Rookie Sensation Macaulie Leather Wins PBR Emerald Invitational as the Race for the 2021 PBR Australia Championship Intensifies

EMERALD, Qld. – With just three events remaining prior to the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Australia Grand Finals, the nation’s top riders showed up and showed out Saturday evening for the PBR Australia Monster Energy Tour’s Emerald Invitational, presented by Kent Hire. Capitalizing on the absence of No. 1 Aaron Kleier (Clermont, Queensland), sidelined by a shoulder injury, rookie sensation Macaulie Leather (Calliope, Queensland) delivered a flawless 2-for-2 performance to capture his second event win of the season, inching within 130.83 points of the top ranking in the heated battle for the 2021 PBR Australia Championship.

After being shutout at the league’s most recent tour stop in Mackay, Leather was back to his winning ways in the opening round of action from the Emerald Showgrounds Rodeo Arena, delivering the second-best score when he covered Little Bitty (Diamond J Rodeo Co.) for 81.5 points.

The 20-year-old then faced off against Super Natural (Colin Fry) as the penultimate rider to leave the chutes in the final round. Poised, Leather matched the bovine athlete jump-for-jump, making the requisite 8 to tie for the round win with an 87-point score.

For his efforts, Leather earned a much needed 75.5 points as he looks to reach the 2021 PBR Australia Grand Finals, scheduled for Nov. 26-27 in Townsville, Queensland, for the first time in his career.

Leather rose one position in the national standings to No. 3. Making a significant dent in Kleier’s lead atop the rankings, Leather, who began the event 206.33 points behind the No. 1 position, is now within a mere 130.83 points of the top spot.

Also capitalizing on the absence of No. 1 Kleier was No. 2 contender for the year’s PBR Australia Championship Kurt Shephard (Mareeba, Queensland).

The PBR World Finals qualifier was unrivaled in Round 1, delivering the high-marked ride of the PBR Emerald Invitational, presented by Kent Hire, when he covered Reloaded (Dittmann Bucking Bulls) for 88 points. A familiar opponent for Shephard, this June the Queensland-native covered the bull for 85.5 points in Rockhampton en route to the event victory.

Shephard, however, was unable to remain atop the leaderboard in Round 2 when he was bested by Flyin Hippie (Peter Wallace) in 2.68 seconds.

Shephard’s silver finish netted him 55 national points. Remaining No. 2 in the standings, the 27-year-old is now just 81.33 points behind No. 1 Kleier as he seeks his first PBR Australia Championship.

Third was 2017 PBR Australia Champion Troy Wilkinson (Upper Horton, New South Wales), earning 43.5 national points.

Wilkinson rebounded from a 5.18-second buckoff dealt to him by Living on Dreams (Colin Fry) in Round 1, surging to the podium finish when he split the Round 2 victory compliments of his 87-point ride aboard Freckles Brown (Peter Wallace).

For Wilkinson, the qualified ride aboard Freckles Brown avenged a buckoff from the 2017 season when the Peter Wallace bovine athlete dispatched the New South Wales rider in 5.21 seconds at the tour stop in Brisbane, Queensland.

Wilkinson’s fourth consecutive Top 10 effort allowed him to crack the Top 10 in the race for the 2021 PBR Australian Championship. Now the No. 9-ranked rider in the national standings, Wilkinson trails No. 1 Kleier by 311.83 points.

Fourth was seven-time PBR World Finals qualifier Lachlan Richardson (Gresford, New South Wales).

Going 1-for-2, Richardson registered his qualified ride in Round 2 when he covered the nation’s largest bovine athlete, King Kong (Fred Kleier), who tops the scales at 990 kgs. Having covered the bull for 87.75 points during the 2018 Townsville Iron Cowboy, Richardson’s latest 8-second effort aboard the bull earned him an 86.5-point score.

Richardson left Emerald having earned 29 national points. He climbed from No.6 to No. 5 in the national standings and now trails the No. 1 position by 210.83 points.

Rounding out the Top 5 in fifth was Qynn Andersen (Koumala, Queensland).

Andersen covered Code Blue (Fred Kleier) for 85 points in Round 2 to net 16 national points.

In the bull pen, Cattle King Boogers Beach (Dittmann Bucking Bulls) and Roid Rage (Dittmann Bucking Bulls) tied for the Bull of the Event, both marked 44.5 points in Round 2 of the Emerald tour stop.

For Boogers Beach, who has now earned a league-leading nine Bull of the Event honors, he bested Beau Willis (Bowen, Queensland) in a hard-fought 7.74 seconds, while Roid Rage brought down Kelsey Pavlou (Toora, Queensland) in a quicker 4.3 seconds.

The 2021 PBR Australia season will continue Saturday, November 6 in Caboolture, Queensland at QSEC Arena. Action for the Monster Energy Tour’s Caboolture Invitational will get underway at 7:00 p.m. AEST.

