MOURNERS packed out the home stadium of fallen cowboy, Blake Hallam, on Monday morning to farewell the rodeo star with a gentle heart and unrelenting work ethic.
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More than 1000 people filled the Australian Equine and Livestock Events Centre in Tamworth to celebrate the life of the 23-year-old who tragically died in a car accident in Queensland last Thursday, marking one of the largest funerals the rodeo community has seen.
As four horses were led into the arena – the very stadium he dominated in rodeo events – family and friends formed a guard of honour.
Blake’s cowboy hat sat atop his coffin, alongside his Australian Championship buckle, his rope and some chewing tobacco.
Blake was unrivalled competition, claiming his first national title at the age of 10 when he was named champion steer rider. He went on to win awards in junior breakaway roping events before being named the Australian champion header in team-roping at the age of 16. He took up steer wrestling and became champion in that event just two years later and was named the all-round national champion in 2015.
Jeff Miller delivered a moving eulogy at the service, crediting Blake’s parents, David and Dianne, for “inspiring this young man on the path to be one of the best all-round contestants this country has seen and will ever see”.
“I can go on and talk about Blake Hallam’s awards, buckles and trophies for quite a while but the one thing that always sits with me is that Blake Hallam could talk to anyone, be it a man, a woman, a child … (he) always had respect,” Mr Miller said.
Blake always loved livestock. He landed his first job at Landmark at the age of 10, where he started trading chickens and bought his first two cows just two years later.
He continued to work at the saleyards over the years, drafting cattle of a Sunday night after travelling miles from a rodeo the night before.
“One thing about Blakeo was no matter how big of a weekend he had, how many miles he travelled or how much money he won or not, there was not one day he would turn up tired, cranky or down on the world,” Landmark’s Joel Fleming said in the eulogy.
“He was as honest as the day is long, his work ethic was second to none and he just got the job done with no fuss.”
Blake is also remembered as a highly sought-after farrier with a temperament that could tame even the wildest of horses. But above all, Blake was a loyal family man.His younger sister Courtney, flanked by her parents, delivered a eulogy that painted Blake as a caring, kind and sensitive brother who always wore a cheeky grin.
“Due to his amazing attitude towards living life to the fullest and touching so many people in his kind ways, he’ll always be remembered and admired,” she said.
