Sport
28 September, 2026
Shephard reclaims his No 1 position
THE race for Australian bull riding’s most coveted buckle has taken another dramatic turn, with reigning PBR Australia Champion Kurt Shephard reclaiming the national No.1 ranking after a huge night of bull riding in Orange, New South Wales.
At the recent Orange event, Kelsey Pavlou, a Victoria-born cowboy who now lives and works on Yelvertoft Station near Mount Isa, took the buckle, delivering the only perfect two-for-two performance of the night to claim his first PBR event win of the 2026 season.
But while Pavlou took the event buckle, Shephard made a major move in the season-long championship battle.
The Mareeba cowboy finished second overall on 164.20 points, bouncing back from a 79.80-point opening ride aboard Coloured Past to win the Short-Go with 84.40 points on Humdinger.
That performance was enough to put the reigning champion back where he started the season, on top of the PBR Australia leaderboard.
He now leads the national standings on 2,393 points, just 97 points ahead of Athol’s Zane Hall on 2,296, setting up a cracking fight for the 2026 Gold Buckle with just a few events remaining to qualify for the PBR Australia National Finals.
The next PBR event is at Mackay on 17 October, followed by Tamworth on 24 October, with the Grand Final to be held in Townsville on 14 November.
