Bulls buck big and riders rise:
Mackay hosts high-stakes PBR showdown with QLD and NSW riders dominating
Future Stars Shine: Gympie's Wieland brothers dominate Juniors in Mackay
After a string of events south of the border, Queensland's sugar city of Mackay came alive this weekend with the PBR Australia Monster Energy Tour. Over two huge nights, 21 of the best bull riders in the business went head-to-head with the big bucks. With the 2025 PBR Australia Grand Finals in Townsville looming at the end of the month, every ride now counts.
Queensland riders from Calliope, Rockhampton, Bajool, Mareeba, MoutI Isa, Athol (Toowoomba) and Gympie, and NSW riders from Willow Tree (Tamworth), Hunter Valley and Barraba dominate.
Brazil's Alison Aguiar went 3-for-4 to claim his third PBR Monster Energy win of the season, thrilling a massive crowd at BB Print Stadium. Aguiar's 253-point aggregate earned him $7,250 and catapulted him into No. 4 in the National Standings.
Clint Glass (Willow Tree, NSW) continued his red-hot form, finishing runner-up with three qualified rides totalling 250.50 points. Donovan Rutherfurd (Mount Isa, QLD) shone early, winning Round 1 aboard Ambush (CF7 Bucking Bulls) with 85.5 points and splitting Round 2 with Glass after an 86-pointer on Revolver (Dunne Bulls).
Thomas Hudson (Dungog, NSW) finished fourth after qualified rides in Rounds 1 and 3, while fellow Brazilian Luan Crystian Camara went 2-for-4 to stay firmly in the title race.
Queenslander Zane Hall (Athol) was the state's best-placed rider, finishing fifth courtesy of his 85-point ride on Double Shot (TF Bucking Bulls). Teammates Kurt Shephard (Mareeba), Ben Bode (Calliope), and Caiden Sandilands (Rockhampton), along with Victoria's Kelsey Pavlou, all added single scores to round out the Top 10.
At the top of the National Standings, Kurt Shephard remains Australia's No. 1 cowboy with 1,983.33 points despite finishing seventh in Mackay. Luan Crystian Camara trimmed the gap by 34 points with his fifth-place finish, while Clint Glass strengthened his grip on third after collecting another 210 points. Aguiar, meanwhile, surged from fifth into fourth, now just five points behind Glass and under 800 points from Shephard.
"We're at the business end of the 2025 season, and every ride matters. Anything can happen over the next few weeks, which makes the Grand Finals in Townsville set to be the ultimate bull riding showdown," said PBR Australia Managing Director Glen Young.
In the bucking pen, Alpha Blokes Warden (MJ and Keliher Bucking Bulls) added his seventh YETI ABBI High Marked Bull of the Night award of the year, but this time shared the honour with penmate Winchester, with both bulls marked 44 points in Round 1.
JUNIOR RESULTS
Australia's next generation of bull riders rode with just as much courage and conviction as their heroes in the open events. In the Pee Wee Division nine-year-old Jasper Wieland from Gympie took the title, representing back-to-back wins after winning in Nowra last weekend.
The Junior Division was won by 11-year-old Noah Lowe from Barraba in NSW, while 14-year-old Chase Wieland, older brother to Jasper, won Senior Division. Seventeen-year-old Taj Everingham from Bajool in Queensland took the Rising Star title.
- Full Results from the 2025 Mackay Invitational.
- 2025 PBR Australian National Standings.
- Watch the replay of the 2025 Mackay Invitational on YouTube.
- All event and ticket details at PBR Australia website
NEXT UP:
KILKIVAN - PBR Australia Presents: Touring Pro Division - PBR Kilkivan
Oct 11 7:00 PM in Kilkivan, QLD
TAMWORTH - PBR Australia Presents: PBR Monster Energy Tour Tamworth Iron Cowboy
Oct 24 7:30 PM and Oct 25 7:00 PM in Tamworth, NSW - AELEC Arena
PBR Australia Presents: PBR Monster Energy Tour Grand Finals
Oct 31 7:30 PM and Nov 1 7:30 PM in Townsville, QLD - Townsville Entertainment and Convention Centre
ABOUT PBR AUSTRALIA
Professional Bull Riders (PBR) is one of the fastest-growing sports properties in the world, with tours across the U.S., Australia, Brazil, Canada, and Mexico. A subsidiary of Endeavor, a global leader in sports, media, and entertainment, PBR has transformed bull riding into a premier international sport since its founding in 1992. The organisation features over 1,000 riders globally and hosts more than 200 events annually worldwide. In Australia, Professional Bull Riders Australia (PBRA) stages more than 20 events each year, attracting over 75,000 fans. PBRA showcases key events and tours such as the Monster Energy Tour, PBR Origin Series, and PBR Grand Finals, while also partnering with regional event organisers through the PBR Touring Pro Division. The organisation supports emerging talent through its Can-Am Junior Academy and serves as an international pathway to the United States circuit for both Junior and Open competition athletes.
