THE Australian Professional Rodeo Association Junior National Finals will be held at Emerald on June 21-22.
The top 10 competitors in six junior events will compete in the finals.
At the end of the season, Wodonga (Vic) rider Jarrod McKane was the junior high point cowboy buckle winner from Taroom cowboy Maddix Lovett.
McKane works as a shearer in northern Victoria and is also impressing at open level. He is second in open bareback bronc ride standings.
Lovett is the leader in the breakaway roping standings going into the finals.
Past open all around cowgirl champion Ellysa Kenny, of Emerald, is the junior high point cowgirl buckle winner for the junior season.
She goes into the final as the leader in junior barrel race standings. Kenny has qualified for four events at the finals, rope and tie, barrel race, team roping and breakaway roping.
This year's junior finals will be the last for Kenny who will be ineligible to compete in junior events next year.
One of the riders to watch will be Cloncurry cowboy Jack Winsper who is the standings leader in team roping heeler, fourth in the rope and tie and sixth in the steer ride. He finished the season in third place in the junior high point cowboy standings.
The finals qualifier who will travel the furthest is Denvah Mills from Ulverstone in Tasmania who is third in both team roping header and breakaway roping standings.
There is a two-week break between the Bowen River Rodeo last weekend and the junior national finals.
The junior national finals will be run over three rounds, 5pm and 7pm on the Friday, June 21, and the final round at 7pm on Saturday, June 22.
There will be plenty of action on the Saturday when the Emerald Ensham Resources Rodeo is held at the Emerald Rodeo Grounds.
There are junior events at the Emerald Rodeo which gives riders in the national finals a fourth chance to win money on finals weekend.
Top three qualifiers:
Steer ride: 1. Lleyton Marks (Clermont, Qld), 2. Tejay Angland (Wantabadgery, NSW), 3 Kelsey Pavlou (Langwarren, Vic)
Rope and tie: 1 Clay Caban (Emerald, Qld), 2 Toby Hale (Sarina, Qld), 3 Maddix Lovett (Taroom, Qld)
Team roping header: 1 Drayden Hutchins (Emerald, Qld), 2 Joebie McPhee (Black River, Qld), 3 Denvah Mills (Ulverstone, Tas)
Team roping heeler:1 Jack Winsper (Cloncurry, Qld), 2 Tyler Kenny (Emerald, Qld), 3 Cade Ferguson (Cloncurry, Qld)
Barrel race: 1 Ellysa Kenny (Emerald, Qld), 2 Ellie Gard (Lavington, NSW), 3 Kelsey Lenton (Idalia, Qld)
Breakaway roping: 1 Maddix Lovett (Taroom, Qld), 2 Clay Caban (Emerald, Qld), 3 Denvah Mills (Ulverstone, Tas)
Program:
June 21-22: Junior National Finals Rodeo, Emerald
June 22: Emerald Ag Grow Rodeo
July 20: Taroom Rodeo
July 27: Richmond Rodeo
July 28: Hughenden Flinders River Timed Event Rodeo
August 2: Cloncurry Xtreme Bulls Rodeo
August 2: Cloncurry Junior Rodeo
August 2-3: Cloncurry Rodeo
August 8-11: Mt Isa Rodeo