Young cowboys have ride of lives

THERE is something about a bull ride that gets the blood pumping even if you are a safe distance from the main action.

When Kirby Gleeson completed his ride in the Poddy section at the St Paul’s/The Cathedral College Bullarama at the weekend he achieved hero status with his classmates.

When the youngster came out the chute he was welcomed with a massive cheer as all the St Paul’s students attending got behind the latest cowboy.

Even those poddy calves could pack a kick and were not the most comfortable mode of transport for an eight-second ride.

For young Gleeson, it was a triumph as he finished the ride in third position in the CRCA-sanctioned event.

Tricia O’Dair, of the St Paul’s School, said it was a fabulous event for all the school kids.

“It was wonderful for one of our students to do so well,” she said.

“He loved it. He thought it was great.”

The teacher said the ride meant the school had to add another section when announcing the sporting achievements of students.

“It was a wonderful night and exciting,” she said.

Like most people who were not regulars at a rodeo, she was particularly impressed by the work done by the protection athletes, or clowns, who put themselves in danger to protect fallen cowboys.

Spokesperson for The Cathedral College, Pauline Crow, echoed those comments, saying the night was a tremendous success.

“It was a good crowd, comparable to year’s gone by,” she said.

While Crow was excited by the show she admitted there was a special part of the show she really enjoyed: Daughter Gabriella and Amy Lewis sang the National Anthem at the start of the event.

Crow said it was very moving to see the cowboys, with hats to their chests, standing while the girls sang.

There were also some good scores recorded in all sections of the event.

Experienced rider Harry Prow is a cowboy who is capable of winning the prizemoney in any company.

At Gracemere he was in his best form, taking a Trevor Dunne bull named Hang Cuff for an eight-second ride and collecting a big score of 85 points.

Hot on the heels of Prow was Brad Wust, who stayed with Indian Energy for the ride and was awarded 82 points for his effort.

Damien Herden was another cowboy who tamed his aggressive bovine with another high scoring ride on the bull Black Eyes.

There was mixed fortunes for the two The Cathedral College students.

Riding in the junior section, Bray Perrett had a solid ride for a good score of 75.5 points to claim second place in the section.

The other TCC rider Liam Hoare was not quite so fortunate as all he took home was a mouthful of Gracemere dust.

WINNING COWBOYS

Open Bull Ride

1: Harry Prow 85 point

2: Brad Wust 82 points

3: Damien Herden 77 points

4: Shane Orchard and Terry Dwyer 72 points.

Rookie

1: Ben Webb 79.5 points

2: Jack Cleaver 72 points

3: Justin Paton 71 points

4: Jesse Vennek 66 points

Junior

1: Harry Hoffman 77.5 points

2: Bray Perrett 75.5 points

3: Jesse Vennek 73 points.