Original subtitles

"I love a sunburnt country

"A land of sweeping plains

"Of ragged mountain ranges

"Of droughts and flooding rains

"I love her far horizons

"I love her jewel-sea

"Her beauty and her terror

"The wide brown land for me"

It's gorgeous, no?

So my understanding is she's this,

you know, very well celebrated poet over here.

Dorothea Mackellar wrote this.

She was 19,

back in England,

missing Australia like crazy.

Back in the day, there were some Australians

who would sort of romanticise living in England.

And for her, she was always sort of fiercely protective.

"No, I love Australia. This country is amazing,"

and I think it still resonates with lots of Australians today.

And this is what Dorothea was talking about.

What Australians call the bush.

This is tough country with tough people,

and I reckon we should get to meet them.

There's only so much poetry you can read

on the side of the roads, on your own.

SHE CHUCKLES

Want to get away from it all?

I mean really get away from it all.

This is bonkers.

SHE SCREAMS

Where the people think a little differently.

The most dangerous thing on a beach in North Queensland

isn't the crocodiles.

It's a coconut, cos that could fall on you.

And life isn't exactly lived in the slow lane.

MAN SHOUTING Ooh!

More like no lane at all.

Never in my life

did I think that I would be steering a chopper

over the Australian desert.

You have to get yourself to Australia.

This is the most wholesome thing

I have ever seen in my entire life.

I revelled in the rugged and the glorious landscapes.

Push in. Oh, my... Now.

Let's do it differently.

SHE SCREAMS

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

I love you, Australia!

This is Australia as few get to see her.

Come with me.

Stacey Dooley's Australia

Off the Beaten Track.

Australia is a place of pretty diverse landscapes.

This is a region called New England.

And how's this?

Most of it sits on the Liverpool Plains.

It's about as far from the England and Liverpool I know as it could be.

It's rugged, dry and dusty.

In fact, whilst our Liverpool in the UK

has experienced a drought,

the one happening here right now is pretty dire.

And check this out.

Another arty silo.

These huge grain silos

have gone from plain grey eyesores

to massive works of art.

And honestly, there are worse places

to wait for a ride.

I have lucked out, actually.

I've got a bull-riding cowboy

en route to come and collect me,

and he has promised me

he's going to give me a real insight

into his way of living. I can't wait.

He'll be arriving any minute now.

Stacey. Ty!

How are you going? Mate, how are you?

Doing great. Nice to meet you. Pleasure. Stacey.

Thank you so much for the lift.

Not a problem at all. I'm very excited. Yeah?

Excited to hear all about you.

Right, let's get out of this heat. I'm roasting.

Are you roasting. Phew!

'My host today is Ty,

'a champion rodeo star.

'Bull-riding mainly.

'He's promised me action,

'danger and thrills.'

So, Ty, you are a fully fledged bull rider.

Yeah. I just fell in love with it and just kept...

kept riding bulls.

And what, you've travelled the world?

Travelled the world. Yeah, I've been to Canada.

Been to Mexico.

Uh, lived in America for seven years.

Competing? Competing in America, yeah. Mate!

And I'm told, actually, you're a bit of a legend, like...

Oh. ...your name is synonymous with...

with bull riding.

Yeah, I've had a pretty good career.

Um, I've got one, two, three,

four Canadian bull-riding titles.

Uh, an American bull-riding title,

and then won my last one,

was the Australian bull-riding title last year, yeah.

So I imagine you've dedicated a lot of your life to this.

I've dedicated a lot to it

and, um, I've put a lot of hard work in

to get to where I am, so, yeah.

And you wouldn't have done anything else?

No, would have done nothing else, no. It's...

I loved it, I thrive it and...

'Ty's a big deal.

'But I want to know what the appeal is,

'because willingly being thrown off a ton of cranky bull

'seems kind of insane.

'So he's given me a front row seat

'to the madness at a training session.'

So, you know most of these guys. Yep.

So I've grown up with Terry and Tommy.

How are you? Good. How are you? Stacey.

Nice to see you. I'm Stacey. Lexi. Nice to meet you. Oh.

Lexi and her young family live here,

and this is basically a training ground

for next-gen bull riders.

And your husband, he rides? Yep. I think he's first.

A first very impressive bull rider. Yeah? Very impressive.

OK.

I'll be up first and second so I don't chicken out.

Well, I'm expecting big things.

No pressure.

This feels, um, so different

to anything I've seen before.

I've never been to a rodeo.

I've never seen someone on the back of a bull.

Well, you'll get all the experience here.

I've got a front row seat, ain't I? You have a front row seat.

They've got to stay on the back of the bull for eight seconds.

