Baradine Campdraft is on This Weekend!

The small town of Baradine in NSW is holding their campdraft this weekend and everyone is looking forward to a big weekend of cattle working fun.  Horsezone is proud to be sponsoring this event and the committee are excited to advise that there are over 350 entries, which is up on last year, making the campdraft bigger and better than ever!

700 head of cattle are needed for the Baradine campdraft and afterwards a team of keen horsemen will be droving the cattle between Baradine and Coonamble, where the big annual draft is being held 11 - 13 June.

An eagle eye will be kept on the condition of the cattle and everyone will be very careful not to overwork or stress them. Competitors are warned not to slam into them or be too hard on them.

The campdraft is free for spectators to come along and watch, so if you feel like a real country weekend - head to Baradine!

Most of us have a bit of an idea of what Campdrafting is all about but for those who don’t, here is a quick overview…

What is Campdrafting?

Campdrafting involves a mounted rider riding into a "camp" (corral or yard) which has six to eight head of cattle in it. The rider (cuts out) one steer or heifer from the cattle in the camp and brings that beast to the front of the camp and block and turns that beast at least two or three times to prove to the judge that they have the beast under control. The rider then calls for the gates to be opened.  The cut out is worth a total of 26 points.

The rider then proceeds to draft (work) the beast around a figure of eight course in a larger arena. 

Generally the course is set to the left (except in Queensland where it's more often to the right) and once the beast has gone around the left peg, it must then be drafted around a peg on the right.

Once that is completed, the rider then guides the steer through the "gate" which is two pegs placed apart. Once gated, the campdraft is complete and the rider can be awarded up to a total of 100 points.  Points are awarded for horsemanship and control of the beast.... within set time limits (usually 45-47 seconds).

CLICK HERE to find out more about campdrafting from the ABCRA website.