YOUNG bull rider, Ben Thorp, was one of only two bull riders to make time in the Coolamon Rodeo in the Riverina at the weekend.
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Thorp scored 80 to win from runner-up Will Purcell on 74.
Rosewood rider Tim Hammond was victorious in saddle bronc at Coolamon with a score of 71.
Tumbarumba rider Ben Hall won the bareback with 76.
Hall is ninth in Australian Professional Rodeo Association standings in the bareback and will be one of the favourites when rodeo action heads to his hometown on New Year’s Day for a championship points rodeo.
Three of the seven rodeos on the APRA Christmas Run are in New South Wales, Deniliquin on December 29, Tumbarumba on January 1 and Finley on January 4.
Rodeo fans in the Riverina have another chance to watch some of the best competitors in the nation when Rosewood hosts a rodeo for circuit points on December 1.
It will be the only APRA rodeo in the six weeks leading up to the Christmas Run.
The second APRA rodeo last weekend was the Adelaide Hills Rodeo where Murray Bridge rider Leslie Stacey kept the major prize money in South Australia with a score of 71 to win by one point from Strathalbyn cowboy Glen Kent.
Beverfod (Victoria) rider Heath Chalmers is third on Australian Professional Rodeo Association standings and also finished third in the hills with a score of 69.
Another Victorian, Maldon rider Toby Collins, was fourth on 67 points.
The top-15 at the end of the season qualify for the National Finals Rodeo at the Gold Coast in June.
Kent was 14th at the end of October so is already favoured to secure another finals appearance. In 2010, he won the national title at the Gold Coast.
The bulls were victorious in the Adelaide Hills with only one cowboy, Ian Molan, riding time to score 77 for first place. None of the junior bull riders made time.
Molan hails from Lyons in Victoria and is currently in fourth place in APRA standings.
Winners:
Adelaide Hills: Open events - Saddle bronc Leslie Stacey 71, bull ride Ian Molan 77, roping Kenny Flanagan 3.25 seconds, team roping Cassie Heuritsch and Clem Heath 8.9, barrel race Tammy Woodall. Second division saddle bronc John Daly.
Coolamon: Open events - Saddle bronc Tim Hammond 71, bull ride Ben Thorp 80, bareback Ben Hall 76, barrel race Trish Johnston 15.4. Second-division events – Saddle bronc Jason Collins 66, bull ride Matthew Sheather 73, junior barrel race Joe Plum 15.72.
