Harveydale Rodeo riders back in the saddle

The bulls got the better of the riders at Harveydale Rodeo at Westbury last weekend but the crowd of more than 1500 were not starved of action.

Event organiser Ian Brown said the MC Rodeo bulls proved too strong for the open riders, with no-one posting a time, however the second division riders filled all places with junior rider Lane Viney of Penguin, the current Junior and Second Div Champion All Round Cowboy, continuing his success from last season.

Viney also won the junior steer ride and junior bull ride, following in the footsteps of one of Tasmania’s top cowboys, Damien Viney.

“I was really happy to see how much the young boys had improved their riding,” Mr Brown said. “Chris Dornauf has been running practices a couple of times a week at Westbury and you can see they are getting better.

“A lot of them were still bucked off, but there’s been more qualifying rides.”

All Round Cowgirl Karen Fish from Oatlands won the open barrel race and placed in the breakaway roping, with the barrel racing being particularly tight this season.

One slipup and the field is ready to close in, just a fraction of second separating the top four on any given day.

The oldest calf roper in Australia, Gary King, 56, has branched out from his regular appearance in the team roping this season, taking out the Rope ‘n’ Tie with the only successful run.

He went on to win the team roping with son Ty, who also had a great day, winning the open saddle bronc and placing in the steer wrestling.

The rodeo, which has been run by the Brown family since 1981, also held a raffle to help Victorian farmers affected by bushfire, with $1500 going to Need for Feed.

The next rodeo on the calendar is Ulverstone on January 31, Scottsdale on February 14, followed by Gowrie Park on the long weekend in March and George Town the following weekend.