BLAME it on the Katherine Rodeo. That was the place a young 17-year-old Fraser Babbington, fresh from the green hills of New Zealand and with a slightly more genial show-jumping background, held on to his first rank bull like his life depended on it.
"Someone saw me that night and reckoned I had a bit of raw talent," he told Queensland Country Life recently at the Beaudesert property he shares with partner Amy Knox, one of the country's best barrel-racers.
"And I won a bit of money and had some drinks bought for me and thought, 'This could be the life for me'."
A decade on and Fraser Babbington is a bona fide rodeo sensation and one of the major drawcards of the Caboolture Cup Series Event on November 8, one of four televised PBR major league events this month.
Cowboys such as Babbington will travel thousands of kilometres to get a slice of the action, drawing the best in the business to Caboolture before it moves to Christchurch, New Zealand, on November 13, the Troy Dunn Invitational in Townsville on November 15, and concluding in Tamworth on November 22.
PBR general manager Glen Young said the event was a must for rodeo fans and lovers of high-adrenaline sports.
"It's about delivering a live sporting entertainment experience like no other that features the most accomplished cowboy athletes in the business from Australia and overseas going head to head against what can only be described as the most extreme bucking bulls in the nation," he said.
"This is the full bells and whistles PBR event. You have
the absolute best riders being matched to the most extreme bulls hand-picked especially for this event.
"Being undercover allows us to deliver the full PBR theatrics that our Cup Series events have become renowned for, including concert sound systems, international and national commentators, international in-arena entertainer Matt Merrit, pyrotechnics, laser and light show, instant replays and multiple camera angles that take fans behind the scenes and right inside the bucking chutes, combined with the highest standard of bull-riding competition this country has ever seen."
Babbington is one of the key riders to watch going into next Saturday's event after having a sensational start to the new season.
He's currently ranked number one on the Australian tour and is enjoying one of his best PBR seasons ever, having already won two qualifying events and placing second in another.
As he told QCL earlier this month, winning a Cup Series event was something every bull-rider aimed for, as it meant they had dominated against not only the best riders in the country, but also against the best bull-riders from the international bull-riding tour as well.
Babbington knows the feeling, having won the PBR Troy Dunn Invitational in his debut year.
From that moment on he has consistently been ranked in the top 10 standings in Australia, something no other Kiwi has been able to achieve.
His top form is a far cry from where he was at the end of 2009 when he sustained life-threatening injuries while competing at the New Zealand National Finals.
Broken ribs, a collapsed lung and a haematoma on the liver saw him confined to intensive care for three weeks and sidelined for the first half of 2010 before he bounced back in 2011 with a string of accolades.
"That was a tough year, and really made me think about where to next," he said. "But one of my mates told me that the best way forward is to just have a crack and that's what I'm doing now - just having a crack and having a ball."