WARWICK RODEO CHAMPIONS HEADED BACK FOR BUCKLE GLORY … Buckles on the line at Warwick as champions return and challengers line up from across the country
They were the champions of 2024: riders who dug deep in the Warwick dust to claim the coveted buckles and the glory. And the breaking news is that champions from 2024 will return to Warwick at the end of October to defend their titles.
From the bull riders and bronc stars to Australia’s leading lady of barrel racing, and the woman who beat the best to take Campdrafting’s famed Gold Cup, the best are saddling up again, some already in blistering form – setting the stage for one of the fiercest showdowns in Warwick’s history. Tickets are now on sale with organisers urging fans to book accommodation or camping for the legendary weekend.
“Next month, the best of the best cowboys and cowgirls from across the country will converge on Warwick for a buckle battle of the ages,” said Gerard Oleary President of Warwick Show and Rodeo Society. Warwick is recognised around the world as Australia’s most famous rodeo and campdraft, and here’s why: the champions return year after year to defend their titles, to test themselves against the nation’s toughest stock, and to send the dust flying. This year will be even bigger, with our 2024 champions back and facing a rising tide of challengers. From the championship campdraft to the bulls, broncs and barrel racers, it promises a true spectacle in the arena, the laneway and out of the chutes.”
To the finals of 2024 – in a major moment, and proof of his all-round riding brilliance, Toby Collins from Maldon in Victoria claimed DOUBLE BUCKLES – winning Bull Ride buckle and sharing equal first place in the Saddle Bronc. I’ll be back. A 1,500-kilometre trip is nothing when Warwick’s on the line, especially with two titles to defend,” said Collins.
Second in the Bull Ride went to Rockhampton’s Rope McPhee, with Goondiwindi’s Jake Hawker third. Just half a point outside the glory was South East Queensland’s Nash Jones. The Bull Ride buckle will be a sensational showdown, with Jones flying home from the USA to take another crack at the title!
Collins shared the 2024 Saddle Bronc buckle with NSW’s Jesse Dennis, while six-time NRA Saddle Bronc Champion Jake Capewell from Queensland rounded out the placings in third.
The Bareback Bronc buckle went south, with Jarrod McKane of Wodonga, Victoria, in sizzling form. Yass cowboy Brendan Crawley was second and North Queensland’s Jayden Lane third. McKane’s momentum has only built since Warwick — he claimed the 2025 Mount Isa Mines Bareback buckle on his way back to Warwick this year. He’s a cowboy to watch!
Four-time APRA All-Round Champion Cowboy Campbell Hodson from Charters Towers showed why he’s the best, taking the 2024 Rope and Tie buckle ahead of Heath Nichols and Thomas Whitwell. Hodson also finished third in the Steer Wrestling, where victory went to Glen Chape from Coonabarabran, with Nichols again in second. Chape is another cowboy in red-hot form, after winning Rookie of the Series at Extreme Street Wrestling Australia’s first finale. Like McKane, Hodson’s streak continues into 2025. At Mount Isa Rodeo he added two more buckles — the prestigious All-Round Cowboy title and Team Roping (Header) – and he’s looking for more silverware at Warick this year!
Warwick will welcome back barrel racing royalty this year in super-rider Leanne Caban of Emerald. Last year she reigned supreme on her lightning-fast Akka Dakka, edging out Kate Patch and Erika Quinn, with rising cowgirl Ellysa Kenny in fourth. Breakaway Roping went to Jorja Iker from Alton Downs, ahead of Emerald’s Ellysa Kenny and NSW cowgirl Connie Besant from Forbes.
The Junior Bull Ride went to Rosewood’s Lucas Taylor, a cowboy whose trophy shelf is already sagging. By the end of 2024, Taylor had stacked up the NRA Open Bull Riding Champion title, NRA Rookie Bull Riding Champion, Elite Bull Riders Australia Novice Champion, Elite Bull Riders Australia Junior Champion, and Wrangler Youth Bull Riders World Finals Reserve Champion. This year, Lucas rides in the opens!
In Team Roping at Warwick, Queenslanders Rope McPhee (Header) and Toby Hale (Heeler) proved unbeatable, finishing four points clear of Jeff Miller and Johnny Osborne in second, and Dallas Flanagan with Casey Tribe in third.
IN THE FAMOUS WARWICK GOLD CUP – history was written in the dust in 2024
In the legendary Gold Cup campdraft, Beaudesert’s Kimberley Sammon rode the black stallion SDP Scott David from just outside Warwick to victory, becoming only the third woman ever to claim the coveted Cup.
It was a razor-thin result, with Sammon finishing just half a point ahead of joint runners-up, Victorian dairy farmer Michael Hiscock on Mewburn Bewick and Queensland’s Steve Comiskey on One Knight Stand. But there was nothing narrow about her dominance, she left Warwick with not one, but two buckles, after also taking out the Ladies Silver Cup.
Kimberley is unsure whether she will ride this year, given she and her partner have just welcomed a baby boy, Tommy, into the world, but said SDP Scott David, or Scotty has she calls him, will definitely be there!
With Rodeo ENTRIES OPEN ON Friday October 10, the question is: who will claim glory in 2025?
Ariat Warwick Rodeo and Pryde’s Easier Gold Cup Campdraft
Monday 20 to Sunday 26 October
Known as the ‘Melbourne Cup’ of campdrafting, the Warwick Gold Cup celebrates a sport born from Australia’s legendary stockmen and women, making it the nation’s most prestigious event of its kind, and drawing more riders and prize money than any other. With a $370,000 prize pool, bespoke saddles, gleaming trophies, and an array of awards, it’s long been regarded as the Australian Championship Campdraft, where the best of the best go head-to-head with the finest stock in the country.
Then add a world class rodeo!! The Warwick Gold Cup runs alongside the legendary Warwick Rodeo, where the nation’s top cowboys take on champion broncs and bucking bulls. Today, this combined celebration of skill, grit, and heritage draws more than 30,000 spectators, with competitors and horses travelling from every mainland state to be part of the action.
