EMERALD cowboy Shane Kenny has won another pro tour title in the Australian Professional Rodeo Association to further his claims to secure his 16th all around cowboy title.
Kenny finished second on the pro tour in his three events, rope and tie, steer wrestling and team roping header standings.
His consistency across three events won him the all around pro tour title and gives him a start on the rest of the field in the battle for the all around title buckle which will be decided after four rounds of the Warwick Rodeo APRA National Finals at the Warwick Showgrounds on October 26-29.
While he is going for his 16th all around title, Kenny will be aiming to add to his 13 rope and tie titles, four in steer wrestling and three in team roping.
Three rounds of the finals will be on the Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights and the final round will be on the Sunday at the Warwick Showgrounds. There will also be junior and second-division rodeo events at the Warwick Rodeo.
Kenny will be the header in combination with team roping heeler pro tour winner Clay Bush, of Yass, in the national finals.
They have competed in 12 rodeos as a team this year and won a round and the overall at Mt Isa and split first at Cloncurry with Emerald and former Townsville rider Campbell Hodson and Liam Davison from Charters Towers. Bush won money on the last weekend of the season to snare the team roping heeler title.
Kenny rates Hodson and Davison as their toughest opponents in Warwick.
Hodson won the rope and tie and team roping header pro tour titles this season while Lachlan O’Neill from Caboolture led the standings at the end of the season in steer wrestling.
All three pro tour champion cowboys in rough stock events, saddle bronc rider Brad Pierce (Tooma, NSW), bull rider Jared Borghero (Stanwell, Qld) and bareback star Ben Hall (Tumbarumba, NSW) will go into the finals as favourites after convincing pro tour wins.
APRA riders now have a break in the leadup to the national finals in Warwick on October 26-29.
Performance times for the Warwick Rodeo APRA National Finals are 6pm Thursday, Friday, Saturday 2pm Sunday. Tickets can be purchased at the gate or pre-purchased atwww.warwickshowandrodeo.com.au
