BUCKING CHAMP HONOURED
A WARWICK rider who made rodeo history almost five decades ago will have his name cemented alongside some of the nation’s most prolific competitors in the Australian Heritage Rodeo Centre’s Hall of Fame.
Former pro competitor Darryl Joekong was the first Australian to qualify for the saddlebronc riding national finals of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association of America circuit National Rodeo in 1972.
“It was a great achievement for me,” he said.
“I went to the finals again in 1973 and finished up in third place.”
Joekong rode horses and ponies with his grandfather in Brisbane throughout his childhood, sparking his later interest in bucking.
“It’s the great thrill of it, the adrenalin rush of bucking horses.”
Joekong went on to compete in and win rodeos around the world.
He later returned to Queensland and moved to Thanes Creek, where he still lives with his wife June. The couple have five children. Joekong will attend this year’s Warwick Rodeo and on October 27, he as well as Dave Appleton, Jim Dix and Doug Flanigan will be inducted into the AHRC Hall of Fame.