Fans can watch LIVE all the remaining action in the race for the 2021 PBR Australia Championship on Facebook. For $4.49 AUD fans will be able to watch the LIVE stream of all the events, and the on-demand video of the tour stop which will publish in the days that follow. To purchase the Facebook LIVE stream of the events via Facebook Pay, fans should visit the official event page here, and select get access.

For more information, stay tuned to PBRAustralia.com.au and follow the tour on Facebook (PBR Australia), Twitter (@PBRAustralia), and Instagram (@PBRAustralia) for the latest results.

PBR Australia Monster Energy Tour – PBR Emerald Invitational, presented by Kent Hire
Emerald Showgrounds Rodeo Arena – Emerald, Queensland
Event Leaders (Round 1- Round 2-Event Aggregate-Australian Points-World Points)
1. Macaulie Leather, 81.5-87-168.50-75.5 Points.
2. Kurt Shephard, 88-0-88.00-55 Points.
3. Troy Wilkinson, 0-87-87.00-43.5 Points.
4. Lachlan Richardson, 0-86.5-86.50-29 Points.
5. Qynn Andersen, 0-85-85.00-16 Points.
6. Lawson Nobbs, 0-84.5-84.50-9 Points.
7. Mitchel Paton, 80-0-80.00-13 Points.
8. Kelsey Pavlou, 78-0-78.00-9 Points.
9. Lane Howlett, 77.5-0-77.50-6 Points.
10. Joshua Jones, 76.5-0-76.50-4 Points.
Lane Mellers, 0-0-0.00
Sam Woodall, 0-0-0.00
Caiden Sandilands, 0-0-0.00
Taran Chirgwin, 0-0-0.00
Joseph Down, 0-0-0.00
Wyatt Milgate, 0-0-0.00
Beau Willis, 0-0-0.00

2021 PBR Australia National Standings
(Place, Rider, Events, Wins, Top 5's, Points, Total Winnings)
1. Aaron Kleier, 11, 3, 8, 424.33, $18,907.28
2. Kurt Shephard, 9, 2, 5, 343.00, $15,587.72
3. Macaulie Leather, 12, 1, 4, 293.50, $9,791.72
4. Brady Fielder, 11, 0, 6, 249.82, $7,681.59
5. Lachlan Richardson, 12, 1, 4, 213.50, $8,206.48
6. Lawson Nobbs, 11, 2, 3, 201.33, $8,738.40
7. Bailey Woodard, 7, 1, 3, 149.00, $6,507.68
8. Lachlan Slade, 6, 1, 3, 116.50, $8,682.28
9. Troy Wilkinson, 7, 0, 1, 112.50, $3,891.20
10. Kelsey Pavlou, 10, 0, 2, 78.50, $2,131.12
11. Lane Mellers, 8, 0, 3, 77.50, $4,208.40
12. Caiden Sandilands, 12, 0, 4, 72.99, $1,476.79
13. Sam Woodall, 8, 0, 2, 64.00, $2,212.40
14. Dan Ruhland, 11, 0, 2, 58.50, $1,358.88
15. Mitchel Paton, 8, 0, 1, 58.00, $1,692.00
16. Cody Heffernan, 6, 0, 1, 52.50, $2,175.60
17. Joshua Jones, 6, 0, 1, 51.00, $1,837.44
18. Taran Chirgwin, 10, 0, 1, 37.00, $626.48
19. Qynn Andersen, 4, 0, 1, 35.16, $796.80
20. Daniel Rogan, 3, 0, 1, 24.83, $295.27
21. Joseph Down, 8, 0, 0, 19.50, $754.80
22. Cody Fraser, 3, 0, 1, 10.50, $295.68
23. Trefor Sproule, 5, 0, 0, 10.00, $0.00
24. Wyatt Milgate, 8, 0, 0, 8.00, $0.00
25. Beau Willis, 7, 0, 0, 6.00, $0.00
25. Lane Howlett, 4, 0, 0, 6.00, $0.00
27. Josh Cavanagh, 2, 0, 0, 3.50, $0.00
28. Jake Curr, 5, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
28. Jackson Gray, 1, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
28. Ty Thomson, 5, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
28. Zane Hall, 4, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
28. Michael Smith, 4, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
28. Eli Bee, 3, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
28. Jack Keats, 4, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
28. Thomas Hudson, 4, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
28. Bryn Francis, 4, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
28. Sam Spencer, 3, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
28. Isaac Leclair, 3, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
28. Clay Hall, 3, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
28. Luke Parkinson, 2, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
28. Ben Graving, 2, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
28. Jack Cameron, 2, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
28. Oscar Leake, 1, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
28. Brumby Brandenburg, 1, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
28. Sam Payne, 3, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
28. Chris Wilson, 3, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
28. Jono Couling, 2, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
28. Derryn Bonisch, 1, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
28. JN Bennett, 1, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00