Mount Isa's Donovan Rutherford clinched his first ever Professional Bull Riders (PBR) win in early April taking out the inaugural Bulls, Bands and Bikes After Dark event at the 2023 Winton Way Out West Festival.
The event was billed as the richest bull riding competition in the west with Australia's best cowboys and fiercest touring bulls competing for their share of more than $50,000.
Rutherford's win puts him in to fifth place in the PBR national standings where he sits 102.5 points behind the leader, Victorian bull rider Sam Woodall.
Speaking after the event, PBR Australia General Manager Glen Young was full of praise for Rutherford.
"Donovan put on a great show on the weekend and rode extremely well," Mr Young said.
"Prior to the weekend, the last time he competed in a PBR event was 2019, so it was great to see him make such a strong comeback," he said.
Hot on Rutherford's heels was Calliope local and 2021 Rookie of the Year, Macaulie Leather who placed second.
Way Out West a success
Winton's annual Way Out West Festival brought thousands to the outback town who witnessed the debut of PBR's Bulls, Bands and Bikes After Dark (BAD) event.
The two night-festival brought together some of Australia's best professional bull riders, premier country music artists and freestyle motocross riders to Winton.
Co-headline artists Amy Sheppard and the legendary Andrew Farriss took to the stage alongside Robbie Mortimer, Hayley Jensen, Melanie Dyer, Andrew Swift, James Van Cooper and Wade Forster.
After a 2022 postponement due to concerns about a COVID outbreak, Mr Young said this event had been a long-time in the making.
"Considering this event was just an idea back in 2017, it was actually a great feeling to see the PBR team embrace the idea and develop it into an actual live event experience," Mr Young said.
PBR Australia Senior Consumer Marketing Manager Amanda Tuimalealiifano said she was pleased the event got such a fantastic turn out.
"The atmosphere was so electric, and it was great to see so many people come to the town for a weekend full of country music, bull riding and motocross," she said.
"We're looking forward to continuing to replicate our BAD events in other areas and seeing everyone from different corners of the country come together."
