Rodeo's big bucks won't be easy money for cowboys

Dianna Bradshaw, Mid Northern Rodeo secretary, with some of the 40 bucking broncs on show at this weekend's event. Photo / John Stone

The country's best cowboys will converge on Kokopu Block Rd for Whangarei's biggest bucking rodeo yet.

This weekend's Mid Northern Rodeo has attracted over 250 competitors in about 300 contests, making it the biggest since the event started 50 years ago, association secretary Dianna Bradshaw said.

"The sport is growing and there's more and more competitors, plus we're hoping to have over 3000 spectators," Ms Bradshaw said.

Categories include steer wrestling, bronc rides, and barrel racing, to name a few, and cowboys are travelling from as far as Invercargill.

Ms Bradshaw said names to watch included Taipa brothers Bradley and Klay Lanigan, national champion Corey Church and Johnson Davis, a champion bull rider who rode in Europe last winter. Church and Davis hail from Rotorua.

The saddle and bareback bronc ride categories will feature some of the 40 broncs owned by the Mid Northern Rodeo Association, which have names such as War Saw, Bonecrusher and Dislocator. This will be the 12th year War Saw has worked as a bronc at the Mid Northern.

Some of the broncs are former racehorses, showjumpers and dressage horses, with many donated to the club because of a tendency to buck, Ms Bradshaw said. "They are broken in, but they've got a buck in them."

The goal of riders is to do their utmost to stay on the bronc until eight seconds are up.

Mid Northern Rodeo Association president Noel Dunlop is a pick-up rider, who gets the cowboy off the bucking bronc and clears the arena for the next competitor. "It's hard work - you get knocked around a bit, and now and then you get the odd kick," he said.

The rodeo will feature its first transtasman high schools competition, after last year's attempt was rained off.

Nine high school-aged Kiwis, including Taipa's Tegan O'Callaghan, will battle nine Aussies in classes including barrel racing and steer rides. The rodeo - which has competitions on two days - kicks off on Saturday and Sunday at 8.30am.