Don’t miss your chance to see the best bull riding action while at that exact same moment the Aussie freestyle motocross riders fly over the top throwing down some of the biggest tricks in FMX. Bikes and Bulls combine 2 of the most dangerous sports and turns them into the number one action sports entertainment show.
FMX riders turn themselves upside down over the top of the rodeo arena, while Australia’s top cowboys battle the toughest bulls in the country. With some of the craziest stunts ever attempted in a rodeo arena, including the tandem bull ride and the tandem back flip on a motorbike, they’re strapped in and tapped out. So get ready for some high jumping, adrenaline-pumping action.
As Bikes and Bulls makes it way to Sydney and Brisbane in 2025, Nick L’Barrow spoke with Australian Pro Bull Rider, Clay Hall, about the insanity that is this arena show, and Clay shares the story behind his gnarliest injury yet!
Nick: Thank you so much for taking the time to chat, Clay! Before we talk ‘Bikes and Bulls’, I’d love to get an idea of where your journey with bull riding began. What was the first experience you had with riding a bull?
Clay Hall: Yeah, I started when I was young, you know? I’m a third generation cowboy. So, my dad rode bulls. My grandfather rode bulls, and he roped and had done a lot of events for rodeo. He was raising bulls and horses in the 60s and became quite big in the rodeo industry.
And then once I came along, yeah, I just grew a big passion for it. When I was at a young age, my dad was going to the rodeo and I kind of just jumped in with him and going to a couple with him. I thought I’d give it a go, so I started getting on potty calves, and loved it ever since then.
As I got older, I started getting on bigger stock, and yeah, here I am now getting on bulls at some of the biggest stages in Australia, and in the world!
Nick: That’s unreal. You mentioned being a third generation cowboy. I’m curious to know, in your opinion, what does it mean to be a cowboy in 2024? Has the idea of what a cowboy is changed or evolved over the three generations that you’ve seen?
Clay Hall: Yeah, America’s probably the biggest stage of the Western cowboy industry, but it’s definitely evolved a lot of the years in Australia. There’s been a lot more money involved in the rodeo industry and it’s getting a lot better.
To be a cowboy, you just gotta have grit and determination. It’s about just how bad you really want to get on 800 kilogram bulls, or one tonne bulls. It’s not like any other sport in the world, you know? They’re not like motorbikes where you can stop. Bulls have a mind of their own. They never stop.
And you know that you’re going to get hurt at some stage riding bulls, right? But, you got to get past that and fight through it. Show your true colours.
Nick: Is there an injury that sticks out to you as the gnarliest so far?
Clay Hall: Yeah, I’ve definitely got a few injuries over the years. A lot of broken bones, arms, legs, ribs. I’ve been knocked out a fair few times. A lot of concussions.
But, I’ve got a really good one. I was practicing at home with my brother and a mate, just getting on a couple of bulls before the weekend to just knock a bit of rust off. And I was on one of my own bulls, and as I got off of him, he turned his head and threw it right back at me, and his horn actually hit me right between the eyes!
If it was an inch or so either side, I would’ve lost an eye. But, he hit me fair in the middle of the eyes, and left a pretty good gash there. I had to go straight to the hospital, see a plastic surgeon, and stitch it all up. I had about 16 stitches on the outside and 10 on the inside. But, I jumped straight back on a bull a few days later because it was for one of the biggest rodeo events in Australia!
Nick: What’s the feeling like when you jump on a bull just before it’s about to go out and buck you around? Is there a connection you feel like you have to have with the bull as you go through that experience together?
Clay Hall: I wouldn’t say so much you have to have a connection with them, but there’s a lot of bulls we get on that we kind of know and go around the same circuits together. I travel around Australia a lot, and you get to know contractors and they’ll tell you which are the nice ones and which are the more angry ones [laughs]. You just deal with those situations as they come.
You also learn lots about riding them by being on the same bulls. Learn how to get on and off the correct ways, and being taught that at a young age. Yeah, you definitely pull all of that together.
When it comes to getting on a bull, I don’t try and get too serious with everything before we get right into the nitty gritty. You try and stay cool and collected and loose before getting on. You’re just around your friends and family, and you’re having a great time.
It’s not until you basically climb over the buck and shoot, where you’re inside, that you change your mindset. That’s when I get serious. You know what you’re there to do. It’s all muscle memory. You’ve been doing this for years, and it all just comes to me. Plus, the adrenaline goes through you… there’s no better feeling.
Nick: Let’s chat ‘Bikes and Bulls’, which sounds like an insane event! When did you first become involved with ‘Bikes and Bulls’?
Clay Hall: Yeah, so ‘Bikes and Bulls’ is coming up in Brisbane and Sydney. Brodie Carmichael started ‘BIkes and Bulls’ in about 2015, and he usually runs shows for Aussie FMX [Freestyle Motocross], but he also grew up around cattle and a few rodeos. So his idea was that he wanted to make the best show in Australia by bringing the two most action packed sports together in freestyle motocross and rodeo.
We started off with a few shows around Australia, then over time it’s just grown. And now, we’re doing some of the biggest arenas in Queensland and New South Wales. It’s going to be quite the show. It’s been 10 years since we started, so it’s great that we’ve got it in a position where it’s going to be one of the biggest shows we’ve ever done.
We’ve got some of the best bull riders in Australia coming down for these shows. We’ve got gold medal X Games guys. During the show, you’re going to see things people have never seen before. We’ve got two guys on a bike doing a backflip. We’ve got two people riding a bull at the same time. It’ll be bikes going 75 foot in the air, while people ride bulls underneath them. It’s definitely going to be something to come and see!
Thanks to Clay for his time, and to The Connect Agency for organising the interview. ‘Bikes and Bulls’ will be making its first stop in Sydney on January 4 at the Qudos Bank Arena, and then in Brisbane at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on January 11. Info and tickets are available here.
