WILL Singleton’s Cody Heffernan be the Last Cowboy Standing?
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The answer to that question won’t be known until the end of the weekend.
But, he’s in with a big chance after Professional Bull Riders (PBR) confirmed that five of their Top 10 Australian riders have been invited to Las Vegas to compete in the prestigious event.
Heffernan will join current national leader Fraser Babbington, Justin Paton, Troy Wilkinson and Roy Dunn, who were contacted by PBR Head Office in Colorado on Monday.
All five are ranked in the Top 50 in the world and, therefore, qualify for Last Cowboy Standing – one of the PBR’s most popular and toughest event formats.
Heffernan, who started riding calves at the age of five, is looking forward to the challenge.
“It will certainly test everyone,” he said.
“Each rider will attempt one bull in round one.
“If he stays on for the required eight seconds, he continues to compete.
“If he gets bucked off, he is finished.
“The cowboys will continue to ride until the end of the night when the Last Cowboy Standing will be declared the champion, taking home a guaranteed $180,000 of the total $250,000 prizemoney up for grabs.”
Heffernan, 25, returned to Australia in July 2014 after spending three years at college in the United States.
“I wanted to come back and see what I could do here on tour,” he said.
“My goal’s to win an Australian title and revisit the US to compete on the Built Ford Tough Series.”
PBR general manager Glen Young said it has always been the long term goal that the Australian PBR Tour be utilised as a pathway into the world standings.
“Seeing these five riders from our tour ranked in the top 50 in the world so early in the season is a terrific achievement for our sport here in Australia,” he said.
“This is a great accomplishment for each of these individual cowboys.
“They have travelled the miles and rode the bulls, which is why we see them ranked among the best in the world and why fans get to see the most accomplished bull riders in the country competing at PBR Australia events.”
Later this year, the Brisbane Entertainment Centre will play host to the first Last Cowboy Standing event in Australia on July 18.