A GUTSY ride in the championship round earned Joe Polkinghorne his first career Professional Bull Riding Australia victory in Mount Isa on Saturday night.
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Polkinghorne's sensational score of 87.5 in the final gave him a score of 250 - just enough to edge out Australia's number one PBR rider Justin Paton by half a point.
After drawing Napoleon Dynamite, Polkinghorne was ecstatic he had another chance to ride the bull.
``I rode on him in juniors about five years ago but he got the better of me that day, throwing me off,'' he said.
``Not riding him since, I was keen to have another crack at him and thankfully I came out on top this time around.''
The Central Queensland rider from The Bluff emphasised how important this win was heading into the final four rounds.
``Coming into the weekend, I desperately needed to gain points on the leaders to give me a chance of the title,'' he said.
``It also builds momentum and confidence for me heading into Darwin next weekend.''
The 23-year-old also receives a wildcard into the Cairns Invitational PBR on July 5.
``Receiving the wildcard for Cairns is important because it is the biggest competition of the season and to have my place already secured is great,'' he said.
Paton (249.5 total) was second after an 84 on his last ride on Dunn Deal, with New Zealander Fraser Babbington placing third with 246 points.
Cliff Richardson placed fourth with 166.5 points and Roy Dunn (160) rounded out the top five.