Young NT cattle ringers conquer outback obstacle course

Two young cattle industry workers have claimed victory at the iconic Battle of the Barkly, an eccentric obstacle course competition based on the day in the life of a station ringer.

Ava Byrne and Tom Savage successfully navigated a greasy pole, jumped a fence, carried a tyre, and sculled a beer before returning to their swags ahead of their opponents.

Ms Byrne works on the nearby Alroy Downs pastoral lease, less than an hour’s drive from the racetrack.

“I’m representing the Tablelands, it’s a fun experience, and I really want to do it again,” Ms Byrne said.

Winner of the men’s Battle of the Barkly, young Ipswich man Tom Savage, said the event was a fairly accurate representation of the life of a ringer.

“It’s definitely pretty similar, but on the real job there’s cows and we’re also not sculling beer in the morning — or at night,” he said.

He said while being a ringer “takes a toll” on your body and mind, nothing compares to the satisfaction of his job working with cattle on Anthony Lagoon station.

“Being a ringer is heaps more fun than the obstacle course, that’s for sure,” he said.

Event continuing 116-year tradition

The annual competition is part of the Brunette Races, a four-day remote race meet held on the Brunette Downs pastoral lease, located 200 kilometres west of the Queensland border.

For 116 years, the event has been a major community and social event for hundreds of women and men of the Territory’s cattle industry.

Crews of young ringers arrived fresh from stock camps, as many Northern Territory stations finish their first round of mustering in a season delayed by flooding.

But as pastures begin to dry, many cattle stations in the region are capitalising on strong demand for beef from Indonesia and a modest easing of fuel prices.

Land Cruisers rolled in from as far as Alice Springs and Mount Isa, while others made the relatively short drive from the nearby remote Indigenous communities of Corella Creek and Borroloola.

Nearly two-thirds of the region is leased to cattle stations under pastoral lease agreements, while the remainder is Aboriginal freehold land.

The race that stops the Barkly

The coveted District Bred Gold Cup was claimed by horse Ten a Week Ted, ridden by Leah Darcy and trained by her mother, Jan.

In a three-horse race, the Darcy family’s entry — trained at home on Mallapunyah Station — was a clear favourite.

The nine-year-old gelding had a strong start and was unbeatable on the final straight, pulling ahead of the pack by well over 10 lengths.

Ms Darcy said it was hard not to notice an “ecstatic” crowd of mates cheering her on as she rode Ted over the finish line.

“My family’s been coming to this as long as I can remember, and Mum rode the winner in the cup in 1999,” Ms Darcy said.

“It’s been on my bucket list to do for a long time, and I’ve finally got to tick it off.”

Described by the racing committee as a race where local ringers “moonlighting as jockeys” ride locally bred nags “moonlighting as racehorses”, the event was attended by nearly 1,000 punters this year.

The four-day race meet finishes on Sunday.