PBR Australia returns to Hawkesbury this weekend for two nights of Monster Energy Tour action at the Showgrounds on 5-6 September 2025.
The Friday night performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. AEST with the cowboys contesting Round 1 of the Monster Energy Tour event.
Saturday will begin with the PBR's Can-Am Junior Academy at 5:00 p.m. AEST, followed by Round 2 and the Championship Round of the main event at 7:00 p.m.
Event Information and Tickets are available from the PBR Australia website.
Event History
Last season, it was Sam Woodall who emerged victorious in the event.
The Heywood talent's lone 86-point ride aboard Kick Start My Heart (Diamond S Bucking Bulls) in Round 1 was enough to hold off event runner-up Lane Mellers, with Braydon Wellby, Klay Ward and Macaulie Leather finishing in a tie for third place.
View the latest results from PBR Australia competition here.
Format, Prizemoney and Points
There are twenty-eight bull riders in the draw for the 2025 Hawkesbury Invitational, and they will all face a bull in Rounds 1 and 2 of the competition. The cowboys with the best combined scores will then return for the Championship Round and a chance to take home the bulk of the $20,000 in prize money that will be up for grabs.
A maximum of 320 points will be available to any individual rider towards the 2025 PBR Australian National Standings. Each of the three round winners will receive 40 points, and the event winner will receive 200 points.
Watch all the action on PBR Australia’s YouTube Channel and Live Stream page.
Talking Points
Grand Finals Qualification – The Cut
While the race is on at the top of the National Standings, a battle is also underway in the standings, with riders ranked around the cut line for qualification for the 2025 PBR Australia Grand Finals starting to feel the pressure.
The cowboys ranked between No. 19 and No. 30 in the standings are separated by under 200 points on the leaderboard. So, round wins, placings and strong overall finishes are becoming very important, especially for riders south of the No. 22 ranking.
As we saw with Lachlan Slade's win at Caboolture last weekend, significant gains can be made with a strong performance. With his win, Slade moved from 30th to 17th in the standings and now sits over 100 points ahead of the projected cut line.
Riders on New South Wales Bulls
The last time that we saw a similar bull pen contracted was back in May at the Sydney Meatstock event, where the riders covered around 28% of their bulls. It was quite a significant turnaround from the events in Scone and Armidale earlier in the season, where the Cowboys converted at just 10% and 12.5%.
We had the opportunity to watch each contractor’s top buckers at the Sydney Origin event in July, but we haven’t seen these extended strings buck on tour for a few months now.
Over the next three weeks of competition, we can expect to see similar bull pens contracted for the tour stops in Hawkesbury, Orange, and Nowra. Therefore, a two-event night in Hawkesbury will be an excellent opportunity for the riders to be observant, build some familiarity, and take advantage to boost their riding percentages.
Matchups to Watch
Kurt Shephard on 4 Crooked Intentions (Morgys Cattle Company/Wildcard Partnership)
Shephard got the job done in the early round last week at Caboolture, but he bucked off the reigning bucking bull of the year, Mr T, in the Championship Round, so he will be looking to make amends this week. Crooked Intentions is one of the kinder draws in this round. Since making his debut at the start of the 2024 season, we have seen this bull ridden 11 times out of his 21 outs, and left-handed riders have owned 7 of those. He did switch to the right-side delivery for a run of outs, but he goes back to the left side here. He should start spinning to the right and reverse to the left at some stage, which should allow the Mareeba talent to finish strong and give him a nice start to the weekend.
Nash Mellers on 151 Hillbilly Bandit (Lazy G Bucking Bulls/Provost Partnership)
I really like this draw for Mellers. Hillbilly Bandit has been out 3 times in PBR competition, and he has yet to face a right-handed rider. He prefers a spin to the right, and while he can get around at a solid clip, his action is relatively flat. Jack Rowlandson became the first and only rider to make the whistle when we last saw this bull at Armidale, and they combined for 81.5 points. The Gracemere young gun put together a great ride in the opening round last weekend, but he couldn’t get Twist & Shout started in the short go. As long as he makes a decent start here, he should be there at the finish.
Clint Glass on 900 Crackin Tins (MC Bucking Bulls)
This is a rematch from Origin I in Newcastle, where the Willow Tree cowboy won the matchup and finished third in Round 2 with 83.25 points. The bull has since gone on to buck off five riders in a row, but we have seen plenty of him, with the average buck off time across those attempts sitting at almost 4.5 seconds. Crackin Tins produces a fairly consistent trip, leaving the chutes and turning back to the right. Glass rode well at Caboolture last week to finish in the runner-up spot. He took his long round bull to 7.94 seconds and then converted Seven Eleven into 87 points in the Championship Round. With this Crackin Tins expected to turn back into his hand, he should have plenty of confidence heading into this matchup to close out Round 1.
View the full Daysheet for the 2025 Hawkesbury Invitational.
For the latest results, news and stats, stay tuned to PBRAustralia.com.au, follow the tour on Facebook (PBR Australia), Instagram (@PBRAustralia) and TikTok (@PBRAustralia) and subscribe to @ProBullRidersAust on YouTube for live events, replays and highlights.
