Kurt reigns supreme on home soil
PBR Cairns
The north belongs to the cowboys: In front of a sold-out Cairns crowd, Mareeba’s Kurt Shephard proved exactly why he wears the title of Australia’s number one bull rider, delivering a perfect 2-for-2 performance to win the PBR Australia Monster Energy Cairns Invitational last night.
In an epic night of bull riding that saw 13 qualified rides, Shephard held off a charging field of Australia’s best to claim the buckle with an event aggregate score of 174.90 points, collecting 254 event points and more than $21,000 in prize money.
The victory further strengthens Shephard’s hold on the national title race, with the reigning champion now sitting at the top of the PBR Australia National Standings on 1,607.00 points, extending his lead to 328.50 points over Brazil’s Keny Roger de Oliveira.
“It is pretty cool to perform like that in front of my home crowd,’’ Shephard told Newsport after the win.
“It is really my home PBR and I have all of my family and friends in there. When you know you have had a great ride it is pretty hard not to get excited.”
Shephard said his season was tracking in similar fashion to last where he won the championship, although he had grown in confidence on the back of that breakout season and his body was in better shape this year.
He also is enjoying the company of rising PBR star Leith Malone, also of Mareeba, wit4h the pair travelling together for events.
“He’s pretty light hearted and we have been riding and getting about the circuit together for years, it’s good to see him doing well,’’ Shephard said.
Malone recorded a huge 86.10-point ride aboard Cowboy Way (Kleier Bucking Bulls) in Round 1 but injury ended his charge.
“He made a good bull ride that first round, but he hurt his knee. We have to see what the scans show,’’ Shephard said.
But the Queensland charge didn’t stop there.
Rockhampton’s Caiden Sandilands came within touching distance of victory, finishing runner-up with an aggregate score of 173.40 points after producing the biggest ride of the night — a massive 89.30 points aboard Last Post (Dunne Bulls) in the Championship Round. The monster score brought the Cairns crowd to its feet, but wasn’t enough to overtake the hometown hero, with Shephard and Sandilands the only two riders of the night to successfully cover both bulls.
Mount Isa rider Donnie Rutherfurd, fifth in the championship, was at the centre of a frightening moment early in the night when he lay motionless for minutes and in the hands of the paramedics after a blow to the head as he fell from his bull. A PBR spokesperson said on Sunday morning scans had cleared Rutherfurd and he was doing ok.
On the bovine side of the battle, El Chappo from Dittmann Bucking Bulls claimed YETI Bull of the Night honours with an impressive 44.70-point bull score.
There’s no rest for Australia’s toughest cowboys, with the bulls staying in the north and bucking into Townsville this Saturday as PBR Australia joins the action at the NTI Townsville 500 on Saturday, July 11.
The PBR Monster Energy Tour will then turn its attention to Sydney, where one of the biggest rivalries in Australian sport reaches its finale, the PBR Australia Monster Energy Origin Series Final.
PBR Australia National Standings
- Kurt Shephard — Mareeba, QLD
- Keny Roger de Oliveira — São Paulo, Brazil
- Ethan Coster — Miriam Vale, QLD
- Zane Hall — Athol, QLD
- Donnie Rutherfurd — Mount Isa, QLD