Apprentice jockey Cody Collis turned to bull riding before rebuilding his career

Young jockey Cody Collis turned to riding rodeo bulls and welding fences in the Queensland bush before deciding to return to racing after wasting his first opportunity when he got mixed up with the wrong crowd.

Rising young apprentice jockey Cody Collis is kicking goals since returning from the racing wilderness. Picture: Grant Peters/Trackside Photography

Cody Collis went bush not because he craved a new life working on the land, but because he was desperate for an escape from racing.

By his own admission, the talented young apprentice jockey was hanging out with the wrong crowd in Brisbane, was partying too much and it was frying his young brain.

So he headed west and found comfort in riding bucking bulls and welding fences at rural Roma, more than 500km from the big smoke of Brisbane.

SCROLL DOWN TO WATCH CODY COLLIS IN ACTION AS A RODEO RIDER

“I went off the rails a bit and I was hanging around the wrong crowd, I was in the wrong head space and doing the wrong thing,” Collis said, in a frank interview with Racenet.

“I just wanted a break from racing, I didn’t want anything to do with it at all.

“I was just sour at the game.

“I went out west and I was doing a bit of fencing and mustering out in the bush.

“I was working for a fencing contractor, I would go to feedlots and weld together fences.

“Often I would go to rodeos on the weekend and ride a few bulls just to pass the time.

“During that time, I didn’t keep an eye on racing at all. I didn’t want anything to do with it.

“I was pretty dirty on myself for stuffing up the opportunity I had.”

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Cody Collis was riding bulls and welding fences during his time away from racing. Picture: Grant Peters/Trackside Photography

The wheel started to turn for Collis when he cleared his head and, barely earning enough money to make ends meet, he slowly started rediscovering his love for racing.

Raised in country Chinchilla, the 21-year-old’s brain started to ponder a return to racing and it has led to a promising comeback.

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Collis convinced Sunshine Coast trainer Stuart Kendrick to give him a go and so far it has been a winner, with Collis putting his head down and recently earning his metropolitan license.

The 3kg-claiming apprentice has eight rides on Saturday on his “home” track on the Sunshine Coast metropolitan card.

Young jockey Cody Collis has returned from the racing wilderness after riding rodeo bulls and welding fences.

He will ride at the Sunshine Coast on Saturday.

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“It was terrible money I was earning out in the bush and that was at least an incentive to get back to racing,” Collis said.

“After about six months, I was like ‘get me out of here’.

“I started thinking I was going to be dirty on myself forever if I didn’t return to racing and give it a proper crack.

“When I was riding the last time, I wasn’t happy, I couldn’t tell you exactly why.

“I got mixed up with the wrong crowd and I turned to partying instead of going to talk to someone about things.

“I made a promise to myself that if I came back, I was going to have one good crack at it.

“I wasn’t going to stuff around and be half-hearted like I was last time.

“I want to dig in and see where I can actually go if I have a proper crack.”

Former champion jockey Damian Browne and rising apprentice Cody Collis.

Rockhampton trainer Adrian Coome, a former top central Queensland jockey, was the man who finally convinced Collis to return to racing.

He advised him to steer clear of living in Brisbane and instead link with Kendrick in the quieter surrounds of the Sunshine Coast.

Since Collis returned to riding, retired Group 1-winning champion jockey Damian Browne has been in his corner.

“Browney has been a massive help, I can talk to him about anything and get stuff off my chest,” Collis said.

“I can go to him in any situation or any circumstances and he will always have the right thing to say.

“Getting my metro license was a big thing for me and I had a couple of winners at my first couple of meetings in town which gave me a lot of confidence.”

Originally published as Apprentice jockey Cody Collis turned to bull riding before rebuilding his career