In the heart of Outback Queensland (QLD) on 7 May, was the nation’s largest rodeo in the Southern Hemisphere with epic rodeo competitions and exhilarating performances from legendary Australian artists.
The Mount Isa (MI) Road to Rodeo at the Buchanan Park Events Complex saw visitors and participants of all ages venture from various parts of Queensland and New South Wales including, Charters Towers, Winton, Leeton in NSW, Taroom, Newcastle and MI locals.
Having just celebrated 100 years of MI, the town is a part of the Australian Professional Rodeo Association’s national circuit.
The Isa Rodeo Limited organisation launches a new destination for the Road to Rodeo each year, with Longreach being their 2022 location for a two-day event.
The competitions include bull riding, saddle bronc riding, bareback bronc riding, team roping, barrel racing, steer wrestling, rope and tie race, breakaway roping and poddy calf events and a crowd favourite, the op shop barrel race.
CEO of Isa Rodeo Limited Natalie Flecker said why it was decided to hold the Road to Rodeo in MI.
“We staged the Rodeo in MI this year because we wanted to give back to the local community, to create something just for the region, and to celebrate 100 years of Isa,” she said.
“The result was a fantastic hometown rodeo, where we saw a great crowd and also gave our competitors from across the region another opportunity to compete in the famous red dirt arena.
“The event generates a significant iconic injection to the MI region of some $6 million and puts the spotlight on the town around the world, but it’s so much more – there’s an incredible social impact and where people connect.”
After the rodeo and competitions, Cold Chisel member Ian Moss, Shannon Noll and Luke Geiger all performed into the night with their best hits.
Natalie explains the excitement around the overall night.
“The atmosphere of camaraderie between riders, and ticket holders was fantastic,” she said.
Results
Cloncurry cowboy Darcy Harrison-Douglas was crowned champion of the open bull ride with 78 points, along with Gracemere farm boy Tyler Chong taking home his own champion medal, winning the Saddle Bronc with 66 points and Deon Lane from Richmond claimed the Bare Back Bronc champion title with 75.5 points.
Campbell Hodson from Charters Towers claimed his second Road to Rodeo Rope and Tie title (22.65 points) as he previously won in Longreach at the Road to Rodeo 2022.
The steer wrestling champion was Brian Lovett (21 points), and Andrew Forster and Daniel Guilford took the team roping win (30.5 points).
Open barrel racing participant Kylee Ferguson scored 38 points taking the win and the Breakaway roping champion went to Tatum Kersh with 7.65 points.
Josh Alexander scored top place in the second division bull ride, scoring 71 points with Cloncurry rider Jarrod Hall taking the Saddle Bronc Sash at 56 points.
In the junior divisions, Cloncurry local Cade Ferguson won two out of his five events, the junior steer (124) and junior barrel race (38.845 points).
Cade also managed to buck his way to second place in the bull and saddle bronc and the poddy calf ride was won by Junior Ashley Murphy.
What’s next for Mount Isa?
In August, MI is holding a nine-day festival hosting a country-themed arena ball (5th), a special screening of the Angels movie (6th), a Hall of Fame Barbeque dinner and Darryl Braithwaite takes the stage (8th), a street festival (9th), Mount Isa Mines Indigenous Rodeo Championships featuring Jessica Mauboy (10th) and the Mount Isa Rodeo followed by cracker performances of the Screaming Jets, O’SHEA, Luke Geiger and the Angels (11th – 13th).
“The Isa Rodeo Rock Concerts is now a festival that major artists want to play at – it’s on their bucket list! And this is because of both the experience and the exposure they receive,” said Natalie.
“Jess Mauboy played in MI for the Street Festival in 2017, and she had such a great time, she can’t wait to return in 2023!”
