It’s been a good weekend for Gunnedah brothers Chase and Bobby Berry, taking home a national title and a Tamworth event win between them at the PBR Australia Junior Grand Finals.
The Berrys were part of a strong New England showing as the 2026 PBR Australia Can-Am Junior Academy Grand Finals wrapped up in Tamworth at the weekend, with $29,000 in finals prizemoney and year-end bonuses on offer across the junior competition.
Chase was crowned 2026 Australian Junior Champion, completing a back-to-back championship double. He said he was really happy with how the year has gone for him.
“It’s been great,” Chase said. “Falling off one bull and ending the year with 99 and a half points just feels amazing.”
His plan in Tamworth was simple – just to enjoy himself.
“Just have a fun time. Don’t be silly. Spur and hold.”
He scored 67.60 points on his ride on Dirty Money to close out the season.
He thanked his parents, sponsors and all the bullfighters for saving him throughout his stellar year. He will ride in the same division next year, with a third straight title in his sights.
“Go win another title, three titles in a row,” he said. “That’d just feel amazing.”
It’s all part of his journey toward his bigger dream to win both world titles in the same year.
“Become a PBR world champion, a PRCA world champion, same year,” he said.
Hot on his heels, Chase’s younger brother Bobby won the Pee Wee event in Tamworth with a 67.20-point ride aboard Tree Gard.
It was not quite enough to catch Singleton’s Clay Thomas in the year-end standings. Thomas secured the Pee Wee national title with a 66.30-point ride aboard I’m a Brute, leaving Bobby as Australian Pee Wee Runner-Up.
Barraba’s Noah Lowe finished Runner-Up in the Junior division, while Walcha’s Benji Provost claimed the Tamworth Junior event with a 70.55-point ride aboard Slug.
Willow Tree’s Kyle Sternbeck beat his brother Cody to be crowned 2026 PBR Australia Challenger Series Champion. The series is a crucial pathway towards the elite Monster Energy Tour. Cootamundra’s Brayden Oddy won the Challenger event in Tamworth.
The Senior division produced one of the most dramatic moments of the finals. Gympie’s Chase Wieland and Boddington, Western Australia’s Hunter Ross arrived in Tamworth separated by just one championship point.
Ross, riding second-last, threw down the challenge with a 75.20-point ride aboard Watch Gard. That left Wieland, the final rider out of the chutes, with everything to ride for.
The Queensland teenager delivered, conquering Fizzy for 78.05 points. He won both the Tamworth event and the 2026 Australian Senior Championship, securing back-to-back national titles. Ross was named Australian Senior Runner-Up.
Queensland’s Rex Walker, from Miriam Vale, claimed the 2026 Australian Rising Stars Championship and the Tamworth event title, scoring 76.25 points aboard Tiger Claw. Boorowa’s Billy Fogg was named Rising Stars Runner-Up.
The Open division was just as tight. Victorian-born, Mount Isa-based Kelsey Pavlou won the PBR Australia Monster Energy Tour Tamworth Iron Cowboy Invitational by just 0.10 of a point.
Mr Pavlou went two-for-two for a 170.45-point aggregate and took home $12,800. Australian number two Zane Hall, from Athol in Queensland, and American newcomer Hayes Weight were locked together on 170.35 points, one-tenth behind.
Mr Pavlou said he was feeling good heading into finals mode and was taking it “one bull at a time”.
Tamworth’s Colby Edgar gave the hometown crowd something to cheer about with a qualified ride. Ky Borghero posted the highest-scoring ride of the night, conquering Conquistador for 86.35 points, and Thumper, from Australian Western Sports, was named Bull of the Weekend with 42.50 points.
Mr Hall passed $100,000 in season earnings in Tamworth. Mr Weight, from Utah, followed up his Friday night win and $5,000 bonus at Mackay the previous weekend.
The result moves Mr Pavlou from fifth to fourth in the national standings. Reigning Australian Champion Kurt Shephard, from Mareeba, remains number one on 2,758 points, but Mr Hall has narrowed the gap to 156.50 points.
The 2026 PBR Australia Grand Finals will be held on Friday, 13 November and Saturday, 14 November at the Townsville Entertainment and Convention Centre.
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