Mareeba bull rider Kurt Shephard has claimed victory at the 2026 Monster Energy Cairns Invitational in front of a sold-out crowd at the Cairns Convention Centre on Saturday night.
The reigning national champion was flawless on an unforgettable night of bull riding, covering both of his opponents to finish atop the leaderboard and win his fourth event of the 2026 PBR Australia season.
Nine years after claiming his first win in Cairns, the 31-year-old opened his account in the long round aboard On Edge (TF Bucking Bulls/Jaxon Burrell), taking his personal record against the bull to 2-0 with an 86.30-point performance.
The ride earned Shephard the third pick in the Monster Energy Championship Round Draft, and with his selection, he set up a rematch with Seven Eleven (CF7 Bucking Bulls/Pugh Bros).
Their previous meetings both came last season, with the bull winning in 4.36 seconds at Newcastle and Shephard winning the Championship Round with 86.50 points in Cairns.
This time, they went bigger – 88.60 points, the second-highest score of the night, with the bull turning back into the veteran’s hand and displaying his customary timing as they synced up perfectly.
Shephard’s total aggregate score of 174.90 points netted him over $21,000 in prize money.
See the full results from the 2026 Cairns Invitational.
Caiden Sandilands finished as runner-up when the dust settled, with an aggregate score of 173.40 points.
The Rockhampton cowboy was brilliant in his return to competition after a long lay-off, putting himself in contention with an opening-round 84.10-point trip aboard TK307 (Kleier Bucking Bulls).
With the ninth pick in the draft, Sandilands selected Bucking Bull of the Year contender Last Post (Dunne Bulls), and took full advantage of the opportunity.
The bull turned back into his hand with plenty of speed and power and wound his way across the arena. The 27-year-old matched him jump for jump, with the judges posting a massive score of 89.30 points.
It is the second-highest score awarded in the PBR Australia competition this season, and the ride earned Sandilands the sixth-round win of his career.
Third place went to Kiwi bull rider Rylee Ward, who made light work of Or What (TF Bucking Bulls/4H Helicopters) into his hand for 87 points and the Round 1 Win.
Proserpine young gun Ky Borghero avenged his 2025 Mackay Invitational buck-off at the hands of Ariat Last Strike (Dunne Bulls), this time posting 86.40 points to finish fourth.
Splitting fifth were Willow Tree veteran Clint Glass and Mareeba talent Leith Malone with 86.10 points apiece.
Glass had previously met up with Alcatraz (CF7 Bucking Bulls/Josh Pugh) three times in the PBR Australia competition and was down early each time. This time, he handled the change of direction and finished the ride strong.
Malone’s score came very late in Round 1 aboard Cowboy Way (Kleier Bucking Bulls), with the bull turning back into his left-riding hand after a slow start.
Brazilian Luan Crystian Camara made the most of a favourable re-ride opportunity aboard Nine Ball (TF Bucking Bulls) for 85.80, with Ipswich’s Brumby McWhirter close behind on 85.60 after he rode I’m an Outlaw (Kleier Bucking Bulls).
Finishing in ninth place was Athol’s Zane Hall, who teamed up with Ambush (CF7 Bucking Bulls) for 85.50 points.
Calliope cowboy Ben Bode broke Jack Sparrow’s (TF Bucking Bulls) unbeaten run of 16 straight buck offs, with a solid 84.70-point ride.
Closing out the list of successful cowboys in eleventh place was Keny Roger de Oliveira, who recorded 82.90 points in his rematch with El Tora (Keliher Bucking Bulls).
View the latest PBR Australia news here.
With his win, No. 1-ranked Kurt Shephard added 254 points to his total on the 2026 PBR Australian National Standings Leaderboard, which extends his lead over No. 2 Keny Roger de Oliveira to 328.50 points.
The third-placed Ethan Coster is now 713 points adrift, with Zane Hall now nipping at his heels in the race for a podium spot.
Event runner-up Caiden Sandilands made a huge leap up the standings, moving into the No. 19 ranking.
Other movers were Rylee Ward, who moved up three spots to No. 21, while Ky Borghero jumped from 16th to 13th.
View the updated 2026 PBR Australian National Standings.
Dittmann Bucking Bulls made it four straight YETI Bucking Bull of the Night awards from the last four tour stops.This time it was through El Chappo, who picked up the best bull score of the night - marked 44.70 points in an electric 3.70-second trip against Luan Crystian Camara in the Championship Round.
Last Post confirmed his status as a Bucking Bull of the Year contender for Dunne Bulls, with his share of Caiden Sandilands’ huge short-go score coming in at 44.30 points.
Sharing the third-highest mark of 44 points were Mr T from Dittmann Bucking Bulls, and Winchester from MJ and Keliher Bucking Bulls.
Another very good night for the cowboys, with the riding percentage landing at almost 31% and the average ride score for the event topping 86 points, which is over 3 points higher than the tour average.
The bull power in Cairns was incredible, with an average bull score of 42.86 points. That puts them 1.67 points above the season average, with the Championship Round pen averaging an astonishing 43.90 points across their twelve trips.
The tour continues its run through North Queensland next Saturday, 11 July 2026, with the Townsville Supercars 500 Touring Pro. They then head to the home of Dittmann Bucking Bulls for a big night of action at the Bull Pit Touring Pro at Bloomsbury on Saturday, 18 July 2026.
The Monster Energy Tour will return for the third and final game of the 2026 PBR Origin Series, to be held at the TikTok Entertainment Centre in Sydney on Saturday, 1 August 2026.
View the full Event Schedule and Ticket Information for the 2026 PBR Australia season.
For the latest results, news and stats, stay tuned to PBRAustralia.com.au, follow the tour on Facebook (PBR Australia), Instagram (@PBRAustralia) and TikTok (@PBRAustralia), and subscribe to @ProBullRidersAust on YouTube for event replays and highlights.
