Rodeo

Australia's Most Famous

On the last full weekend of October every year, the nation’s top rodeo riders and the best broncs and bucking bulls gather for the Warwick Rodeo – known far and wide as “Australia’s Most Famous”. The riders and the bucking stock come together to try and prove the old saying wrong – “never the horse that couldn’t be rode, never the rider that couldn’t be throwed”. Warwick Rodeo was immortalized in song by Australian country music legend Buddy Williams in the early 1940s but well before then, Warwick had a tradition of horsemanship and great riders to match the city’s sandstone buildings, fine churches, rose gardens and wide, tree-lined streets. Today, Warwick Rodeo and Gold Cup Campdraft attracts crowds in excess of 30,000 people with competitors and horses travelling from every mainland state to compete.

Program

22-28th October 2018

2018 Warwick Rodeo and Campdraft – COMBINED PROGRAM TBA

The seven day program of events, including campdrafting and rodeo, keep the competitors and crowds coming back each year, with plenty of prize money for competitors and plenty of action for spectators. Friday night sees the start of the rodeo events, under lights with two hours of action-packed ridin’ and ropin’ along with live music, full bar facilities and barbecue on the grounds. Come Saturday morning, action starts early in the rodeo arena while down-town Warwick comes alive with the Rose and Rodeo Festival street parade featuring floats, clowns, horses, entertainment and a craft market. At lunchtime, after the street parade, attention returns to the rodeo arena where there are campdraft finals and rodeo action through until 9.30pm when the hospitality area comes alive with a live band and dancing under the stars. Those who survive Saturday night on the grounds will be there early for the second round of the Warwick Gold Cup on Sunday and then it’s rodeo action all morning before an afternoon of finals. The first final – the Warwick Gold Cup – starts at noon and then the top 12 riders in all six open rodeo events decide who takes home the major portion of prize money in the best rodeo action to be seen anywhere in Australia.