Kundabung cowboy Levi Ward has added another trophy to his collection, winning the Coutts Crossing junior steer riding title.
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The eight-year-old beat riders up to four years his senior, registering a personal best score of 82 points on his way to the title. Levi has dominated junior steer riding in his young career, backed by his family, who travel thousands of kilometres a year so he can compete.
Levi now competes in the under 11 category, and he’s still winning. His father, Dean said Levi’s been going very well considering he only took up riding steers three years ago.
"He bugged me for ages to make a training ring for him at home, so eventually I did and he's always out there practising,” he said.
“He won the under-11s steer right at Coonambula three weeks ago, and then he won the under 11 steer ride at Coutts Crossing.”
Levi likes horse-riding, and when he was very small, he decided he wanted to start riding steers.
“We have a farm and he wanted to do it,” said Dean, “And now we travel somewhere in Australia every weekend.”
Riding steers is not without its dangers. Levi has had three operations so far in his young life. When his mother had to spend two days in hospital with him in March this year, she wasn’t too happy about his chosen sport, but even a badly bruised liver didn’t put him off.
“Since then, he’s done nothing but have great success,” his father said.