PBR Australia’s 20th Season Kicks Off in Scone

 

PBR Australia kicks off its 20th season this weekend in the "Horse capital of Australia", with the country's rankest bucking bulls and bull riders rolling into the Upper Hunter for the 2025 Monster Energy Scone Invitational.

The Monster Energy Tour event will kick off inside White Park Equine Arena at 7:30 p.m. AEDT on Saturday, February 8th, 2025, with gates opening at 4:30 p.m. AEDT.

We will also see the young guns of the PBR Australia's Can-Am Junior Academy begin their season at 5:30 p.m. AEDT with the Pee Wee, Junior Mini Bull, Senior Mini Bull and Rising Stars divisions all in action.

Tickets are available from the PBR Australia website.

 

Event History

Recent visits to Scone have proved fruitful for some of our previous PBR Australia Rookie of the Year winners.

In 2022, the current World No. 1 ranked bull rider, Brady Fielder, went 2-from-2 to take home the buckle.

Jake Curr's lone 84.5-point ride in Round 1 was enough to see the Mount Isa cowboy crowned champion in 2023.

Last season, the recently retired Lane Mellers scored a come-from-behind victory, covering his final two bulls of the night to win the bulk of the prize money.

 

Format, Prizemoney and Points

Twenty-four cowboys will battle it out over two long rounds of competition for $20,000 in prize money at the 2025 Monster Energy Scone Invitational.

A maximum of 280 points are available towards the 2025 PBR Australian National Standings, with each round winner picking up 40 points. The event winner will add 200 points and become the front-runner on the Australian National Standings leaderboard.

Watch all the action on the PBR Australia Live Stream page.

 

Who to Watch

Three of the top-5 riders from the 2024 PBR Australian National Standings will make their season debut in Scone.

Leading the charge is the reigning PBR Australian National Champion and Rookie of the Year Boston Leather. The 19-year-old kicked off his campaign with a fifth placing at Scone last year and ended the year earning over $170,000 in prize money. In the two rounds, Leather will go up against 014 Last Confession (Keliher Bucking Bulls) and 901 Bad Boy (MC Bucking Bulls).

After an injury affected the 2024 season, 2023 PBR Australian National Champion Macaulie Leather covered six of his last eight bulls to win the Grand Finals event and finished in second place in the standings. The 23-year-old finished fourth at this event last season and faces 730 Humdinger in Round 1 and 872 Ariat Lost Soul in Round 2. Both bulls are from Dunne Bulls.

Rounding out the trio of Calliope cowboys is Ben Bode. The 20-year-old was crowned Cowboy of Origin and covered six of his last eleven bulls on tour to finish the season in fourth place. Bode has drawn 64 Haunted (Lazy G Bucking Bulls and Pukallus Partnership) in the opening round, and a bull on debut from MC Bucking Bulls named 020 King Hit in Round 2.

One of Australia's best bucking bulls of 2024, 011E The Warden, will make his season debut at Scone. The MJ and Keliher Bucking Bull was unridden in his first season on tour, bucking off 15 riders and averaging a bull score of 43.17 points. Jack Rowlandson has been set the task in Round 2.

058 Revolver has put together a nice start to his career for Dunne Bulls. He bucked off six straight cowboys before combining with Macaulie Leather for 88 points at the 2024 PBR Australia Grand Finals. His average mark so far in his career is 42.71 points, and he has a Round 2 matchup with Tyson Smith here in Scone.

Another bull to watch on Saturday night is 819 Sky High from Morgy's Cattle Company. He finished his first season on tour undefeated, with ten cowboys coming down before the whistle. His average buck-off time is 3.45 seconds, with an average bull score of 42.43 points. He will face rookie Zac Southwell in Round 2.

Take a look at the 2025 Scone Invitational Daysheet.

 

Matchups to Watch - Round 1

Tyson Smith on 037 Kick Start My Heart (Diamond S Bucking Bulls)

This is a rematch from the Meatstock event in Sydney in 2023, where they combined for 84 points and a round win. Kick Start My Heart has plenty of experience at this level of competition, and his record stands at 25-6. Five of those six qualified rides belong to right-handed riders at an average of 84.50 points. He can mix up his trips, but he does look like a nice draw in this round. If the 26-year-old Walcha talent can handle the bull's direction changes again, he should finish in the money.

Macaulie Leather on 730 Humdinger (Dunne Bulls)

These two matched up twice in the closing stages of the 2024 season and shared the results at one win each. At Mackay, the bull won the matchup in 5.11 seconds, but the 23-year-old didn't have to wait long to get his revenge, marked 85 points at Tamworth a few weeks later. On both occasions, the bull turned back to the right and away from his riding hand. The Calliope cowboy will have his measure once again.

Ky Borghero on OY63 Bad Boy Brown (Lazy G Bucking Bulls)

It's another two-time matchup from last season. At Hawkesbury, Bad Boy Brown emerged victorious in 6.1 seconds, but a fortnight later in Armidale, the 20-year-old made the bell for 83 points and the round win. This bull can mix up his trips. He has been to the right, then reversed to the left, or he can fake right and go left. Either way, he should finish spinning into Borghero's hand. The Proserpine young gun put together a nice first year on tour and finished thirteenth in the standings, and this bull could get him off to a nice start in 2025.

 

Matchups to Watch - Round 2

Diego Galdino dos Santos on 805 Canadian Club (Maynes Bucking Bulls)

The Brazilian burst onto the scene in the middle of the 2024 season, covering five of his first nine bulls on Australian soil. He has been a tough rider to get on the ground, with his average buck-off time sitting at over 4 seconds. In Round 2, he goes up against Canadian Club. This bull has allowed just three rides in his almost three years on tour, but it appears that riders are getting him figured out. He leaves strong, picks a spot and turns back to the left. That will be into Galdino's riding hand and will give the 30-year-old every opportunity to make the whistle.

Clint Glass on 102 Swinger (MC Bucking Bulls)

Glass had an outstanding summer break - crowned ABCRA Bull Riding Champion following his 3-for-3 performance across the finals. He faces Swinger in the second round at Scone. I haven't seen too much of this bull, but I am surprised he has only been ridden once on tour. Swinger prefers a clockwise spin but can start bucking to the left initially. If the Willow Tree veteran can get him started, he shouldn't be far off getting a score despite right-handed riders being on the wrong end of a 1-4 record.

Boston Leather on 901 Bad Boy (MC Bucking Bulls)

The 2024 Champion has a tricky draw in Round 1, but Bad Boy looks a much easier task in the second round. This bull has had two trips under the PBR Australia banner and was ridden for low scores on both occasions. The highest of the two belongs to Leather, who scored 81 points at the event in Armidale last season. This bull tends to favour a spin to the right, which puts him into the Leather's hand, but he can produce a reversal of direction or two in the closing stages of the ride. But will this bull allow enough points to get the Calliope talent into the money?

Stay tuned in to PBRAustralia.com.au and follow the tour on Facebook (PBR Australia), X (@PBRAustralia), and Instagram (@PBRAustralia) for the latest results, news, stats and more.