Our Story

The popular phenomenon is set to create some competitive rivalry at the 2024 show with the feature event – Butchers vs Bullocks. This is an invitation only event where we will see butchers from across North Queensland go head-to-head with the bullocks. Who will win – our bullock team or the brave butchers?

Please join us at The BIG Pub Malanda Bull Ride Open Bull Ride Draw and Calcutta Evening on Thursday the 10th of October. What is a Calcutta auction you might ask? Well, this exciting event involves the auctioning of the cowboys. The elite Open Bull Riders will be split into teams and each team will be auctioned to participants who attend the Calcutta. On the Saturday the highest aggregated points will be deemed the winning team and whoever purchased that team will win 60% of the auction pool of money, with the second place taking home the 40%! Even if you’re not interested in participating in the auction, it would be well worth coming along to meet some of the Bull Riders.

From an initial crowd of 800 to now over 4000, this event continues to get bigger and better each year and gives you the chance to be a part of something special. With the introduction of the big screen TV in 2016, not only was the thrill factor increased 10-fold, but the televised images also provided a highly successful means of engaging with the audience in a way that could not be missed. Advertisements, logos or even a short film tailored specifically for the evening of the bull ride are all perfect possibilities for local businesses to advertise to the Malanda and surrounding communities.

In addition to the incredible thrill being involved in the Malanda Bull Ride brings, it really is an extraordinary and unique occasion to be a part of. Our organisation team continues to be immensely proud of the positivity and philanthropy the event brings to the community. The evening is run entirely by volunteers who are passionate about donating their time for such a worthy cause and who realise that their hard work benefits Malanda and the greater Tableland`s region in many different ways.

The event continues to draw massive crowds to the Malanda township, which not only benefits the local economy, but showcases the region to out-of-towners who may return for longer durations to really explore the area. Visitors also include the over 100 riders who come from near, far and wide to participate during the evening, demonstrating again how prestigious the event has become on the bull riding scene.

Just as important as the visitors the Bull Ride draws, is the community spirit it generates within our own surrounds. So many local individuals and organisations band together not only to help, but to utilise the evening as a means of fundraising and advertising. Some of these groups have in the past included Malanda High School P&C, Malanda Horse and Pony Club, Malanda Guides, Malanda Primary School P&C, Malanda RSL, Malanda Junior Eels and the Malanda Kindergarten.

We really hope you will be a part of this year’s event. Enjoy yourself and feel proud of being a part of something truly special for the community that we all love and that we all want to see thrive. It truly is an opportunity not to be missed.