St Brendan’s rodeo program in spotlight after bull rider Brady Fielder reaches No.1

St Brendan’s College has forged a reputation as one of Australia’s leading rugby league nurseries but it’s now also dominating another international sport. No bull!

The bull-riding feats of Brady Fielder have shone the spotlight on St Brendan's Rodeo Program, headed by Bill Oram.

St Brendan’s College has forged a reputation as one of the country’s leading rugby league nurseries but its rodeo program should be held in the same regard.

Just as it has churned out countless footy stars, the Yeppoon school has also produced some of the best and brightest in what is considered the toughest sport in the world.

That success was thrust into the spotlight as 2017 graduate Brady Fielder grabbed international headlines last week.

The Clermont-born cowboy became just the second Australian to reach number one in the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) World Championship standings.

Incredibly, the first was another St Brendan’s alumni - Troy Dunn, who not only held the top spot but went on to win the world title in 1998.

Brady Fielder in action in the second round of the Pittsburgh Unleash the Best event. Photo by Josh Homer/Bull Stock Media

Fielder is now perfectly positioned to follow in the famed footsteps of Dunn and claim the coveted gold buckle.

Bill Oram, who heads up St Brendan’s rodeo program, said it would be a fitting reward for the humble star.

“He’s moved into number one with half a season to go,” he said.

“He’s a good shot to emulate Troy and if I was a betting man, I’d put a few dollars on him.”

Fielder came from his family’s cattle property and was a boarder at St Brendan’s from 2015 to 2017.

He excelled in the rodeo program and was rodeo captain in his senior year, the same year that Oram returned to his former alma mater as a teacher.

The rise of Brady Fielder - at St Brendan's, as the school's rodeo captain and riding with the Texas Rattlers.

Oram said the then eager teenager had the perfect physique for a bull rider and the traits needed to go a long way in the sport.

“I can give you his biggest qualities - tenacity, hard work and humility,” he said.

“He has developed into a humble man who just goes about his job. He doesn’t show off, he gets in and does his stuff, and it’s really starting to pay.

“He’s as tough as they come and he’s worked his way through the ranks.

“He’s been in the US for three or four years now.

“The first year was a real battle and he found it hard to find his feet but two seasons ago, he got picked up by the Texas Rattlers and his career’s really taken off.

“He’s hit some good bulls and ridden them well.”

St Brendan's Rodeo Club co-ordinator Bill Oram with some of the school's cowboys.

Oram said while some may not be aware, those within rodeo circles were keenly aware of the part St Brendan’s rodeo program has played in shaping some of the most celebrated cowboys.

The honour roll also includes the likes of four-time PBR Australia champion Aaron Kleier, former junior bull riding world champion Jacob Carige, and State of Origin stars Jackson Grey and Ben Moran.

There were 40 students from Year 7 to 12 in the Rodeo Club last year and Oram expects similar numbers in 2025.

He said the formula for the program’s burgeoning success was simple.

“We celebrate rodeo - the toughness, the athleticism, the competitiveness,” he said.

“Students here can become pure, dedicated cowboys.

“We also show these boys that there is a pathway, an opportunity for them to compete in their sport on the international stage.”

St Brendan's Rodeo Club members in 2024.

St Brendan’s is the only school in Australia with rodeo grounds, and provides students with hands-on experience, training opportunities, and pathways into professional competition.

Oram said regular practice days were held on-site using the school’s own bucking stock.

“The kids really look forward to and have great fun bucking bulls out,” he said.

“It’s really special to have an environment and the facilities for them to do that.

“We also run our annual rodeo here, the pinnacle event which allows these boys to showcase their talent.”

Troy Dunn (front row, third from right) pictured in 1981 in Year 9 at St Brendan’s. The champion cowboy went on to become the first Australian to win the PBR world bull riding championship.

Students also take part in the Great Western Hotel Junior Bull Riding Series, as well as other rodeos in the region.

Oram said the program had been running in “some form or another” for decades.

He took part in the inaugural St Brendan’s Rodeo in 1978, two years before Dunn arrived at the school and went on to blaze a trail into the ranks of rodeo’s elite.

Oram enjoys nothing more than seeing his charges realise their goals and chase their dreams.

He continues to follow with interest the fortunes of the rodeo program graduates, a number of whom have headed overseas to take on the best in the United States.

“I love it, to be honest,” he said.

“They have become friends to me.

“When you teach somebody and work with them for four or five years, you build a relationship.”

Originally published as St Brendan’s rodeo program in spotlight after bull rider Brady Fielder reaches No.1