When you climb aboard 1000-odd kilograms of twisting, rampaging bull for a living, a no-fuss sort of nature is a must, and Mid North NSW Coast-bred Pete Farley is as straight-shooting as they come.
Ask him how has worked his way up to claim the 2008 Australian Champion Bull Rider title and he simply says: “I’ve been lucky.”
Ask him what sort of injuries a 20-year-old professional bull rider has to his name and he lists a broken shoulder, jaw, ribs and wrist, a deflated lung and plenty of bruises.
“As I said, I’ve been lucky,” he said.
Laid-back he may be, but Pete Farley is far from easy-go-lucky.
For the past year he has determinedly slogged it out on the American PBR (Professional Bull Riders) circuit, travelling hundreds of miles and riding in up to four rodeos a week.
He has had to constantly remain focused and keep up an elite athlete level of fitness and strength, but it’s unlikely hard work would faze somebody who competed in his first rodeo at the age of five and has wanted to be a champion bullrider all his life.