Mount Isa cowboy Donovan Rutherfurd has added another title to his growing collection of buckles.
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Rutherfurd clinched the 2022 Xtreme Bulls Tour Championship at the finals in front of a packed crowd in Tamworth over the weekend.
The country's best and most elite bull riders descended on Tamworth in New South Wales on Saturday, January 14 to take part in the Xtreme Bulls Australia Pro Tour Finals.
Katherine cowboy Darcy McBean and Dungog man Thomas Hudson were declared event finals champions on the night with an equal score of 85.5 points each.
But it was the 23-year-old from Mount Isa who, coming off a huge year and sitting in first place coming in to the final, claimed the overall season title.
Rutherfurd, who took out several national titles at the Australian Professional Rodeo Association's finals in February 2022, said the feeling of winning was "pretty damn good".
"It was the goal I'd set out for at the start of the year," he said.
"To come away with it felt awesome."
The young cowboy was in pole position heading into the final, but failed to make the top six on Saturday night.
However, his overall lead, which he'd amassed off the back of a massive season, was enough to secure the championship.
An unsuspecting Rutherfurd said he was caught off guard in Tamworth after being thrown off his bull before eight seconds.
"It was only one round and then they took the top six to the final," he said.
"The bull caught me off guard and got me down."
The new year is shaping up to be another big one for the Kalkadoon man.
With the Mount Isa Rodeo in August always firmly in his sights, Rutherfurd said he was hoping to continue his winning form in 2023.
"I really need to get over to the US ... that'd be one of my goals," he said.
"I think, other than that, is to just win it all again."
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