THE long haul from North Queensland to Tamworth for the recent 2015 Australian High School Rodeo Finals has paid off for cowboy Braydon Wellby and cowgirl Katrina Hickey.
Braydon and Katrina have shown growing up in Georgetown hasn’t stopped them from reaching the stars with both competitors recently winning the prestige Australian High School All Round Cowboy and Australian High School All Round Cowgirl titles.
A season of hard work and dedication has paid off for the duo where they contested rodeos throughout the year to gain points to qualify for the Australian High School Rodeo Finals in Tamworth.
Braydon qualified for five events at the finals, bull ride, saddle bronc, bareback, steer wrestling and rope and tie while Katrina qualified for three events, breakaway roping, barrel race and pole bending.
The finals were contested over three rounds.
Katrina was highly consistent in the breakaway and was the only girl to rope all her calves. She won two rounds and placed second in another round. In the pole bending, Katrina and her horse Pee Wee showed unison with great runs for a win and a third place finish. In the barrel race Katrina placed fourth in two rounds.
Braydon showed his determination and talent with two wins in the bull ride and rope and tie, placing in every round in the bareback and third in a round of steer wrestling.
Overall these two competitors showed determination, passion and commitment throughout the three rounds. With points gained at the finals combined with points gained from throughout the year, Braydon and Katrina were awarded the prestigious buckles.
Katrina won the Australian High School All Round Cowgirl, Australian High School Rookie All Round Cowgirl and the Australian High School Breakaway champion and Runner up Australian High Pole Bending Champion.
Braydon won for the second year running, the Australian High School All Round Cowboy, Australian High School Bull Riding Champion, Runner up Australian High School Rope and Tie Champion and Runner up Australian High School Bareback Champion.
The next step for these two talented competitors is their qualification to represent Australia in the sport of Rodeo.
They will both form part of the Australian Rodeo High School team and will travel over to compete and represent Australia at the National High School Rodeo Finals in July at Rock Springs, Wyoming. The National High School Finals rodeo is the ‘’World’s Largest Rodeo,’ featuring approximately 1500 contestants from across the United States, Canada and Australia.
Athletes vie for national titles, assorted prizes and their share of thousands of dollars in college scholarships.