Eight seconds. Yep.

How easy or difficult is that?

Oh, I think it's easy, but I'm not riding.

THEY LAUGH

We're like, what's the problem? Yeah, yeah.

And that vest, I mean, that's a protection vest? Yep.

What kind of injuries has your husband had?

Um, touch wood, he's actually been pretty lucky.

The main one he's had is he broke his shoulder.

Got knocked out a little while ago. That was pretty scary.

But he, as I said, touch wood hasn't had many injuries.

Blacked out? Yeah.

For how long? A good while. Were you there?

No, I wasn't. I got the phone call.

Yeah, it wasn't a very nice phone call.

Lexi's quite calm about it all,

but I guess this is what she's grown up with.

It's her normal.

Ty, tell me, so what am I looking for here, technique-wise?

So when you're riding a bull,

their back's built square or rounded.

So the idea is you want to sit dead centre on their back

with your chest up. Yep.

And you've got to have one free arm loose.

So it's got to be free from the bull. Oh.

And one's got to be... You can only hold on with one hand?

One hand. What?!

So they use this one as your balance.

So your free arm is your balance.

And you've got to try and keep square

and keep your shoulders up, away from their body

so you can ride that bull round and round.

So he's just about to go now.

OK.

Did you slip a bit? Yeah. Yeah, a bit.

It's just... the fearlessness.

Yeah.

The kind of nonchalance.

Everyone's sort of so chill about the fact

that they could just get their head caved in.

Yeah.

This sport's actually banned in loads of countries,

including the UK.

But here in Australia it's legal

and heavily regulated.

The young lad's going on now.

This is young Kody. This is the little fella that lives

just down the road from me. Kody's got the helmet on. Yep.

Now, in the rules,

so till you're 18, you have to wear a helmet.

There's rules for the animals, too.

They say their welfare has to be protected.

An 800-kilo animal

versus a 75-kilo person.

Well, I think we all know who's got the advantage.

Keep rocking, Lee. Step back, Kody. Yeah.

Get a hold! Get a hold! Get a hold!

Get out!

HE WHISTLES

Get out.

Get out! Oh!

Oh, my God.

Look out!

Oh, my God, is he all right?

What have you done, bud? Where'd he get you?

Everywhere.

Take a breath. Take a breath.

Oh. Take a breath.

He hit his head on the panels.

Your knee? And he...

And he hit his leg in the panels, too. Yeah.

Can you straighten your leg?

'The young lad Kody has come off and been trampled.

'And the other guy, Liam, whose job was to distract the bull,

has also been hurt.'

Breathe, bud. Breathe.

'This is tough to watch

'and even tougher to understand why they do it.'

Which one? Is it ankle or knee?

My knee. Yeah.

Breathe, bud.

Keep breathing.

Oh, my word.

He's all right. He's tough.

He goes, "Oh, he's sore." He's sore.

"He's sore."

He's a bit sore. Jeez.

Where's sore Liam?

Oh, it's my legs. Just your legs.

Has that happened to you before?

No. No.

Are you all right?

I'm all right. You'll be OK? Yeah.

Wow.

I mean...

Yeah, obviously...

...like, there's always that possibility.

But to sort of see it all play out

four or five minutes after we've arrived

is sort of slightly unnerving...

...and sort of how chill everyone is...

But I'm told this is, uh...

this is part and parcel of it.

Do you think the jeopardy is part of the thrill?

Uh...

Like, the fact that anything could kick off at any moment?

Anything could happen? Yeah, pretty much.

Anything could happen at any stage. That's the thrill of it.

You never know what's going to happen.

You stayed on the back of that bull for a long time.

Yeah.

How's your shoulder?

Pretty sore.

Do you want an ice pack?

It just felt like I was under there for ages.

Every time I'd get up, I'd feel a leg come down on top of me.

Ugh.

Yeah. Did you get a hit in the head?

No, I don't think so.

Not yet. Not yet. SHE LAUGHS

Not hard enough. Not hard enough.

Still another one coming. Jeez.

'Growing up in these parts

'means these boys are around rodeo from a young age.

'It's pretty much in their blood.'

And you're how old? 14.

So you started when you were, what, seven, eight?

Something like that.

And sort of try and describe the feeling

when you're on the back of that bull.

For someone who's never done it. You know, you don't...

you don't really think about anything

but just staying on top of him.

Like, you're not sitting up there,

thinking what you're gonna have for dinner tonight.

It's just sort of...

You sit there thinking, "Oh, I want to ride him,"

and that's about it. Just a lot of adrenaline.

