUSTRALIA

 

WHY: Three Australian country kids dreamt of riding broncs against the world.

They did that. Now they’re bringing the world home.

 

The world’s greatest bronc riders will descend on Warwick this October when the Cinch International Australian Bronc Match, presented by Gill Bros Rodeo and A Rorey Lemmel Bucker, returns as the feature Saturday-night event of the Warwick Rodeo and Gold Cup Campdraft. Images here and great vision

 

To be staged at the Warwick Showgrounds on Saturday 24 October 2026, the spectacular standalone international showdown will pit Australia’s leading bronc riders against elite competitors from the United States and beyond in four hours of explosive, world-class competition. Tickets are on sale NOW

 

In total, 24 elite athletes will compete across four sections, with the two highest-scoring riders from each section advancing to an eight-man championship short round.

 

At stake is more than $50,000 in prize money, including $20,000 for first place, $10,000 for second and $5,000 for third, plus a custom-made Australian fender saddle handcrafted by acclaimed Beaudesert saddlemaker Troy Welsh and valued at $8,000.

 

The first Australian riders confirmed for the 2026 field include three-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier Damian Brennan of Injune, international rising star Darcy Radel also of Injune and event founders Jake Finlay and Tom Webster, both from Goondiwindi, alongside Darcy Wockner of Julia Creek, Joe Macqueen of Millmerran and Warwick Southern of Weengallon.

 

All seven Australians are currently competing in the United States and will return home specifically for the Warwick event, bringing with them the experience of riding against the world’s best on the gruelling North American rodeo circuit.

 

Three of them are currently ranked among the world’s top 26 in saddle bronc riding. As at 11 September, Brennan sits at World No. 13 with US$137,871 in 2026 earnings, placing him inside the top-15 qualifying zone for what would be his fourth National Finals Rodeo appearance. Finlay is ranked World No. 25, while Radel sits immediately behind him at World No. 26 following a breakthrough season that included a spectacular 91-point ride to share the saddle bronc title at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo. Wockner is also making his mark in the United States after securing a three-year rodeo scholarship with Western Texas College and winning the saddle bronc riding at the ENMU College Rodeo, while Macqueen has claimed wins on both sides of the Pacific, including victory at the Sedro-Woolley Rodeo. Southern’s 2026 US campaign has included an 80-point ride at the Santa Rosa Roundup in Texas and an 82-point performance to share a saddle bronc round victory.

 

Crossing the Pacific to take on the Australians will be superstar American bronc riders Shorty Garrett of Eagle Butte, South Dakota; Gus Gaillard of Morse, Texas; and Zac Dallas of Las Cruces, New Mexico, with further Australian and international competitors to be announced in the coming weeks.

 

The three Americans are each firmly placed in the upper reaches of the current PRCA World Saddle Bronc standings. Gaillard sits at World No. 14 and is chasing his first National Finals Rodeo qualification; Dallas is just outside the coveted top-15 cut at World No. 16; and Garrett remains firmly in contention at World No. 19.

 

For Australia’s riders, there is serious unfinished business this year…. for the past two years, the event’s championship buckle, major prize money and custom saddle have travelled back to the United States, claimed by Cash Wilson of Wall, South Dakota, at the inaugural Scone event in 2024 and Brody Wells of Powell, Wyoming, in Warwick last year. In 2026, Australia wants the buckle back!

 

The event will be called by celebrated American professional rodeo announcer Garrett Yerigan, who will travel to Australia to bring the international showdown to life for the Warwick crowd.

 

Australian Bronc Match co-founder Jake Finlay said the event had grown from an ambitious conversation between three mates into an international sporting property. “Damo, Tom and I were having a few beers when we started talking about how incredible it would be to bring some of the world’s best bronc riders from America and Canada to Australia and put them up against our elite Australian cowboys,” Finlay said. “We knew our riders could compete with the best in the world because we were doing it ourselves, and we’re still over there competing at that level every day.”

 

“We wanted Australian audiences to experience that calibre of competition live, here at home, and we wanted young Australian riders to see where this sport could take them,” he said. “That conversation became the first Bronc Match in Scone in 2024. Three years later, we’re bringing another extraordinary international field to Warwick and the event is starting to make waves both here in Australia and overseas.”

