Macaulie Leather, 22, moved 600km from home to chase an eight-second dream

He got a job in Warwick building sheds and has made it his base due to its proximity to the southern rodeo circuit and Brisbane airport for events further afield.

"At the end of the day, to ride against the best competition, you've got to go where it is and that's where the money and competition is at the moment. That's where I want to be," Leather said.

"Eventually I'd like to turn it into a full time thing."

After competing in the National Rodeo Association circuit last year, he's jumped into the 2023 Professional Bull Riders tour and is off to a flying start, winning the PBR event at Meatstock Toowoomba on the weekend.

The victory thrust him into second place on the national leader board.

The humble youngster is no stranger to winning, heading to Texas in 2018 to be crowned Youth Bull Rider world champion.

He followed that up with 2019/20 New Zealand Rodeo Cowboys Association bull riding champion and was crowned the PBR Australia 2021 Rookie of the Year.

Now he's got his eye on the big prize - the PBR Australia grand finals in November at Townsville.

The cowboy's love for the sometimes dangerous eight-second ride can be traced back to his childhood.

"When we were younger, my older brother - he was probably nine at the time - went to the Mt Larcom show just outside Calliope and they had a calf ride," Leather said.

"He got on a calf there and I just watched him do it and thought, 'that looks pretty fun' and then I had to go and I've been hooked ever since."

Focusing on the immediate future, Leather is competing in PBR State of Origin this weekend in Newcastle and heads to Sydney Meatstock after that.

"[I'm] pretty stoked about it. There's still points for the championship in it, but [we're] riding as a team and we're just trying to beat the blues side, so it takes a load off the title race and let's us have a bit of fun," he said.

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