And then, when you make a good bull ride

and all your buddies are on the back of the chute cheering you on,

it feels pretty good.

But not today. HE CHUCKLES

Listen, yeah, well...

you have good days and bad days, I guess. Yeah.

So, 90% of the time, your good days outweigh the bad days.

You can fall off ten in a row and you ride one good one

and it all changes.

'Ty is a pretty important mentor,

'and I reckon for these young riders,

'his support really matters.'

You did finish on a good note.

Look at the start you got. Yeah.

Look at the start, look at that thing kick, coming around.

Like, that's a...

You've gotta take the positives out of it, bud. Yeah.

Like, if you keep looking at the negatives,

that's like there's a positive in every ride.

Yeah. You've gotta take that positive.

You started that thing awesome.

Chill. Take it easy.

Yeah.

HE WHISTLES

Liam, are you OK, mate?

I thought we were going to take you down A and E for a minute.

Yeah, I'm all right now. Down the emergency.

Oh. Emergency? I thought...

I said I thought we were going to take him to the hospital.

I reckon he'll have a hot shower and a cup of coffee,

he'll be ready to go again.

SHE CHUCKLES

Wow.

'Wise words from someone as established as Ty.

'These lads, they dream of hanging on for dear life

'and becoming the next world champ.'

Whoa! Absolutely not.

Ho-ho!

'I had no idea how big the sport is here.

'There's about a thousand rodeo events a year.

'And this weekend, young Brodie will be competing.'

What's the plan for Saturday? Cos I'm going to come along.

How does it work? How many people are competing? Oh, it's sort of...

It's pretty different every weekend

because there's lots in the novice.

Lately there's been lots of entries. 30...

30-odd, 40 entries.

Do you fancy your chances? I don't know.

Someone's got to win. Yeah, someone's got to win.

Why not you? I'll try. I can always try.

Ty believes Brodie could go pro.

So every win gets Brodie closer to that dream.

Have you won any before? Yeah, I've won, like, a couple.

Yeah? Won my fair share, I suppose. Yeah.

And try and describe, you know, the relationship that you boys have,

that sort of sense of brotherhood, that sense of camaraderie.

Yeah, it's sort of, like, really supportive from all the boys.

They'll all help you out and, you know,

if you do a bit travelling with them every weekend and that.

Love it. Well, I sort of just witnessed...

...that in real time

when it came charging towards the other lad

in the chequered shirt. Yeah, yeah.

And you all sort of rallied round him and...

Yeah, just to check on him, I suppose.

Desperate to make sure that he was OK. Yeah.

Just try and support all each other as best we can

and just help each other out, yeah.

SHE CHUCKLES

Go on, spin her.

Ride! Spin her! Ride!

Stay square! Get over! Over!

Stay square! Go on!

Get out of there! Get out! Get out!

FENCE CLANGS SHUT That's better...

Listen, this is a million miles away

from the life that I live,

but that's, you know, that's what makes it brilliant.

You know, this is why you come to different countries

and this is why you hang out with different people

that you don't necessarily understand.

This is what it's all about.

And you meet really interesting people

and they've got fascinating stories.

And you tag along and you learn more.

And now I've managed to...

get myself an invite to the rodeo on Saturday.

I am miles from home.

And, you know, this region may be called Liverpool Plains,

but the name is the only thing they share.

No waterfront, no Beatles,

no football rivalries.

Instead, you've got endless paddocks,

rich black soil,

and a town called Quirindi,

which lies within the traditional lands

of the Kamilaroi nation

and where life moves at a pace of its own.

The skies feel huge,

the roads are long

and everyone has a story to tell me.

And meeting Ty yesterday and getting my first taste

of bull riding was...

well, let's just say it was pretty eye opening.

He's a real hero to those kids,

so it makes sense to meet the man Ty looks up to -

his dad, Steve.

Oh, look at all this.

There's so much memorabilia everywhere, right?

There's plenty about.

I feel like I'm in some kind of museum.

Steve! How are you? I'm Stacey. This is Stacey.

How are you? It's so nice to meet you. How's things?

That's Steve on the wall, doing his thing.

So how tough is it?

No cheekbone? Yeah, I've got no... Yes.

Broke my eye socket

and my jaw all in one day.

Then got out of hospital, done a rodeo the next day

because we were away, down south.

You went back on the back of a bull?

Yeah, I broke my nose, too.

You're crazy, Steve. On the same deal.

You're insane. Oh, no, no.

It's hard to describe. It's...

I grew up with a lot of tough fellas.

So it's like no moaning.

Get up, get back on the bull,

even if your eye's about to pop out.

HE LAUGHS Yeah.

Oh, well, you do what you've got to do.

