Three professional bull riders from the Hunter region have booked their place in history by becoming three of 14 riders selected to compete for Australia at the inaugural home-turf leg of the PBR Global Cup in Sydney.
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Gresford brothers Cliff and Lachlan Richardson, and Singleton cowboy Cody Heffernan have all qualified for the Australian team, which will compete at ‘The Ashes’ of global bull riding at Qudos Bank Arena on June 9- 10.
The event is the largest team event and battle for national pride that global bull riding has ever seen, pitting the world’s premier bull riding nations Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and the United States of America against each other in a battle for the title of “Toughest Nation on Dirt”.
With a unique competition format, the PBR Global Cup tours to each participating country, offering up record purses, with each national team fighting to retain the host country’s horn from the Global Cup trophy – the crown jewel of global riding.
The Richardsons and Heffernan will compete on the 14-strong Australian team alongside PBR Australia Champion Troy Wilkinson and current PBR Australia Standings leaders Aaron Kleier (No.1) and Fraser Babbington (2), as well as the top-ranked Australian rider on the World StandingsNathan Burtenshaw.
The seven remaining spots on Team Australia will be chosen by famed national coach, 1998 PBR World Champion Troy Dunn, over the coming weeks.
Five members from the Australian team – including the three Hunter riders – previously represented Australia at the Global Cup’s opening leg in Canada.
For the Hunter riders, the prospect of representing Australia on the pinnacle of the global stage is unlikely to cause intimidation.
Lachlan is a six-time PBR World Finals Qualifier and spends most of his year in the US competing on the 25th PBR: Unleash the Beast, Real Time Pain Relief Velocity Tour, and Touring Pro Division.
Since turning pro at the age of 18, Lachlan has been one of Australia’s most celebrated riders– notching multiple titles, competing at the PBR World Finals and, most recently, making a successful return from a bicep injury that sidelined him from the sport for six months.
Older brother Cliff (26) is also no stranger to successful injury comebacks. While competing in 2014, the 26-year old former Rookie of the Year took a bull horn to the stomach – leaving him with a ruptured spleen and pancreas.
Not deterred by obstacles, Richardson has returned to PBR competition stronger than ever – last year leading Team Australia at the opening leg of the Global Cup in Canada and this year jumping up to #3 on the Australian Standings.
The brothers each spend more than 48 weeks of the year on the PBR tour riding bulls.
Heffernan too is one of Australia top riders, nabbing the Australian title in 2016 and currently sitting at No.4 on the Australian Standings, within striking distance of the top spot once again.
Team Australia is set to compete against a powerhouse international field headlined by reigning World Champion Jess Lockwood (USA), 2016 World Champion Cooper Davis (USA), 2017 PBR World Champion runner-up Derek Kolbaba (USA), perennial world title contender Kaique Pacheco (BRA) and current world leader Ramon de Lima (BRA).
Tickets for the Sydney leg of the PBR Global Cup are available now at ticketek
