This unique Australian sport is a popular event for Kyogle which boasts five Gold Cup winners within our region.
The majority of our competitors are from the Northern Rivers and South-East Queensland.
Droughts and flooding rains are our biggest challenges when running a regular event. We would like to thank our local cattle donors and hard-working volunteers for running our back yards and producing such an amazing event.
We are lucky to have such great support. A big thank you to David O’Reilly and his team for continuing to host this iconic event!
A tribute to KB – The KB Memorial Novice Campdraft. This event has been running since 2012, the major trophy ( a miniature version of a grandfather clock) is donated by KB’s family.
KB was responsible for organising all the cattle for the drafts for over 50 years along with his backyard man Bill Stanfield. He would organise cattle donors, pick the cattle up and walk them into Kyogle.
He would come through Geneva and in from Fawcetts Plain past the houses and onto the showgrounds. After the campdraft was over, he would deliver all the cattle back home.
A tribute to a long-standing committee man, the Bill Stanfield Memorial Shire Campdraft will be run in conjunction with our Maiden Campdraft, commencing this year and will become an annual event.
Bill worked in the backyards of our campdraft for over 50 years, alongside KB O’Reilly and many other cattle donors. He’d be a welcome face while putting the cattle together for the campdraft, and also supplied cattle of his own.
Bill’s nickname was ‘Boxer’ and he was very well liked and appreciated amongst the backyard men. He would also assist Wiangaree in the backyards during their campdraft.
He was made a life member of The Kyogle PA & H Show Society for his years of service. The Show Society would like to thank the Bill Stanfield family for their ongoing support towards this event.
A brief history
The rodeo was always a big event in the area, people came from far and wide – with thousands attending on the day. A street procession was held on the Friday afternoon prior to the rodeo with riders, competitors and Rodeo Queen candidates riding down the street to advertise the big event the next day.
Kevin O’Reilly, always known as KB was the main organiser, he worked tirelessly for the show and everywhere he went Kevin would promote the Kyogle Show and Rodeo.
The rodeo setup was upgraded in the 70s from our four very old wooden chutes to a design that catered for the weekend spectators greatly – boasting the best viewing platforms for the whole event.
A total of eight chutes were created to keep up with the popularity of the event and to keep things moving quickly.
The committee visited a local setup in Karalbyn, Queensland, which was based on designs from the United States, that catered for all different types of horse sports – Kyogle based their new designs around their success.
Pro bulls and horses started appearing at Kyogle in the 70s – prior to this, each local town would provide their own stock that would service all the rodeos in the local area – mainly bucking horses.
Bull events began to gain popularity in the 70s – one particular bull made a name for himself – THE HOWLER supplied by John Howlett – in 1974 there was an additional $200 put up for anyone that could stay on for more than 8 seconds!
Local stockmen all over the state, that had other professions by day but enjoyed the sport all year round, would attend chasing points!
Prize money of as much as $13, 000 was recorded in 1985 to cover all the events over the weekend.
The Campdraft and Rodeo held its popularity for over 15 years. The Campdraft was a huge part of the event’s success covering both Friday and Saturday. The Rodeo was always on the Sunday.
Kyogle has not produced a full program rodeo for over 25 years! The Kyogle Rodeo is steeped in tradition for the town and for many local families that have been a huge part of such an iconic event.
Kyogle Show is run by the Kyogle PA & H Society and operates out of the Kyogle Showgrounds in the Northern Rivers of NSW in September/ October each year.
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We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land where we work and live, the Gulli-bul people of the Bundjalung Nation, and pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging. We celebrate the stories, culture and traditions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders of all communities, and recognise that this was, and always will be Aboriginal Land.
