13-year-old Australian to compete in junior finals in the US — ABC News Australia

Thirteen-year-old rider Lareis Daly-Kennedy from Mount Isa in the Australian state of Queensland has received invitations to two junior world bull riding finals in the United States. The Mount Isa Rodeo organizers allocated $10,000 to help her make the trip.

A representative of the Kalkadoon and Pitta Pitta peoples, she will compete at the Professional Youth Roughstock Association World Finals in Oklahoma and the World Championship Mini Bulls World Finals in Texas. As ABC News Australia reports, this is the first time the current Mount Isa Rodeo board has directly provided financial support to a young participant.

Results at regional competitions

Daly-Kennedy received the invitations after a series of successful performances in north-west Queensland. Earlier this year, she placed second in her first steer riding appearance. At this year's Mount Isa Rodeo, the athlete did not last until the buzzer in the Mount Isa round, but later placed third in Indigenous mini bulls.

Lareis began bull riding after hearing stories from her father, Nathan Kennedy, about his rodeo participation. The family initially planned to raise about $15,000 through raffles and donations from regional residents. According to her father, funding from the Mount Isa Rodeo made it possible to fully secure the trip to the United States.

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Support for young athletes

Mount Isa Rodeo, described as the largest rodeo in the Southern Hemisphere, runs an annual junior training course on safety, technique and competition skills. This year, around 50 children took part, including those from remote communities.

Rodeo board deputy chair Marcus Carr said that developing young riders is becoming one of the organization's important areas of work. He noted that smaller regional rodeos give young participants an opportunity to develop their skills before competing in the Kalkadoon arena.

Among other young participants at this year's rodeo, brothers Dallas and Ashley Murphy from Cloncurry, aged 10 and 14, stood out by winning mini bulls titles. Nineteen-year-old Cade Ferguson from Cloncurry won the all-around rodeo title; several weeks earlier, he became world champion in bull riding and runner-up in saddle bronc at the Cinch World Championship Junior Rodeo in Oklahoma.