Bob Holder will be returning to the Mount Isa Rodeo again this year. Photo: Mount Isa Rodeo.
Most 95-year-olds are content to watch the world go by from a chair on the verandah – not Bob Holder.
The Cootamundra stockman is once again preparing for a 4400 km round trip to the Queensland outback to compete in the biggest rodeo in the Southern Hemisphere – the 2025 Mount Isa Mines Rodeo.
He’s not going alone. He never really does, because always by his side in the large gooseneck headed north is his daughter, champion barrel racer Kerrie Holder.
The pair are rodeo royalty. Bob, officially recognised by the International Professional Rodeo Association as the world’s oldest professional competing cowboy, is still going strong after nearly eight decades in the saddle.
Kerrie is a formidable competitor in her own right, having clinched the national title in 2021 after winning three out of four rounds and, riding her horse Dually, clocking a record time of 17.328 seconds which also set a new National Finals Rodeo (NFR) record.
Together Bob and Kerry are returning to the red dirt of Mount Isa’s Buchanan Park Events Complex (BPEC) for another chapter in a family story defined by a longtime love for the rodeo circuit.
Kerrie says it’s a privilege to ride alongside her father.
Bob, dubbed “The Cootamundra Cat”, for reasons we’re yet to ascertain, says he’ll keep riding as long as he can.
“You’ve got to keep going. Keep practising. Never give up,” is a mantra he often shares with young up-and-comers.
It’s carried him through 79 years of competition.
Bob entered his first rodeo at age 14 in Tumut using a forged letter to meet the age requirement – and won the bronc ride.
Since then, he’s competed in thousands of rodeos across Australia and even in the US, where he became the first Australian bronc rider to win prize money at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
Police are still appealing for information that might lead to its return.
But at Mount Isa in 2023, he received something even rarer: a one-of-a-kind “Over 90s Header Buckle,” the only such buckle ever awarded in world rodeo.
Bob’s career has earned him a permanent place in the Australian Rodeo Hall of Fame and the admiration of generations of riders.
In Cootamundra, his name is etched in steel overlooking the local rodeo arena which has been named in his honour.
These days, Bob competes in the rope and tie team event as the header, a role that requires him to rope the steer around the horns and guide it into position for his partner to rope the hind legs.
It demands split-second timing and absolute precision – and Bob still has both, which he’ll be proving in competition next month.
To be held from 8 to 10 August this year and nearly 2000 km from Brisbane in the heart of the Queensland outback, the Mount Isa Mines Rodeo has evolved from a £500 payout in 1959 to a juggernaut of Australian sport.
The 2025 event promises record prize money across all categories – from saddle bronc and bull riding to steer wrestling and barrel racing – and is set to be one of the most competitive on record.
The rodeo, now in community hands, continues to grow in stature and heart, drawing thousands of competitors each year.
A surge in junior competitors, rising numbers of elite female riders and new sponsorships are helping the event evolve while staying true to its simple rugged outback spirit.
Bob Holder’s presence at Mount Isa has become something of a tradition and when he rides into the arena, crowds cheer and competitors – young and old – part.
His name commands respect, but it’s his humility that leaves the biggest impression.
“If Bob were an Olympian, he’d be Ariarne Titmus, Michael Phelps and Simone Biles rolled into one,” organisers say. “Humble, unbeatable and inspiring generations with every ride.”
During the big celebration of all that is the enduring Australian rodeo family – few people embody that better than Bob Holder.
At 95, he’s not chasing titles or headlines. He just loves the ride.
When the gates swing open on 8 August and the dust rises over Buchanan Park, the oldest cowboy in the world will ride again – watched by thousands, admired by all and proving once more that age is just a number, but courage is forever.
