EVENT DETAILS
What: Cinch International Australian Bronc Match, presented by Gill Bros Rodeo
When: Saturday 24 October 2026 during the Warwick Rodeo and Gold Cup Campdraft
Where: Warwick Showgrounds, Kingsford Street, Warwick, Queensland
Time: Approximately 6pm; final event time to be confirmed
Field: 24 elite Australian and international bronc riders
Prize pool: More than $50,000, plus an $8,800 custom Australian fender saddle
Champions, rising stars and rodeo royalty unite to take on the world in Warwick
More of Australia’s greatest bronc riders have been unveiled for the Cinch International Australian Bronc Match, presented by Gill Bros Rodeo and A Rorey Lemmel Bucker, to be staged under lights at the Warwick Rodeo and Gold Cup Campdraft on Saturday evening, 24 October.
With more than $50,000 in prize money at stake, Australia has assembled an extraordinary home contingent of national champions, international competitors, record-breakers and the brightest young stars in the sport to take on the elite overseas riders already announced.
The latest Australian riders confirmed are Ben Rasmussen of Nevertire, New South Wales; Ken Coleman of Bells Bridge, Queensland; Cade Ferguson of Cloncurry, Queensland; brothers Mick and Tom Knight of Manilla, New South Wales; Bailey O’Dell of Maldon, Victoria; Lane Edwards of Stratford, New South Wales; Jack Capewell of Rosewood, Queensland; Clayton Braden of Collinsville, Queensland; and Greg “Dyso” Hamilton of Mitchell, Queensland.
They join the first wave of stars already announced for the 24-rider international showdown including three-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier Damian Brennan of Injune, international rising star Darcey Radel also of Injune and event founders Jake Finlay and Tom Webster, both from Goondiwindi, alongside Darcy Wockner of Julia Creek, Joe Macqueen of Millmerran and Warwick Southern of Weengallon. All seven Australians are currently competing in the United States and will return home specifically for the Warwick event, bringing with them the experience of riding against the world’s best on the gruelling North American rodeo circuit.
The American contingent so far includes Texas rising star Gus Gaillard, ranked World No. 14; New Mexico’s Zac Dallas, sitting just outside the NFR qualifying zone at World No. 16; and one of America’s most recognisable bronc riders, Shorty Garrett of South Dakota, ranked World No. 19.
To be staged at the Warwick Showgrounds on Saturday 24 October 2026, the spectacular standalone international showdown will pit Australia’s leading bronc riders against elite competitors from the United States and beyond in four hours of explosive, world-class competition. In total, 24 elite athletes will compete across four sections, with the two highest-scoring riders from each section advancing to an eight-man championship short round.
At stake is more than $50,000 in prize money, including $20,000 for first place, $10,000 for second and $5,000 for third, plus a custom-made Australian fender saddle handcrafted by acclaimed Beaudesert saddlemaker Troy Welsh and valued at $8,000.
Australian Bronc Match Inc President Jake Finlay said the Australian contingent had been selected for far more than its combined collection of titles and buckles. “These men have proven themselves throughout a fiercely competitive Xtreme Broncs Australia season, but what makes us equally proud is the way they carry themselves outside the arena,” Finlay said. “Being a cowboy is about more than riding a bucking horse for eight seconds. It’s about integrity, respect, helping the bloke beside you and representing your community well.”
“We’ve brought together Australian champions, experienced campaigners and some of the most exciting young riders this country has produced. The Americans have taken the buckle home for two years running, but this is an Australian team capable of bringing it back.”
Jeff Miller, Chair of the Warwick Rodeo and Gold Cup Campdraft said the event gave Australian audiences the ability to see internationally renowned competitors compete on home soil, at one of the biggest rodeos in the country.
THE AUSTRALIAN CHALLENGERS
Bailey O’Dell — Maldon, Victoria
The reigning Australian Champion Saddle Bronc Rider has built an extraordinary record over the past two seasons. O’Dell became the first rider to win consecutive Xtreme Broncs Australia championships and added the prestigious 2026 Mount Isa Open Saddle Bronc title aboard Gill Brothers’ Little Darling. His recent victories also include the Richmond Rodeo, and he will arrive in Warwick as one of the hottest riders in Australian rodeo.
Ben Rasmussen — Nevertire, New South Wales
Rasmussen arrives in Warwick after a magnificent run of form. He captured the coveted Mount Isa saddle bronc buckle in 2025, won the 2026 Ken Coleman Memorial Chute Out at the Cloncurry Merry Muster with an outstanding 86.5-point ride, claimed the Federation Challenge at the Sydney Royal Easter Show and finished the Xtreme Broncs Australia regular season with victory at Marrar Madness. His 2025 Mount Isa victory came with a two-ride aggregate of 169.5 points.
