At 94, Bob Holder is the world’s oldest competing cowboy.
It all began when he was just 14, in Tumut, regional NSW where riders weren’t allowed to compete until they were 16.
That didn’t stop Bob, who asked a friend to forge a note from his mum confirming he was old enough to compete.
Since then, he has been dubbed the “Cootamundra Cat” for his unique riding style, which has been likened to him clawing onto the horse’s back.
Over eight decades he’s competed in thousands of rodeos in Australia, Canada, Mexico and the United States.
At New York’s Madison Square Garden in 1959, Bob became the first Australian ever to win money in professional rodeo on a horse called ‘Meat Hook’.
That same year Bob rode for before the Queen at Calgary Rodeo in Canada.
It hasn’t been the easiest ride for Bob, overcoming adult respiratory distress syndrome, a rare condition that stops the lungs from pumping oxygen properly. But he’s showing no signs of slowing down.
This weekend he’ll compete at the Mount Isa Rodeo, his favourite in the world, and, like every event, he’s in it to win it.
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