Mareeba bull rider Kurt Shephard has consolidated his spot at the top of the PBR Australian National Standings with a timely victory at the 2025 Tamworth Invitational inside the Australian Equine and Livestock Events Centre (AELEC) on Saturday night. 

After unexpectantly bucking off his opening round opponent in 7.75 seconds on Friday, Shephard produced two clutch bull rides on the second night of competition to finish the event with a 2-for-3 record and an aggregate total of 169.50 points.

The 31-year-old added his name to the event leaderboard in Round 2 with an 83.75-point ride aboard Jagger. The Swain Cattle Company bucker followed the gate and turned back to the right, forcing Shephard to scramble his way to the whistle, but he never looked in difficulty.

With the third pick in the Championship Round draft, Shephard selected Pandemic from the Lazy G Bucking Bulls and Edgar Partnership. It looked like a smart pick, with the bull expected to turn back to the left and into his hand, but as we know in bull riding, things don’t always go to plan.

Pandemic took two jumps to clear the chute and sharply turned back to the right, which initially looked to put Shephard out of position, but he was able to regain his seat and finished the ride with perfect form. Judges awarded the ride 85.75 points—the highest mark of the weekend.

It was the fifth event win of the season for Shephard and his first since June’s PBR Origin II in Brisbane. He collected almost $10,000 in prizemoney, which pushes his total season earnings close to $80,000.

Watch the replay of the 2025 Tamworth Invitational on YouTube.

Luan Crystian Camara finished the event in second place after he produced his own 2-for-3, 166-point performance. The Brazilian led the field after Round 1 of the competition with a textbook 82-point ride aboard Unstable (Dunne Bulls).

After falling just short of the whistle in the second round, Camara applied the pressure to Shephard from the No. 4 slot in the Championship Round with a solid ride into his hand. He combined with MSG Locating Filthy Rich (Lazy G Bucking Bulls) for 84 points.

Third place went to Oberon’s Charlie Bailey, who backed up his runner-up finish at Orange last month with another strong result to storm into a Grand Finals qualification spot. He rode Last Confession (Keliher Bucking Bulls) for 81.75 points in Round 1 and Kinky Ninja (Keliher Bucking Bulls) for 83.75 points in the final round for an aggregate total of 165.50 points.

Brumby Brandenburg was the final rider to finish the weekend with two scores totalling 158.50 points. The Bloomsbury talent covered Crooked Intentions (Morgys Cattle Company and Wildcard Partnership) and King of Hearts (MC Bucking Bulls) during the Saturday night rounds for 81 and 77.50 points, respectively.

Willow Tree cowboy Clint Glass was the best-placed rider with one score, rounding out the top 5 after he covered Thickshake (MC Bucking Bulls) for 84.50 points and the Round 2 win.

In total, eleven riders posted scores across the long round of competition.

Alison Aguilar, Dan Ruhland, Ky Borghero, Ashton Sweeney, Bryn Francis and Rylee Ward completed the rundown.

Check out the Full Results from the 2025 Tamworth Invitational.

We now have a two-rider race for the 2025 PBR Australian National Championship.

Kurt Shephard has now earned 2212.33 points this season, and he heads into next week’s season finale in Townsville with a healthy 326.83-point buffer over No. 2-ranked Luan Crystian Camara.

Camara retains his stranglehold on the 2025 Rookie of the Year race, with his nearest opponent, Alison Aguiar, trailing by an almost unassailable 673.50 points.

With their strong finishes in Tamworth, Charlie Bailey, Brumby Brandenburg, and Dan Ruhland have all qualified for the 2025 PBR Australia Grand Finals.

View the updated 2025 PBR Australian National Standings.

On the bull side of the draw, it was another dominant weekend for the MJ and Keliher Bucking Bulls duo of Alpha Blokes Warden and Mooseys Moto Moto.

The Warden collected his ninth ABBI YETI High Marked Bull of the Event award of the season, making it back-to-back Tamworth Invitational victories. The son of Margin Call dispatched Ky Borghero in 2.46 seconds with a blistering 43.25-point trip in the Championship Round.

Moto Moto recorded the highest bull score of night one and the second highest of the weekend, awarded 43 points for his 2.43-second Round 1 matchup with Clint Glass.

Next weekend, the top-ranked bull riders in Australia, plus a select group of international invitees, head to Townsville for the 2025 PBR Australia Grand Finals on Friday, 30 October and Saturday, 1 November 2025.

While Championship Saturday is sold out, limited tickets are still available for the Friday night performance. Find all the event details and information on how to secure your tickets on the PBR Australia website.

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.