Kennedy claims top Aussie buckle

Mexican cowboy Rocky McDonald on Ariats Card Shark at the PBR finals at Tamworth.

Double Dee Photos

TAMWORTH did not provide a great victory for New South Wales cowboy David Kennedy but his consistency over the year landed the coveted buckle for Australian Professional Bull Rider of 2009.

A big crowd was on hand for the event, The Bundaberg Rum PBR National Finals, with Kennedy having accrued enough points throughout the year to take the Australian title.

Kennedy was actually second on the 2009 standings, almost 12,000 points behind a Mexican cowboy with the unlikely name of Rocky McDonald but took the title as the top Australian rider.

McDonald is one of the top names on the world circuit and he proved to the Tamworth crowd why he is so highly regarded, winning the Tamworth event with three high-scoring rounds, and 86.5 and 86 point rides in the opening two rounds and then eclipsing those rides with a stunning 88.5 point ride on a bull called Ariats Card Shark in the championship round.

The only cowboy to match McDonald’s feat of riding all three bulls at the event was American rider Ryan McConnel, who finished with 254.5 points.

Another New South Wales cowboy, Rhys Angland, took the PBR Australian Rookie of the Year award. Angland also finished in fifth place on the overall standings.

One award that did come back to Queensland went to Blackall’s Bomber Baillie whose bull, Wild Thing, earned the title of PBR Bucking Bull of 2009.

PBR Bullfighter of the year went to Brendan Allen from New South Wales. The PBR hits Rocky with a year-ending show at the Great Western Hotel on December 30-31.