Cade Ferguson — Cloncurry, Queensland
At just 19, Ferguson is already one of the most exciting all-round rodeo athletes Australia has produced. The two-time Australian High School Rodeo Bronc Riding Champion has represented Australia repeatedly in the United States, qualifying inside the top 10 at the Junior Roughstock World Finals in Las Vegas in consecutive years and competing at the International Finals Youth Rodeo. He is the current junior world champion bull rider and reserve world champion saddle bronc rider at the Cinch World Championship Junior Rodeo in Oklahoma. Weeks later, he returned home to be crowned the 2026 Mount Isa Rodeo All-Round Cowboy, while also finishing second in the Open Saddle Bronc.
Jack Capewell — Rosewood, Queensland
A six-time National Rodeo Association Saddle Bronc Champion and former NRA All-Round Cowboy, Capewell combines championship experience with a deep understanding of the equipment on which riders depend. Away from competition, he is a craftsman producing custom spurs and knives—turning the same exacting standards demanded in the arena into another part of his working life.
Mick Knight — Manilla, New South Wales
A former Xtreme Broncs Australia champion, the 2021 series champion combines technical ability with the fearless competitive edge that has made the Knight brothers two of Australia’s most recognised bronc-riding families.
Tom Knight — Manilla, New South Wales
The older half of Manilla’s formidable Knight brothers, Tom is a former APRA Tour Saddle Bronc Champion, a multiple rookie-title winner and the winner of the 2023 Corryong Man From Snowy River Xtreme Broncs Challenge. In 2025, after twice finishing runner-up, he finally captured the prestigious Ken Coleman Memorial Chute Out at Cloncurry.
Ken Coleman — Bells Bridge, Queensland
One of the strongest performers of the 2026 Australian season, Coleman was sitting fourth in the APRA National Finals Rodeo saddle bronc standings by mid-June, with more than $30,000 in season earnings at that point. He has remained a consistent threat across both open and Xtreme Broncs competition and will arrive in Warwick as one of Queensland’s leading contenders.
Clayton Braden — Collinsville, Queensland
A proven big-event performer, Braden won the 2024 Mount Isa Open Saddle Bronc title and has built a particularly formidable record at Cloncurry, winning both its Open Saddle Bronc and the prestigious Ken Coleman Memorial Chute Out. He finished third at Mount Isa in 2026 behind O’Dell and Ferguson.
Lane Edwards — Stratford, New South Wales
Edwards announced himself as a major emerging talent by dominating the inaugural Xtreme Broncs Australia Rookie Series and being crowned its 2025 rookie champion. He also finished runner-up in the 2025 ABCRA national saddle bronc title and has begun competing in the United States.
Greg “Dyso” Hamilton — Mitchell, Queensland
The 2022 Australian Champion Saddle Bronc Rider brings proven championship experience, and unfinished business, to Warwick. Hamilton was the only Australian to advance to the eight-man championship short round at the 2025 Bronc Match, where American Brody Wells ultimately claimed the title with an extraordinary 89.5-point ride.
THE OTHER ATHLETES IN THE CHUTES – THE BRONCS
The Australian riders will face more than the international contingent when the gates fly open. Event partner and legendary stock contractor Eddie Gill, of Gill Bros Rodeo, is assembling a pen of Australia’s most prestigious bucking horses for the Warwick showdown, including horses carrying bloodlines tracing directly to the celebrated Carandotta horses of Outback Queensland.
Carandotta Station produced some of the toughest and most electric bucking horses in Australian rodeo history. For decades, the Ah One family walked mobs of those horses more than 200 kilometres to compete at Mount Isa, establishing a bloodline that remains revered throughout the sport. That heritage has been preserved within the Gill Bros breeding program.
Gill said spectators would see two sets of elite athletes when the Warwick chutes opened.
“We’re bringing some of the most prestigious bucking horses in the country to Warwick, and they’ve earned their place there every bit as much as the cowboys have,” Gill said. “Some carry the famous Carandotta bloodline from Outback Queensland, a line that has helped shape Australian bronc riding and produced generations of extraordinarily powerful, athletic bucking horses.”
“These horses are bred to buck, but breeding alone isn’t enough. They’re selected for their athleticism, their consistency and their ability to give a cowboy the opportunity to make a great ride. They’re individuals, they all have their own style and personality, and the best riders know they have to work with that horse for eight seconds. You can put the best cowboy in the country in the chute, but he still needs a great horse underneath him if they’re going to produce one of those rides people remember for years.”
EVENT DETAILS
What: Cinch International Australian Bronc Match, presented by Gill Bros Rodeo
When: Saturday 24 October 2026 during the Warwick Rodeo and Gold Cup Campdraft
Where: Warwick Showgrounds, Kingsford Street, Warwick, Queensland
Time: Approximately 6pm; final event time to be confirmed
Field: 24 elite Australian and international bronc riders
Prize pool: More than $50,000, plus an $8,800 custom Australian fender saddle
For media information, contact Kath Rose on 0416 291 493 or email [email protected]
Contact details:
Kath Rose on 0416 291 493 or email [email protected]
