Flawless Lawson Nobbs Wins PBR Australia Event at North Queensland Elite Junior Rodeo

ALICE RIVER, Qld. – At the first-ever PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Australia event held in tandem with the prestigious North Queensland Elite Jr. Rodeo, Lawson Nobbs (Moura, Queensland) delivered a perfect 2-for-2 performance to capture his first victory of the 2021 season.

The 24-year-old got off to hot start in Round 1, earning one of the six spots in the championship round after he made the 8 aboard Hot Spot (Dittmann Bucking Bulls) for 85 points.

Facing Gangster’s Retreat (Colin Fry) in the final round, Nobbs remained perfect when he covered the fierce bovine athlete for a championship round-winning 84.5 points.

Nobbs’s golden finish earned him a critical 39 national points, propelling him from unranked to No. 8 in the national standings. The Queensland native is now within 62 points of the No. 1 ranking as he seeks his first national title in 2021.

Atop the national standings, while young gun Macaulie Leather (Calliope, Australia) maintained his No. 1 rank courtesy of a sixth-place result, three-time PBR Australia Champion, and current No. 2, Aaron Kleier (Clermont, Queensland) rode to a third-place finish, shrinking Leather’s lead from 17 points to a mere two points.

For Leather, his lone qualified ride was earned atop Chasing Dragos (Colin Fry) in Round 1, marked 81 points.

Leather once again had his hopes of a flawless event dashed by Cattle King Boogers Beach (Dittmann Bucking Bulls) in the championship round. Having attempted the bull twice prior this season at the season-launch events in Rockhampton, Boogers Beach first bested Leather in 6 seconds, only to follow that with a quicker 2.49-second trip in the subsequent tour stop.

At the Hervey Range Rodeo Grounds, Cattle King Boogers Beach again proved the more dominant athlete, bucking off Leather in 3.66 seconds.

Leather, who is also the top-ranked rider in the race for the 2021 PBR Australia Rookie of the Year honor, left the event having earned a crucial seven national points to maintain his No. 1 rank in the national standings.

Also going 1-for-2, phenom Kleier finished third, earning 22 national points, to inch within two points of No. 1 Leather.

Kleier rode Meet Ya Maker (Brandenburg/MJ Bucking Bulls) for a second-best 86 points in Round 1, only to be bucked off by Bezerk (Brandenburg/MJ Bucking Bulls) in a heart-breaking 7.12 seconds in the championship round.

Should Kleier capture his historic fourth consecutive PBR Australia Championship in 2021, he would tie David Kennedy (Kyogle, New South Wales) for most Australian national titles won by one rider in league history. Kennedy topped the national standings in 2009-2010, 2012 and 2014.

Bailey Woodard (Dingo, Queensland) was second, collecting 30 national points.

Woodard had the crowd captivated as the event got underway, winning Round 1 compliments of an 87-point score on Comeback Kid (Dittmann Bucking Bulls). The 22-year-old, however, was unable to remain atop the leaderboard, bucked off by POA Fully Locked & Loaded (Dittmann Bucking Bulls) in 3.66 seconds in the championship round.

Marking his first event of the 2021 season, Woodard surged from unranked to No. 9 in the national standings, now within 71 points of No. 1 Leather.

Fourth was Dan Ruhland (Mount Walker, Queensland).

After covering Rocky Top (Colin Fry) for 83.5 points in Round 1, Ruhland had his thigh stepped on, sidelining him for the championship round.

Despite his event coming to an early end, the 19-year-old earned 13 national points and climbed from No. 7 to No. 5 in the national standings. He now trails the No. 1 rank by 49 points.

Rounding out the Top 5 in fifth was 2020 PBR Australia Grand Finals event winner Brady Fielder (Clermont, Queensland), collecting 10 national points.

Going 1-for-2, Fielder rode El Camino (Brandenburg Bucking Bulls) for 83 points in Round 1 to earn one of the coveted six positions in the championship round. Fielder, however, was unable to continue the momentum, brought down by Reloaded (Dittmann Bucking Bulls) in 5.87 seconds in the final round.

Fielder gained one position in the national standings, rising from No. 4 to No. 3. He is now within 39 points of No. 1 Leather.

In the bull pen, POA Fully Locked & Loaded and Cattle King Boogers Beach tied for the high-marked bull of the event honor, both marked a monstrous 45 points.

Both out in the championship round, POA Fully Locked & Loaded earned the honor for his buckoff of Woodard, while Cattle Kings Boogers Beach earned the top score for the third time this season after he dominated Leather.

Cattle King Boogers Beach previously earned the Bull of the Event honor at the season-launch events in Rockhampton courtesy of trips logged with Leather in the championship round.  At the first event of 2021, Boogers Beach bucked off Leather in 6 seconds to earn an event-best 45-point score. The Dittmann Bucking Bulls’ bovine again proved the top animal athlete at the second event of the year, marked a career-best 45.5 points when he bucked off Leather in a quicker 2.49 seconds.

PBR Australia action will continue on June 12, when the Monster Energy Tour returns to Rockhampton, Queensland, and Great Western Hotel with the PBR Rockhampton Invitational. The Back to the Heartland Series tour stop gets underway at 7:00 p.m. AEST. Tickets are still available and can be purchased at www.tix.pbraustralia.com.au.

Stay tuned to PBRAustralia.com.au for the latest event information.

PBR Australia Touring Pro Division – North Queensland Elite Junior Rodeo
Hervey Range Rodeo Grounds – Alice River, Queensland
Event Leaders (Round 1- Round 2-Event Aggregate-Payout-Australian Points-World Points)
1. Lawson Nobbs, 85-84.5-169.5-$2,494.80-39-15
2. Bailey Woodard, 87-0-87-$1,414.80-30-8
3. Aaron Kleier, 86-0-86-$939.60-22-7
4. Dan Ruhland, 83.5-0-83.5-$324-13-4
5. Brady Fielder, 83-0-83-$226.80-10-3
6. Macaulie Leather, 81-0-81-$0-7-2
Lachlan Richardson, 0-0-0.00-$0-0-0
Caiden Sandilands, 0-0-0.00-$0-0-0
Cody Heffernan, 0-0-0.00-$0-0-0
Kelsey Pavlou, 0-0-0.00-$0-0-0
Joseph Down, 0-0-0.00-$0-0-0
Jack Keats, 0-0-0.00-$0-0-0
Taran Chirgwin, 0-0-0.00-$0-0-0
Wyatt Milgate, 0-0-0.00-$0-0-0
Mitchel Paton, 0-0-0.00-$0-0-0
Trefor Sproule, 0-0-0.00-$0-0-0
Troy Wilkinson, 0-0-0.00-$0-0-0
Michael Smith, 0-0-0.00-$0-0-0
Eli Bee, 0-0-0.00-$0-0-0
Derryn Bonisch, 0-0-0.00-$0-0-0