Do what you've got to do, Steve.

'Pretty sure if I saw my dad

'getting thrown around and breaking all his bones,

'I'd run a mile from this sport.

'But not Ty.'

So Ty would have been how old when he first started riding?

Oh, when he was about four, I think.

Two. I had diapers on.

Oh, well... TY LAUGHS

And are you on the back of a bull?

Yeah. Yeah.

That's insane to me.

Like, that feels so mad to me.

Obviously, as a Brit, right?

Well, there's a lot of training, a lot of things that go into it.

It's not just a wild sport. It's...

It shows how the cowboys really worked back in the day.

As they drove cattle, they done all that.

Like, there's a big meaning to it,

but a lot of people just don't understand it.

So these are the family belts?

These are all my buckles, these ones.

These are just yours? These are just mine here.

Now, the two most, probably, prized things I've won

is my two world champion saddles there.

All around world champion saddle. OK.

Which is competing in more than one event.

So I've done three events

and I think it was since...

Like 25 years or something since someone's won it

from both ends of the arena. Is that right?

Yeah. So it's a pretty good accomplishment.

Ty, you're a big deal in this world.

Huh. I just put a lot of effort in. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

This really feels like a kind of dynasty.

I mean, did your folks, did they...

Were they involved in rodeo, Steve? Mine?

Yeah. My dad was a little bit,

and his brothers and that, back in the day.

Yeah, they were.

So this has been going on for generations. Yeah.

Plenty of generations.

'I'm definitely here for an immersive experience,

'but there's no chance of me getting on a bull.

'So Ty's going to show me another of his tricks -

'cracking a whip.'

OK. Right, have you ever cracked a whip?

Well, um...

yes, but not...

not this long.

I was filming with a lady who was a dominatrix.

Yeah, right. She had one of her clients come

and ask to be whipped.

But never in this instance. Never, never. No.

Right.

So the easy way to start, I always want to start it out in front.

Yes.

And when you come back,

you roll forward and roll your wrist.

Fine. I think... Yeah, I think you can do that.

I can do this. You've got that covered.

Forward, back... And then come straight back. ..forward, whip.

And let your arm roll forward. Yeah. Ready?

Ready for it.

It's not very noisy, mine, is it?

You know what? Let's just get to the part where I nail this.

Yes. OK. Yes.

Well, I reckon...

...we might have to, uh, enter you in a whip-cracking competition

at the rodeo on Saturday.

What, these things exist? These exist.

These competitions are, like, legit? Legit.

We'll have to get some more practice.

We'll need some more practice. We'll put you in the comp, won't we?

SHE LAUGHS Hey? You up for that?

I mean, sure.

How many people do you think are going to be at this rodeo?

I don't really know yet. Hundreds?

There should be a few hundred there, yeah.

Might even be a couple thousand in the crowd.

I don't mind embarrassing myself in front of a couple of hundred.

Perfect. Let's put you in.

We might have to go meet the Wicks family.

They've been whip-crackers

and a lot of experience with the whips.

Whip building, cracking, tricks. They're called the Wicks? The Wicks.

Yeah, Wicks family. OK. So they're not far away.

So this is their thing?

They've done this for a long time.

'And just like that, I'm off to meet

'a family of world champion whip-crackers.

'And the patriarch of this dynasty is Steve Wicks.

'This is him now.'

Hello! Hello! How are you?

Steve. Pleased to meet you. I'm Stacey. How's things?

'Steve lives in a town down the road -

'Gunnedah -

'which, in this oversized country,

'still takes at least an hour to get to.

'That's right. Steve's family are champion whip-crackers.'

WHIPS CRACKING

'They've mastered the old bushcraft of whip cracking.

'It's a technique used to move animals around using just the sound -

'the crack of the whip - without physical contact.

'And now it's a competitive sport.

'And Steve, his kids

'and even the grandbabies

'absolutely dominate the competition worldwide.'

These are some of our whips that we use in competition.

I've got about 300 whips in my collection.

This is the English hunting whip.

So this is what...

when the queen used to get drawn on the buggy.

So the horses up in front,

that whip would be just cracked near them.

So to keep the horses going forward.

It doesn't hit the horse.

And that's an important point, isn't it?

These never hit the animals. No.

They always hit the floor. Yeah. They break the sonic...

They break the sonic boom to make the sound.

So this one's really special. Yeah.

Jeez. An enormous part of your life.

Oh, yeah. Yeah, whip cracking has been a part of our life

for, like, the whole family.

'My first attempt at cracking a whip

'was only a few hours ago with Ty.

'I'm practically a pro, right?'

