Best bulls in the PBR
Clermont woman first female to win stock contractor award
THERE isn’t any better feeling than watching her finest bucking bulls in action.
That’s how 21-year-old stock contractor Dakota Brandenburg describes seeing her bulls score big under the bright lights and roaring crowd of a PBR event – it’s nothing short of “awesome”.
“That’s what we go there for and that’s what we want to see; we want to see them buck and for the guys to make good bull rides.
“That’s what it’s all about.” And this year, it’s a feeling the Clermont woman has experienced all too often.
Marking her name in the history books, Dakota has been announced as the PBR stock contractor of the year – she is the youngest and first female to ever hold the title.
“This was definitely a goal of mine,” she said.
“I think ever since I became a PBR member it’s been something I wanted to achieve.
“My team just happened to be consistent all year round… but, it still came as a shock (for me to win).”
The past PBR season has been a blur of events and hours travelling on the road for Dakota.
Along with her four bulls – Slam N Jam, Unbroken, Lock and Load and Blossom – she has covered 9631kms and showed her stock across five shows.
Home for her is Tomahawk, a 800ha cattle property near Clermont where she lives with her family.
She became involved in bull riding early on as her father Darren is a retired competitor.
“I have grown up around it, I guess it was just inevitable I would end up doing something to do with bull riding. I think I would have been about 15 or 16, and it was just instant, I knew this was something I wanted to do.”
After selecting the right blood lines, Dakota normally starts testing her bulls’ ability when they are about two years old.
Using a dummy, which falls off the bull along with the flank strap at a click of a button on a remote, she will safely buck them out.
Most of the time she can tell early on if a bull has potential.
“But believe me, if a bull doesn’t want to buck, it won’t. It’s not something we force them to do,” she said.
Later, she will trial them with riders then if they are up to scratch she will enter them on to a circuit, but it’s only her very best bulls on show in the PBR.
“We don’t take them to a prestigious event like the PBR unless we know they are up for it,” she said.
“All the bulls in my team were proven, I knew they were up to the right standard.”
Unbroken was a star performer amongst her stock, he scored consistently between 44 to 46.5 points over the course of the season.
“He is kind of out of his league in Australia, he is a bigger bull and we don’t see a lot of bulls around his size in Australia.
“He is really big and powerful.”
However, her favourite bull, or the one she has a “bit of a soft spot for”, was Slam N Jam.
“He has the quietest temperament, you can walk up and pat him. He is just
really chilled, but he really bucks.”
Dakota feels completely confident and comfortable being in the yards with her cattle.
“You get to know each bull really well,” she said.
“With everything, if you do more of it you become more confident, and you know who to watch and who you don’t have to worry about.
“But, like working with any type of beast you have to be on your toes.”
Being one of the only women working in a male dominated sport has never held Dakota back.
“To be honest… I don’t see myself as any different to any of the blokes I work with,” she said.
Now that she has achieved her recent milestone, she hopes more women will be encouraged to get involved.
“And I do think it’s growing for women,” she said.
“In the past few years I have seen it myself, there are more wives and daughters getting involved.”