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General News

6 August, 2024

Teen dreaming of back-to-back wins in the Mount Isa bull ride

Boston Leather has his sights set on another buckle this weekend.

By Matt Nicholls

Bull ride champion Boston Leather is hoping for more success in Mount Isa.
Bull ride champion Boston Leather is hoping for more success in Mount Isa.

Winning the open bull ride at Mount Isa gives you a lot of street cred – and a buckle that dozens dream of each year – but winning back-to-back almost makes you a legend of the iconic event.

That’s what Boston Leather is trying to achieve this weekend as he prepares to defend his crown as the Mount Isa Mines Rodeo open bull ride champion.

The 19-year-old took the rodeo world by storm last year when he produced three great rides to claim the buckle.

Leather, who boasts a name that was built for rodeo, was the only competitor to ride all three of his bulls on the hallowed red dirt of Buchanan Park, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

“I was pretty excited, I didn’t come off the greatest and I was a bit sore by the end of it, but once I got up and realised I’d just spanked this bull it was bloody amazing,” he said last year.

Twelve months later, Leather is now a household name in rodeo circles.

“A few more people have started to recognise me,” he told North West Weekly from Calliope, where he works on a small property.

“There’s been a few more invitations to rodeos and things like that but I’ve just tried to keep doing what I do best.”

Leather has been a regular on the PBR circuit in 2024 and rode for Queensland in the recent State of Origin series which attracted massive crowds.

He’s currently on top of the PBR standings with 17 successful rides from 43 attempts, accumulating $50,668 in the process.

Just two cowboys have a better strike rate than him in the PBR and one of them is his older brother Macaulie, who won’t be making an appearance in Mount Isa.

Leather says the plan is to get on a plane to compete in America like Mount Isa’s own cowboy Donovan Rutherfurd, who is currently riding for the Texas Rattlers.

“I’ve had two invites to America from the PBR and hopefully at the start of next year I can go over,” he said.

“It would be great to end up in the teams series. I like the idea of being in a team – there’s not all the pressure on one rider.”

In the meantime, Leather has a title to defend at Buchanan Park and is hopeful his perfect record in Mount Isa can continue, starting on Friday aboard Last Strike.

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