General News
13 August, 2024
Wellby performs under pressure to claim bull ride buckle
The Giru cowboy ticked another item off his rodeo bucket list.
No cowboy rode three bulls for eight seconds at this year’s Mount Isa Mines Rodeo, but Braydon Wellby was certainly the best of the many who rode time on two.
The Giru-based star, who has won all over Australia and ridden in the United States, produced two top-class scores to win his first Mount Isa buckle.
His first, an 81 on a bull called All In, was enough to see him in fifth position heading into the final on Saturday night.
Just three riders – Dylan Weir, Sam Woodall and Nash Jones – had ridden time twice heading into the final, however it meant that if any of those managed another eight second spin it would rule out the remaining seven, including Wellby.
Fortunately for the 27-year-old, he was still in contention when he jumped in the chute with a young bull called Nine Ball.
When the gate crashed back, it was like watching poetry in motion as Wellby stuck to the Dittman Bucking Bull like he was glued to the black and white beast.
His score of 87 was probably the highest score for Nine Ball and the performance brought the crowd to its feet.
It was certainly the performance of the weekend and cemented his victory as the top three failed to ride time, giving Wellby an 11-point lead over Weir, with Woodall a further 2.5 points behind.
“I’ve had him once before so I sort of knew what I was up against but he bucked a lot better tonight than last time,” Wellby said of Nine Ball.
“He’s only a young bull but he’s getting better all the time.”
A regular on the PBR circuit, where he sits fourth in the overall standings, Wellby is also spotted at bush rodeos like Weipa and Laura, where he dabbles in the arena as a protection athlete, while occasionally jumping on the back of some rough stock.
“I love going out there and doing those bush shows,” he said.
“The atmosphere is great and the local committees really look after you and appreciate you making the trip there.”
Wellby said now that Mount Isa was ticked off his bucket list, the next challenge was to win the PBR Finals in Townsville in November.
With most of his family living in and around Townsville, Wellby said he’d have plenty of support.
“It would be good to win the title there but I’m just taking it event by event,” he said.