The 2024 Man From Snowy River Bush Festival attracted record crowds on Friday and Saturday night in a celebration of Australian bush heritage.
In all, 27 separate events provided a range of entertainment that exceeded all expectations.
Festival chairman, Cameron Jackson, said that it had “returned with a vengeance” after being impacted by the 2019-20 bushfires and the pandemic.
“Anyone that comes here for one year knows that they’re not going to see it all so they come back year after year,” he said.
“We’ve had a lot of campers but then we’ve had an extraordinarily high number of day passes purchased as well.”
The live concert on Friday night drew an estimated crowd of 8000 while the Wrangler Xtreme Broncs Australia rodeo on Saturday night was attended by a record 10,000 people.
“People come her to see the best of the best, absolutely magnificent riders,” Mr Jackson said.
This also applied to the festival’s premier event, the Stockman’s Challenge, with the cream of Australia’s horsemen and horsewomen competing for more than $100,000 in money and prizes.
Another large crowd packed the arena banks on Sunday afternoon to see the Top 10 contestants vie for the prestigious title in the final two events – the Wild Horse Catch and Stocksaddle Buckjump – worth a total of 200 points.
Three-time winner, Morgan Webb, entered the finals with a 46-point lead over 2023 victor, Travis Bandy.
The defending champion peeled off a score of 81 points in the horse catch but Webb placed second with a 76-point effort, leaving him still in the lead.
The buckjump was an enthralling contest with Bandy posting a 72-point ride to share the event honours with two other locals, Brad Pierce and David Mitchell.
However, Webb also ‘beat time’ on his bronc to record 65 points and secure his fourth Challenge victory; after first saluting in 2009 and then going back-to-back in 2021 and 2022.
He pocketed $30,000 cash and almost $7000 in prizes for his win.
It may have been a ‘new’ name on the honour board in the Ladies Challenge but after four previous wins Christy Davidson (formerly Connor) made Davidson (formerly Connor) made it a fistful of victories.
Davidson held off Alison Mathie and popular local Anna Paton in the last event, the Wild Horse Catch to notch her fifth championship.
Davidson held a slender 10-point lead at the time but her catch was the fastest of the final and ensured her title win.
Davidson won the event in 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2013. However, she has some ground to make up to match the outstanding record of Emma O’Shea who won eight successive Ladies’ titles from 2014 but did not compete this year.
A 74 point winning run in the final event was enough for Mackenzie Dunn to capture the Junior Challenge from Bill Phegan who pipped Darcy Dall’aglio.
The Striplings Challenge was won by Jorgie Sturt from Edward Smith and Ryder Pierce, who looks destined for higher honours after saluting in the Mini Stripling Challenge.
The dates for the 30th anniversary of the bush festival are Thursday 10th April to Sunday 13th April, 2025.
This article appeared in the Corryong Courier, 18 April 2024.