So what we're going to do... Yeah. ...you're going to lift your arm up

and it'll go behind, 135 degrees,

and then we come back down.

That's how we get the cracks. So, up...

Whoa! Up...

Pull your shoulder down.

OK. So a big circle up. OK.

Ready? Ready. Big circle up.

Yes!

Wind it up faster. Faster up.

Yep. Down.

Don't take it so far back.

Ow! Yep.

THEY LAUGH

I nearly took my head off.

'Before I do actual damage,

'Steve's son, Daniel, is going to help me

'really elevate this bushcraft.'

WHIPS CRACKING

'Daniel's an international whip-cracking champ.

'So I've definitely got the right teacher.

'Just not sure he's got the right student.'

Beautiful.

Oh! SHE LAUGHS

Nice.

That's it. Perfect. See that little...

bit at the end where you were just dropping your wrist? Yes.

That's perfect.

That's the best I've whipped so far.

Oh, I don't know what to say. I'm ready.

I'm ready for the demos.

Steve, did you see me? I did.

You're going to try two. Oh.

'This has disaster written all over it.'

You want to go up together

and then drop them down, just one after the other.

So...

Oh.

This is getting a bit more sophisticated.

Yep. OK.

Why am I acting like I'm in the Olympics?

I'm actually taking this so seriously.

Your brain's just going, "What have I got to do?"

I'm actually taking this so seriously.

OK.

Progress. Yeah.

Yes. That's all right.

Well, I've definitely improved. Yeah.

I'm expecting a lot of you.

Dan's going to crack a pair of whips over here tomorrow night,

and then you come out.

So tomorrow night at the rodeo, in front of everyone,

I pretend you're going to be standing here.

And then Daniel will just bump you in the back of the leg

and tell you to walk out,

and then you crack the two whips.

Is this for real? Yeah.

This is for real now. Let's just try it.

We'll practice it. We'll practice it.

This is what we do.

This is what we do, right around Australia.

So don't worry.

Right. So what do you want me to do? Just stand in front of Dan.

I'm going to go crack, crack, crack, crack.

So, wait. So you're gonna kick me in the knees?

Yeah. That's right, but I'm just going to go like this for a bit.

So I'll be performing a whip-cracking routine with Daniel

at the rodeo tomorrow night.

They've been doing this for a lifetime.

I've got less than 24 hours.

Walk straight out.

Ha-ha-ha!

SHE LAUGHS

That's it.

That's the shot. Yes! That's the shot. There we go!

Let's go. How good is she? All the way from England,

she comes and shows us how to crack a whip.

Yee-haw!

You are sensational on them whips...

Yeah, well you... ..Daniel.

Listen, he's a true pro.

I'm in safe hands.

You've got to trust your dance partner.

And tomorrow,

Daniel and I are gonna dance.

Slash, whip-crack.

Dance with a whip-cracker.

Not to be confused with a Nutcracker...

...which is a very highbrow ballet number.

SHE CHUCKLES

It's legends like rodeo champ Ty

that are keeping these traditions - the bushcrafts - alive.

And he's recommended I get some of that Aussieness into my soul

to really understand the bush,

and I'm here for it.

BELL TOLLING

So next stop,

Tamworth in New England.

It's the Big Smoke for these parts.

About an hour up the road from Ty's

and straight away you can understand

that this is different.

Like most Australian country towns,

it's got a big, wide main street.

But this one is decked out

with statues of weathered faces.

And then this - an oversized guitar.

This place in Liverpool Plains

is the home of Australian country music,

which, to my tin ear,

doesn't sound much different

from American country music.

Matt Scullion is a regular singer at the local pub,

and he reckons there's a distinct Australian sound.

So I'm here to learn it.

This is an Aussie lingo lesson

for all those overseas visitors...

...who can't understand a bloody thing we say.

MUSIC PLAYS

♪ If you like to eat

♪ You're good on my tooth

♪ And buggered if I know

♪ It means you don't have a clue

♪ If you're a two-pot screamer

♪ You get drunk real quick

♪ And if you're a bit toey

♪ You want more than just a kiss

AUDIENCE LAUGH

♪ In the land of the khazi

♪ And the Vegemite sandwich

♪ If you want to talk Aussie

♪ You gotta speak our slang-wich. ♪

MUSIC STOPS, CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Thank you so much.

Hello. I'm Stacey.

How are you? How are you?

It's so, so nice to meet you. Lovely to meet you, too.

'Yeah, I'm never going to get mistaken for a local,

but that doesn't mean we can't share a drink.'

I want to introduce you to Cheryl. This is Stacey. I'm Stacey.

