In the midst of hundreds of competitors, horses and fans, the purple rodeo shirts proclaimed the presence of “Team Australia” and “Team New Zealand” at this year’s International Finals Youth Rodeo in Shawnee.
Five competitors including Cade Ferguson, Molly Harper, Hope Doyle and Ruby Ruckwood from Australia, and Amelia Knowles from New Zealand competed across numerous events.
With each Australian coming from a different city and region, along with a New Zealander, one thing unites them as a team, the IFYR in Oklahoma.
This is no small commitment as each member noted it cost nearly $6,500 for travel and 14.5 hours on a plane in the span of two days.
With such a steep price and intense time commitment it’s hard not to question, but it’s worth it to each competitor because of its benefits.
For Cade Ferguson, there’s one benefit that outweighs others though.
“College scouting, that’s the main reason we’ve come over because everyone’s heard that a lot of college scouts come here,” Ferguson said.
Teammate Molly Harper went on to name the other benefits. “It’s big, lots of competitors, a lot of money, everything is on a larger level.”
This is high praise from two successfully experienced competitors as Harper earned over $13,000 across 52 Australian rodeo’s last season and Ferguson’s competition history includes places like Vegas, Texas and Mexico.
Ferguson took that experience and used it at the IFYR to make the finals in Bull Riding and in the Saddle Bronc. Cade rode one bull to score 79.5, placing fifth overall to earn $1,079.93 in total payout. While he also finished 11th in the Saddle Bronc with one ride to score 72.5.
After a high level performance at the IFYR, Ferguson hopes it’ll be the key to unlocking a rodeo scholarship at a U.S. university.
Flourishing during his time in competition, Ferguson embraced Oklahoma, and though none of his teammates made their finals, they embraced it, too.
The whole group shared their enjoyment of the larger game in the rodeo, along with the more competitive and athletic horses they borrowed locally for competition.
The group spoke positively about the rodeo scene, but they also shared their perceptions of Oklahoma as a whole.
“It’s good. It’s green and hot. We’re scared of tornadoes. The people are a lot different here. Everything’s just so much bigger and their portions are insane,” the group said, collectively.
They noted Oklahoma is similar to Australia, but with rain, nicer people and way worse food.
With the exception of Cade, every athlete competed in America for the first time at the 2024 IFYR.
With each athlete being a winner Down Under in some capacity, they all seek to bring their talents to the U.S. at the professional or university level in the future.
The Aussies and Kiwis may be joining us later on, but before they do they collectively want to ensure everyone knows “we don’t rope kangaroos.”