It’s the biggest rodeo in the southern hemisphere, pumping millions of dollars into the local economy. Without it, locals say, Mt Isa would be “like a pub with no beer”. No bull.
So it’s little wonder organisers are trying desperately to rope in support as they fight for the survival of the 65-year-old Mt Isa Rodeo, which has been jolted into voluntary administration.
Organisers and administrators are pleading for private and public support to rescue an event described as the “Wimbledon of world rodeo”.
The state government hasn’t come along for the ride, bucking at appeals for $500,000 funding to help organisers get back on the horse.
The local mayor is pleading for people to support the 2025 event as organisers dust themselves off from a bumpy 2024.
“If you’re looking to come to Mt Isa you can book 2025 and do so knowing the rodeo will be going ahead,” Peta MacRae told AAP.
And the administrators called in to save the event are just as desperate for the rodeo to stay upright.
“It’s the Wimbledon of world rodeo, we can’t let this just wither on the vine,” V Partners director Michael Brennan says.
The much-loved event has grown into the biggest and long-running rodeo in the southern hemisphere but ticket sales plunged 40 per cent in 2024, throwing it into a financial crisis.
“We knew the situation with the rodeo was that they were having financial difficulty, but we were blindsided by the voluntary administration,” Ms MacRae says.
“It would be devastating to Mt Isa socially and economically for us to not to hold our rodeo that’s 65 years old.”
In a good year the rodeo brings $10 million to Mt Isa in northwestern Queensland and $20 million into the state economy.
It has been hit by the post-COVID slowdown and cost-of-living crisis that has crippled many events in the arts and entertainment industry.
“At the end of the day if the ticket-buying public don’t have the discretionary spend, that’s where things become a problem and events like the rodeo are getting caught,” Mr Brennan says.
Regional events face more difficulties than in cities because of the “tyranny of distance” adding costs across the board.
“Because it’s a not-for-profit it’s also not really designed to amass big wads of cash,” Mr Brennan says.
“So they have had one bad year and the buffer’s not there, so they’ve been left quite exposed.”
The trick is finding ways to get the rodeo back on its feet.
“It’s about finding that sweet spot between being an economic drawcard and a tourist drawcard,” Mr Brennan says.
The government wanted the rodeo to continue but there were challenges, according to Tourism and Sport Minister Michael Healy.
“The Isa rodeo is absolutely fantastic … we can’t keep pumping money into things that don’t work, so we need to look at this in detail as to how the organisation has been run and what sort of community support they have been getting,” he said earlier in 2024.
The call is out for anyone interested in being a delivery partner to get in touch with ideas on how to refresh the rodeo.
Among submissions was a novel proposal from anti-rodeo activists People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
“Instead of traumatising and crippling baby animals with calf roping, competitors could instead ride electric bikes as they attempt to lasso remote control cars steered by their opponents,” PETA senior policy advisor Mimi Bekhechi wrote in a letter to administrators.
No word from Mr Brennan yet on whether that idea will reach the ring.
But he said it was beyond comprehension the event would no longer be around.
“At the end of day Mt Isa without the rodeo is like a pub with no beer,” he says.