Fabulous. I follow you, I watch you. Oh, Cheryl!

You sweetheart! This is Shelley.

Shelley. Lovely to meet you. You look stunning! Look at you!

This is Lawrie. Lawrie, how's things?

Very pleased to meet you.

Shelley, Lawrie and Cheryl

all call Tamworth home.

You'll have to forgive my ignorance,

because I don't think of country music

being synonymous with Australia.

Isn't that wild? Wow. Yeah, yeah.

And, actually, this has been such an eye opener for me,

just spending time in Tamworth.

You know, to understand the roots and, you know, the heritage.

So, yeah, the plan is...

I wanted to hear some country music,

authentic Australian country music.

I want to see a rodeo... Great. ..in action.

I want to do a bit of line dancing.

So, yeah, that's my sort of wish list.

For about the last ten years,

and it's just, like, really taken off here. Yeah.

In Australia and in Tamworth,

we've got this wonderful line dancing instructor,

Chris Watson.

And, um, yeah, he's just been having these really popular classes

in Tamworth.

Oh, you might be there. Yeah, true.

Babe! I do go to Chris's classes.

I'll be rattling around in the back somewhere,

going in the wrong direction. With me!

SHE LAUGHS

'This is brilliant.

'Another thing I can tick off my bucket list -

'line dancing in country Australia.'

Hey, Chris. Hey, Shelley. How are you? How are you doing?

Good. Good to see you. Yeah. You too.

I just wanted to introduce you to Stacey. Hi! G'day, Stacey.

How are you? How are you, Chris? Good. Nice to meet you.

Lovely to meet you. Welcome to Tamworth

and welcome to Dare 2 Dance.

I am so excited about this.

We're looking forward to having you.

I love dancing. Love it.

Chris has been dancing for over 35 years

and he runs the local line dancing classes.

I don't know how good I'm going to be,

but I'm full of enthusiasm.

That's the biggest thing. As long as you have fun and smile,

that's the hardest step in line dancing I've discovered.

If nothing else. And you're all dressed for the part. I know!

Don't I look great?! Looking fantastic!

Born to dance.

Listen, you have to know what your strengths are,

and you have to know what your weaknesses are.

My strengths -

I've got exceptional rhythm.

My weaknesses -

I'm deluded in terms of my, like, ability.

SHE LAUGHS

I need Chris to rein me in

because I'll get so carried away. UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYS

I see only a successful night ahead of me.

'And at least I'm not on my own.

I've got Shelley, and even my new pal Lexi is here.'

This is...

Do you know this is Lexi's first class?

I know! You're doing really well. She's amazing. Fantastic!

SHELLEY LAUGHS I'm trying. I've got goofy feet.

So are you involved in rodeos?

Yes. Oh, cool. Yes, I do a bit of barrel racing.

Oh. Yeah. That's awesome.

Yeah, she's like a real-life cowgirl. Wow.

My partner's a bull rider.

Oh! Yeah.

I was telling Stacey, back in the day,

I used to have a thing for cowboys,

but my dad used to be a rodeo rider

two years ago. Yeah! Cool! Yeah.

All right, let's take the dance floor.

We're going to do a walk through.

Right heel together, left heel together.

Two right.

And stay on your left, with a left right.

All right, two on your left.

Now make your K step.

Forward, back, back, stop,

and shimmy your heels.

Toes, heels. Heels, toes, heels.

Yes, Chris? Yes, Chris. Here we go. Music.

Good luck.

Let's give it a go.

I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing.

Did you just see my feet? Just follow that little lad.

Follow that little boy.

It's showtime.

UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYS

♪ Hey!

♪ Hey!

♪ Hey!

♪ Hey, hey!

♪ Hey, hey, hey!

♪ Hey, hey, hey, hey! ♪

This is a sport for all the ages,

and that young lad who knew all the moves,

I reckon he's going to be the dance king

of New England one day.

Heya, mate! Hello.

Logan, how are you? Good.

That's light work for you, isn't it, that routine?

Um, yeah, kind of. Easy. Yeah.

So you've been dancing for how long? Remind me.

Um, eight weeks. Eight! So that's not very long, really.

So you must have, like, this natural ability,

just this natural flair.

Um...

my cousin is a very professional dancer.

I think my auntie did some dancing, too.

Um, I forgot. What kind of dancing?

I think it was like ballet dancing.

But this is not ballet,

so I have no idea where I got it from.

No, but what, you just love it?

Um, my mum dragged me into it,

and now I'm getting hooked.

Ah. So, initially you were hesitant. Yes.

But once you started, you got into the swing of things

and you thought, "This is a bit of me." Yeah.