 

“We aren’t the first Australian bronc riders to cross the Pacific and chase the dream, but we want to make sure we’re not the last,” he said. “This is about creating the kind of event that makes a young cowboy, from Tumut to Tooloombilla and everywhere in between, believe that a career in this sport is possible. They can watch the best in the world compete in their own country, see Australian riders match it with them and understand that someone from a little country town can go all the way.”

 

 

THE FIRST RIDERS CONFIRMED

The first riders confirmed for Warwick include three Australians ranked among the world’s top 26 and three formidable American challengers, with several arriving while still fighting for a coveted place at the 2026 National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas.

 

Damian Brennan — Injune, Queensland

World No. 13 | 2026 earnings: US$137,871.27

A three-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier and former world standings leader, Brennan came agonisingly close to rodeo’s ultimate prize when he finished as Reserve World Champion in 2024. Now a new father, Damo is again campaigning across the United States and currently holds 13th place in the PRCA World Saddle Bronc standings, inside the top-15 cut for what is be his fourth NFR appearance.

 

Gus Gaillard — Morse, Texas, United States

World No. 14 | 2026 earnings: US$133,815.59

Sitting just one position behind Brennan at World No. 14, Gaillard is chasing his first qualification for the National Finals Rodeo. After making the journey to Warwick for last year’s Bronc Match, the rising Texan returns with considerably more at stake, and with his place in Las Vegas hanging in the balance.

 

Zac Dallas — Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States

World No. 16 | 2026 earnings: US$124,202.13

This, the New Mexico cowboy sits just one place outside the top-15 NFR qualifying zone. Dallas will arrive in Warwick as a genuine international threat, fighting for the $20,000 winner’s cheque while continuing his charge towards a place at the sport’s biggest event.

 

Shorty Garrett — Eagle Butte, South Dakota, United States

World No. 19 | 2026 earnings: US$115,265.73

An established international competitor and one of America’ most recognisable athletes, Garrett sits 19th in the world standings. He travels to warwick determined to keep the title in American hands.

 

Jake Finlay — Goondiwindi, Queensland

World No. 25 | 2026 earnings: US$91,450.87

Bronc Match co-founder Jake Finlay is doing far more than organising the international showdown, he’s ranked 25th in the world.

 

Darcey Radel — Injune, Queensland

World No. 26 | 2026 earnings: US$90,532.94

One of Australia’s fastest-rising international riders, Radel sits immediately behind Finlay. He announced himself as a serious force earlier this year with a spectacular 91-point ride to share the saddle bronc title at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo and is building powerful momentum in pursuit of his first NFR qualification.

 

Tom Webster — Goondiwindi, Queensland

A Bronc Match co-founder and famed international competitor, recent performances include an 84-point ride to post the high score of the night at Denver and an 80.5-point ride at Lovington, New Mexico.

 

Darcy Wockner — Julia Creek, Queensland

The Julia Creek cowboy is another young Australian making his presence felt in the United States. Wockner secured a three-year rodeo scholarship with Western Texas College, won the saddle bronc riding at the ENMU College Rodeo and has continued competing on the US professional circuit in 2026.

 

Joe Macqueen — Millmerran, Queensland

Millmerran’s Joe Macqueen brings proven international form to the Australian contingent after competing, and winning, on American soil. Macqueen produced an 83.5-point ride to win the bronc riding at the Sedro-Woolley Rodeo and has also claimed an Australian Xtreme Broncs short round with an 83-point performance.

 

Warwick Southern — Weengallon, Queensland

Weengallon cowboy Warwick Southern has also been flying the Australian flag on the US circuit. His 2026 performances include an 80-point ride at the Santa Rosa Roundup in Vernon, Texas, and an 82-point effort to share a saddle bronc round victory with American rookies Ira Dickinson and Sam Weston. He returns to Warwick battle-hardened and ready to test himself against one of the strongest international fields assembled in Australia.

 

EVENT DETAILS

What: Cinch International Australian Bronc Match, presented by Gill Bros Rodeo
When: Saturday 24 October 2026 during the Warwick Rodeo and Gold Cup Campdraft
Where: Warwick Showgrounds, Kingsford Street, Warwick, Queensland
Time: Approximately 6pm; final event time to be confirmed
Field: 24 elite Australian and international bronc riders
Prize pool: More than $50,000, plus an $8,800 custom Australian fender saddle

Ticket link: https://tickets.iwannaticket.com.au/event/ariat-warwick-rodeo-and-prydes-easifeed-warwick--ivra8b

 

Contact details:

KATH ROSE

0416 291 493

[email protected]