Travis and Lachlan Sansom have both made a name for themselves in the Australian Bushmen's Campdraft and Rodeo Association (ABCRA) competition circuit.
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Last year the competitive brothers qualified in the top 25 for the ABCRA National Finals with Travis named national champion under 13 years and Lachlan, competing at a national level for the first time, placed 12th.
This year, the boys headed back to Tamworth for the finals with the same horses they took last year; Travis riding Tara Vale Destiny’s Diva and Lachlan on Cass.
Despite the age difference, Travis 12 years old and Lachlan 9 years old at the time of the January long weekend competition, they both competed in the same under 13 years age division.
The competition was made up of three rounds and took place over three days at the Australian Equine and Livestock Events Centre.
Travis was named reserve national champion and Lachlan bested his 12th place from last year, finishing in fifth place.
Winners are named based on a pointscore tallied over the year of attending ABCRA-recognised events.
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 and once the beast has gone around the left peg, it must then be drafted around a peg on the right.
Once completed, the rider guides the steer through the gate. Once gated, the campdraft is complete and the rider can be awarded up to a total of 100 points.
Information sourced from ABCRA website www.abcra.com.au/Campdrafting/About-Campdrafting/