In about two years,

I imagine I'll be taking over Chris's job.

You do?!

Logan, well, it's good to be ambitious, I guess.

COUNTRY MUSIC PLAYS

'I have had the most amazing evening.

'It has been utterly, utterly brilliant.

'Lovely gang, lovely girls, lovely Chris,

'brilliant little Logan.

'In my element.

'I am so unfit it's untrue,

'but I've had a fantastic evening.'

I'm roasting.

SHE CHUCKLES

'But hold on.

'This day is far from over

'because my whip-cracking mate Steve

'has one last crazy bush activity for me.'

OK, Stace, so we're coming to New South Wales'

Billy Boiling Championships.

We've got the world champion here, Kate Groves.

We've got Mark Ross here, the Australian champion,

and we've got a world champion here in Daniel.

So it's going to be a really great competition.

You're going to be against the best in the world.

'A billy is a metal can you can boil water in.'

I'm actually taking this very seriously.

'So, essentially, this is a water-boiling competition.'

Excellent, excellent, excellent.

'The fastest to boil the water wins.'

Who called the fire brigade? Good job it's ready!

Yep. Go!

'So one person chops the wood

'and the other person, me,

'is in charge of the fire.'

It's got to have rolling bubbles. Rolling bubbles.

Rolling bubbles. So bubble on the outside to start with.

That's beautiful. You're burning.

Three minutes.

Oh, my God.

This is like cardio.

'Kate's record is six minutes.'

I'm roasting.

'So I've got to beat that.'

Look at her go. Come on, Stace. Let's go, Stacey.

Come on, Stace. Come on, me!

'Not that I'm super competitive or anything.'

Oh, beautiful.

You've got it!

Whoo!

Thanks, babe! No worries.

Oh! Well done.

What was my time?

Five, ten.

PEOPLE CHEER Yes.

Love that for me. Yes.

Here's our ladies champion!

Mark, you're the men's champ.

Hold it with Stace.

Second was Daniel.

Oh, it feels good to be a winner. THEY LAUGH

That was actually so fun.

Thank you so, so much. That was amazing.

I've got to say this is truly unique.

I've never done anything like this in my life,

and it's been incredible.

Oh.

'My whole time here in the cowboy capital of New England

'has been building up to this day.

'Ty's taking me to my very first rodeo event,

'and I'm taking part.

'On a bull, absolutely not,

'but with a little whip cracking.'

Today is the big day. Rodeo. My first rodeo.

Your first rodeo, I'll take you to Quirindi Rodeo.

I want to see the boys in action.

And Brodie, you like him. You think he's quite promising.

He is quite promising. He's got a lot of talent, a lot of try,

and that's what it takes to be a bull rider.

So hopefully he can, uh, make a good bull ride today.

And it's first to fifth.

Yep. So in the competition, so it's on scores

and the highest score wins and they'll pay five placings.

That's not bad, you know? That's not bad at all.

And prize money really helps to keep getting down the road,

that's for sure.

...second ride for Lee...

Here we go...

'The Australian Rodeo goes back about 150 years.

'It's a full-day event that pulls in people

'from all over the region.'

The lads in the blue, they're the clowns, they're the fighters.

They're the bullfighters.

So they train to work out the timing of the bull

and how fast they move.

Normally, when the bull rider falls off so there'd be a gap.

They want to try and go in between the bull and the rider

to take that bull's attention away from the rider.

Risky business, innit? Very risky business.

So it's not just a case of staying on, is it? No.

It's about technique, as well, and style.

Technique, style, balance, core strength.

They score the bull, as well. Score the bull, as well. Yeah.

'Three days ago I met Brodie at training,

'and here he is now with hopefully the chance

'to take another step to being a world champ.'

Here we go with the big, bad Brodie. Here we go. Come on, Brodie.

'I'm pretty nervous and excited

'to see young Brodie compete today.

'There's a fair bit on the line for him,

'because if he wants to go pro,

'he needs the wins.'

Try and sort of explain to me the feeling, Ty,

moments before you're about to be let out the gate.

I don't know. I used to just go blank.

Like, I used to just try and block everything out,

take a deep breath,

and then it's just you versus the bull.

You've kind of just got to match them where they go,

how hard they kick,

and then hopefully hear the whistle to step off them.

I'm like a broken record, Ty,

but I would be utterly, utterly terrified.

It is a pretty scary thing to do.

'Having seen how easily it can go wrong,

'I'm really hoping Brodie does well

'and I'd love him to win.'

You think he might do it? Yeah, he's going to do it.

Ty, I think he's going to do it.

BUZZER - Yeah. - Oh!

He's done it. Hey!

