Courageous cody beats the bulls

Alan Kennedy | 1st January 2009

CHAMPION: Cody Heffernan beat the best cowboys in Australia to claim the honours for the first Bundaberg Rum PBR Touring Pro event of the new season.

CODY Heffernan, you are a champion.

In front of a wild crowd at the Great Western Hotel on Wednesday night Heffernan beat the best cowboys in Australia to claim the honours for the first Bundaberg Rum PBR Touring Pro event of the new season

For two great nights the best took on the beasts, with cowboys gaining the top 14 totals from two rides progressing to a shoot-off and the chance to take the major prize.

Heffernan was the cowboy who picked up that winner's cheque and some valuable earnings to get himself established on the standings on the road to qualification for the 2009 PBR finals.

Over the two nights there were some brilliant rides but, when it comes to gaining the best total score from three rides, that requires consistency.

For this event Heffernan was the man who had that consistency as he rode all of his three bulls and gained big scores in the process.

Not that the win was clearcut.

Going into the final round it was close with Matt Postle and Duncan Elks putting the pressure on.

With Heffernan they were the only three cowboys who managed to ride their three bulls.

The champion round looked as if it was to be a clean sweep for the bucking bovines as a succession of big names sampled Great Western dirt.

Jock Connolly and newly crowned PBR champion Pete Farley failed to even make it that far, both crashing out after the second round.

Then in the Champion round there were more big name casualties. Larry Everingham took an eternity to prepare his ride on a Trevor Dunne bull but it was a wasted exercise as he was barely out the chute before he started on his downward flight path.

Ben Seeds once again looked to be too good for his bull Rubber Band Man but then lost his grip and even though he landed on his feet he had reached that position too soon to gain a score.

Heath Shrimp was another who had the beating of his bull only to topple to the ground after 7.15 seconds.

After 11 rides in the Champion round there had been no alteration to the scoreboard. Enter Duncan Elks and the bull Daylight, one that Ryan Storey had ridden for 85 points in the first round.

Elks gained 85 points and the competition had a new leader. Matt Postle was next for the penultimate ride of the show riding Trevor Dunne's Natural Assassin for 83.5 points.

Unfortunately for Postle, Heffernan was riding a Brian Duggan bull that, if successful, would give him more than the 83 points required for victory.

Heffernan rode over the top of the Junk Yard Dog, collecting 83 points.