General News
6 August, 2025
There's a great vibe in Mount Isa ahead of rodeo
Famous bull fighter Darryl Chong believes the city is pumped up for rodeo week.
The man tasked with keeping bull riders safe at this year’s Mount Isa Mines Rodeo says there’s a new sense of excitement about this year’s event.
Bull fighter Darryl Chong, who is from Mount Isa but now lives in Chinchilla, has been returning to Kalkadoon Arena for the past 19 years as a “protection athlete”.
After crowds dropped off last year and Isa Rodeo Ltd ended up in voluntary administration, there were concerns about the future of the iconic event.
But “Chongy” says there is a real electricity in the air heading into the weekend.
“It’s great to be back and I’m very excited. All the locals seem like they are heading to Buchanan Park so I think we’ll see the grandstands packed,” he told North West Weekly.
Chongy is now in charge of assembling a team of bull fighters and reckons this year’s group might be the best he’s seen.
Distracting bulls in the arena with him will be Luke Rosetta, Jack Hughes and Harley Schofield.
The latter pair worked their first Isa Rodeo last year and impressed their veteran leader.
“Experience is everything ... there’s not a lot you can do to prepare but having good instincts is a big part of it,” Chong said.
It’s a busy four days for the proud Waanyi Traditional Owner.
Today, he’ll team up with Jake Curr and Donovan Rutherford to put on a free clinic for cowboys at the Mount Isa Camp Draft grounds.
Then it’s three days of non-stop action at Buchanan Park, ending with the Indigenous Rodeo Championships on Sunday morning and the major roughstock finals that afternoon.
“The Mount Isa Rodeo means the world to me and it’s so good that it’s back up and firing,” Chong said.
“This will be my 19th year working here and I hope there’s many more to come.”