Also...

loving the pants. Yeah.

He's gone for gold, glittery chaps. Yep, chaps black and gold.

Stunning.

Watch your backs. Bull's coming.

So he's the only one that's stayed on. So far, yeah.

There'll probably be another round

and, obviously, a ride a little bit later. Fine.

So he'll have to wait, won't he, to see if he's won?

Wait and see if he's won, yep.

So, Brodie, as it stands now,

you're top of the leaderboard. Yeah.

All we need to do

is watch the next round play out. Yeah.

And then that will determine where you place. Yeah.

Pretty much. It just depends how the rest of the boys go, I guess.

Yeah. If they all have a bad day, you could win.

I could, I could,

but I'm sure someone will have a good day.

There's only... Oh, I don't know.

There'll be eight dudes in it maybe, so.

Do you know any of these lads?

Yeah, I know, like, majority of them.

They're all mates and all. So there's, like, no hard feelings.

No, no hard feelings at all.

Just like friendly competition. Pretty much, yeah.

Brodie, you're so laid back. I'm, um...

I'm envious. I wish I was this chill, but it's nice to see you.

Yeah. Thank you. Good luck. Really, I mean it.

Good luck with it. Thank you.

And I've got everything crossed for you.

♪ Do, do, do, do

♪ Do, do, do, do

♪ Do, do, do, do. ♪

Big day today, Steve.

Oh, it should be great. It should be, um...

You know, we've got the atmosphere. Probably got about 2,000 people

going to watch us, so... It's busy.

We've certainly got a crowd.

Jessie Lee's off!

I like that one.

Look at the bull...

I didn't realise there'd be quite so many people.

Stop panicking.

No, I'm a cool customer.

I've performed in front of millions before.

This is not your first rodeo, you know?

This is, in fact, my first rodeo.

This is very much my first rodeo.

Further back. Further back.

'The pressure, the drama, the anticipation.

'It's all too much.

'Right, here goes nothing.

'It's time for Daniel and I

'to get whip-cracking.'

Here we go.

OK, ladies and gentlemen,

I'm going to grab Daniel Wicks out.

18 times Australian champion.

'Daniel makes whip-cracking look musical.

'It's all rhythm and timing,

'and honestly it's pretty mesmerising to watch.

'I had no idea it was such a big spectator sport,

'as well as competitive.'

What do you reckon, ladies and gentlemen?

AUDIENCE APPLAUD Yeah.

All right, we've got a special surprise for you.

So this young lady that we're about to introduce,

let's make her feel welcome.

She's an overseas icon

all the way from the mean streets in London, England.

A British national treasure

in our homeland here in Australia.

Ladies and gentlemen, let's make her feel welcome!

Stacey Dooley!

AUDIENCE CHEER AND APPLAUD

All right, these two whips

are going to travel at more than 750 miles an hour.

Then you're going to walk out,

crack two whips and the crowd will go, "Whoa!"

Come on, crowd, let's get behind her!

Come on! AUDIENCE CHEER AND APPLAUD

Righto, Stacey Dooley!

Daniel Wicks!

Now? Yep.

Go!

Yeah!

Whoo-hoo! SHE LAUGHS

All the way from London!

Let's make some noise for Stacey Dooley!

AUDIENCE CHEER AND APPLAUD I love you, Australia!

SHE LAUGHS

Steve... Well done. ...you are a diamond.

You have been such a gent from start to finish.

You've been so welcoming, so accommodating.

Thank you so much. No worries. Thank you.

I loved it. I thoroughly enjoyed that.

It was amazing.

'What an utterly brilliant experience.

'Saturday night in country Australia

'is a sight to behold.

'Young Brodie, he ended up coming third,

'so his road to rodeo stardom

'is going to take a little longer.

'And the people here,

'absolute legends.

'Generous, passionate, interesting.'

Whoo!

Yeah!

Yay!

'Australia's New England is nothing like my England,

'but this has definitely been an off-the-beaten-track experience.'

Do you know, I have had, genuinely,

such an utterly fascinating week from start to finish.

I feel like everybody

I've sort of spent time with has been so accommodating.

And, you know, I've been exposed to, like, subcultures

that I'm so unfamiliar with.

Uh, I mean, the sense of community is obvious.

Like, it's evident,

and every conversation you have,

people are just desperate to tell you about their way of life,

and I always love that.

So, yes, this is my first rodeo

and I won't forget it in a hurry.

If you need a show-off, I'm your girl.

GROUP CHEER AND CLAP

Oh, my God, I didn't think I'd be this dramatic.

You can do it.

ALL CHEER

Subtitles by Red Bee Media