OK Missing Perspectives' readers, we're here to get an obscure event on your radar: the Mount Isa Mines Rodeo.
The Mount Isa Mines Rodeo is the biggest - and richest - rodeo in the Southern Hemisphere, and is considered the pinnacle for rodeo riders here in Australia.
The best bit? This year will see a group of trailblazing women take to the arena - and they are changing the way rodeo is done.
Meet Leanne Caban from Emerald - a rural town in the Central Highlands Region of Queensland, and one of the country’s best cowgirls. She leads the national standings this year, and she’s the current Mount Isa All Round Champion. Leanne grew up participating in pony club in North Queensland and when she left school feel in love with the high octane energy she felt at rodeos.
"I went to some rodeos and was immediately attracted to the speed event of barrel racing and soon after, picked up a rope and loved that event as well. It was just so much fun to be around all the great rodeo competitors and learn from some of the best cowgirls that where in that district at the time," she tells Missing Perspectives.
It's not Leanne's first rodeo - the pro rider has been involved since the late 80s, and also spent time on the board of the former Women's Professional Rodeo Association (APRA). She says that the biggest challenge the Association faced during this era was running as a separate association to APRA. The two organisations have now consolidated to run the for the benefit of all professional rodeo athletes.
"I have now served on this board for the past 5 years and take pride in helping not only the women's events strengthen in this country but rodeo as a whole," she says.
This year, rising star Emily Howkins is hoping for three-in-a-row Mount Isa All Round titles - and she'll be working with her legendary horse Akka Dakka. Emily and Akka Dakka (yes, it's really the best name ever) are the current Mount Isa Barrel Race champions. Her rodeo mantlepiece is full to the brim with trophies, and she’s also a mentor to hundreds of young girls wanting to pursue a rodeo careers across Australia. What's not to love?
Emily is also from Emerald, and at 30-years-old is one of the only (and few) Bronc Riders here in Australia. Emily started her love affair with horses as an apprentice jockey - but after being bucked off multiple times by "particularly spirited thoroughbred," and fracturing her kneecap, she decided to learn how to ride horses that buck. Makes sense, right?
She's also (casually) currently the Australian Champion Ranch Bronc Rider in Australia, and earlier this month came 5th in the world over in the United States. Emily says one of the challenges she faced early on as a young woman in Rodeo was "getting taken seriously as someone who wanted a future in the sport."
"After school the boys would get follow-up with where to enter and advice on how to continue their journey," she tells Missing Perspectives. "But I feel after years of keeping my head down and just turning up and riding my broncs proving that I do want to be there and I'm here for the right reasons - I’ve carved myself a path in rodeo and built opportunities for myself and other women who want to give it a try."
Both Leanne and Emily are challenging stereotypes and paving the way for more young women to enter such a traditionally male-dominated event. Last year saw Australia's first ever female-only rodeo take place in the Queensland town of Normanton, with rodeo riders driving thousands of kilometres to participate.
Emily says that "A more modern day challenge for me as a director of WRBC Australia (a women’s ranch bronc riding group) is getting more female rough-stock events such as the ranch bronc into more rodeos in Australia." To drive awareness of the opportunities of women in rodeo, Emily runs a Facebook page called Women in Roughstock Australia where she shares "cool things Aussie women are doing in rodeo."
We're seeing women dominate sports across Australia - and a new era of opportunities. So let's make sure women are given the opportunity in rodeo too.
"I think to get more women into rodeo, we just have to keep promoting our sport as an exciting and inviting place to be," Leanne reflects.
"This is a sport that offers longevity, and is somewhere that families can be involved together for generations."