Bailey Woodard Wins PBR Rockhampton Invitational to Crack Top 5 in the Race for the 2021 PBR Australia Championship

ROCKHAMPTON, Qld. – In front of a raucous crowd at the Great Western Hotel in Rockhampton, Queensland, there was no rider more dominant than Bailey Woodard (Dingo, Queensland) Saturday evening for the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Australia Monster Energy Tour’s Rockhampton Invitational. Delivering the high-marked ride of the Back to the Heartland Series event, Woodard was catapulted to his first event win of the season, cracking the Top 5 in the race for the 2021 PBR Australia Championship.

Despite bucking off 9 Crimes (Diamond J Rodeo) in a hard-fought 7.43 seconds in Round 1, Woodard received a renewed shot at victory when he advanced to the championship round on time.

Making the most of his second chance, Woodard matched Makin 8 Bucksnort (Peter Wallace) jump-for-jump, leading the electric crowd to erupt in cheer. Reaching the requisite 8, Woodard was awarded an event-best 85.5-point score.

Woodard’s golden-finish earned him a crucial 65 national points, elevating him from No. 8 to No. 5 in the national standings. He is now within 201.33 points of the top position as he seeks his first national title in 2021.

Three-time and reigning PBR Australia Champion Aaron Kleier (Clermont, Queensland) furthered his stronghold on the No. 1 rank after tying for third at the fifth iteration of the PBR Rockhampton Invitational.

Kleier first tied for the Round 1 win after covering Milky Way Man (Diamond J Rodeo Co.) for a commanding 82 points. The stoic contender, however, was unable to punctuate his efforts in his home state with a qualified ride, dispatched by Cattle King Boogers Beach (Dittmann Bucking Bulls) in 3.57 seconds in the final round.

The Queensland sensation’s seventh Top-5 finish of the year earned him 38.5 national points, allowing Kleier to grow his lead over No. 2 Macaulie Leather (Calliope, Queensland) to 138.33 points.

Attempting to make history in 2021, should Kleier win the national title an unprecedented fourth consecutive time, the Queensland sensation 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.

Second was young gun Kelsey Pavlou (Toora, Victoria).

Going 1-for-2, the 19-year-old rebounded from a 5.06-second buckoff aboard Top Deck (Fred Kleier) in Round 1, covering Mighty Whitey (Peter Wallace) for 84.5 points in the final round.

Marking his best finish of the 2021 season, the silver-finish earned Pavlou 52 points in the race for the 2021 PBR Australia Championship. He is now No. 10 in the national standings, 280.83 points behind No. 1 Kleier.

Tying for third alongside Kleier was PBR World Finals qualifier Kurt Shephard (Mareeba, Queensland).

Shephard registered his Round 1-winning, 82-point ride atop Damage Control (Fred Kleier), but was ultimately denied the PBR Rockhampton Invitational win when he was bucked off in 4.51 seconds by Razor Sharp (Peter Wallace).

Much like Kleier, Shephard also collected 38.5 national points. He maintained his No. 3 rank in the national standings and continues to trail the No. 1 position by 150.83 points.

Rounding out the Top 5 in fifth was Taran Chirgwin (Calliope, Queensland).

Tying for his career-best finish, Chirgwin’s efforts were headlined by his 80.5-point ride atop Toy Boy (Colin Fry) in Round 1.

Chirgwin left the Great Western Hotel having earned 19 national points. The 27-year-old is now No. 16 in the national standings.

In the bull pen, it was a five-way tie for the high-marked bull of the event title, with Rambo (Dittmann Bicking Bulls), Black Tuxedo (Peter Wallace), Cattle King Boogers Beach, Reloaded (Dittmann Bucking Bulls), and Roid Rage (Dittmann Bucking Bulls) all posting 43.5-point scores.

Rambo posted the top marks in Round 1 for his 2.72-second buckoff of Lawson Nobbs (Moura, Queensland), while the remainder of the contingent were all out in the championship round.

As the event wound to a close, Black Tuxedo dispatched Daniel Rogan (Tamworth, New South Wales) in 2.91 seconds, Cattle King Boogers Beach bested Kleier, Reloaded sent seven-time PBR World Finals qualifier Lachlan Richardson (Gresford, New South Wales) to the ground in 3.61 seconds, and Roid Rage needed just 2.85 seconds to unseat Chirgwin.

Cattle King Boogers Beach has now earned, or tied for, the high-marked bull of the event honor in each of his eight trips to date in 2021. The powerful bovine athlete remains locked in a feverish race for the Bull of the Year honor alongside Razor Sharp.

Razor Sharp also bucked at the fifth iteration of the PBR Rockhampton Invitational, marked 43 points for his trip with Shephard in the championship round.

The 2021 PBR Australia Monster Energy Tour will continue Saturday, October 2 in Rockhampton, Queensland. Action for the PBR Rockhampton Invitational at Great Western Hotel gets underway at 7:00 p.m. AEST. Tickets are still available and can be purchased at PBRAustralia.com.au.

PBR Australia Monster Energy Tour – PBR Rockhampton Invitational 5
Great Western Hotel – Rockhampton, Queensland
Event Leaders (Round 1- Round 2-Event Aggregate-Australian Points-World Points)
1. Bailey Woodard, 0-85.5-85.5-65-15
2. Kelsey Pavlou, 0-84.5-84.5-52-8
3. Aaron Kleier, 82-0-82-38.5-5.5
(tie) Kurt Shephard, 82-0-82-38.5-5.5
5. Taran Chirgwin, 80.5-0-80.5-19-3
6. Daniel Rogan, 79-0-79-11-2
7. Lachlan Richardson, 75.5-0-75.5-8-1
Brady Fielder, 0-0-0.00-0-0
Lawson Nobbs, 0-0-0.00-0-0
Macaulie Leather, 0-0-0.00-0-0
Dan Ruhland, 0-0-0.00-0-0
Caiden Sandilands, 0-0-0.00-0-0
Mitchel Paton, 0-0-0.00-0-0
Jake Curr, 0-0-0.00-0-0
Cody Fraser, 0-0-0.00-0-0
Jack Keats, 0-0-0.00-0-0
Wyatt Milgate, 0-0-0.00-0-0
Beau Willis, 0-0-0.00-0-0
Lane Howlett, 0-0-0.00-0-0
Sam Payne, 0-0-0.00-0-0
Bryn Francis, 0-0-0.00-0-0
Wynn Andersen, 0-0-0.00-0-0