General News
6 August, 2025
Bucking horse of the year to headline Sunday's final
Hilltop Hustler is worth the price of admission alone.
There's no rodeo without stock and every now and again, along comes one bucking animal who stands out from the rest.
For bull riding fans, there will always be Chainsaw who stood above the rest.
Mount Isa could be seeing the saddle bronc version this Sunday as bucking horse of the year Hilltop Hustler makes his Kalkadoon Arena debut.
North West Weekly saw him in the flesh at Cloncurry and to say that he was a handful for the rider would be an understatement.
To put it simply, the rider didn’t stand a chance.
Travelling with Hilltop Hustler all the way from the Tumbarumba Rodeo Club is Steve Condell, who was beaming with pride.
“He’s the only stallion that’s ever won the bucking horse of the year,” Condell exclaimed.
“He comes from Gary McPhee’s bucking horses’ bloodlines – the Tumbarumba community have been breeding horses for a lot of years and Brad Pierce is in charge of it all. He’s a three-time Australian saddle bronc riding champion and he knows a bucking horse if he sees one.
“Brad’s brought this horse along and got him here to where he is.”
Travelling from Wagga Wagga to Cloncurry is no easy feat and it was a slow process with such high-value stock, Condell said.
“We do about six or seven hours a day and then we pull up. So it takes about four days,” he said.
Amazingly, the star stallion will come all this way for just a handful of rides. He was used once in the Ken Coleman Chute Out at the Curry Merry Muster, and will be saved for Sunday’s final at the Mount Isa Mines Rodeo.
“This is actually my first time up here to Mount Isa, so I’m stoked to be a part of it.” Condell said.
“I’ve done every major rodeo in the country and this is one on the bucket list to do.
“We’ve got great contractors, the Gill Bros are our main contractors and they bring the best show and they run the best show.
“The people at Mount Isa this year will see the best horses in the country with the best riders.”
Hilltop Hustler has been ridden twice for scores of 90, meaning if you can stay on for eight seconds, you’ll go a long way to winning the saddle bronc buckle.
