story by Lily Weinacht
A difference of hemispheres is no match for a cowboy’s dedication to his craft, especially in the case of Harry Ash, a native of Bowral, New South Wales in Australia. The 23 year old first came to the United States three years ago on a rodeo scholarship to Odessa College in Texas, thanks to his rodeo coach, CJ Aragon. This past year was the first time Harry was able to stay and rodeo during summer break. Drawn to Colorado by his aunt and a friend, he joined the CPRA and competed on the PRCA Mountain States Circuit. “Australia doesn’t have any sort of college rodeoing, and that’s what’s really driven me over there (to America) — more competition and trying to better myself.”
Harry won 2017 CPRA Bareback Rookie of the Year and rode the high-point ride of the weekend during the finals, where he won the second round and finished third in the average. “I really liked the rodeos up there. I’m not 100 percent sure where I’ll be next summer, but I’m thinking of coming up there again and doing some of the CPRA rodeos. I really liked their finals. I thought they were put together nice, and I thought Colorado Springs was an awesome spot to have the finals. I like it up in Colorado — it’s like driving around in a movie set.”
Harry is the first in his family to rodeo, and he originally tried his hand at steer riding in local shows, followed by bull riding a few years later. He found his niche in rodeo about four years ago. “I always wanted to try bareback riding. One of my friends had a bareback rigging, and I went to watch him ride,” Harry recalls. “He was getting on a practice horse, and he fell and snapped his arm. They still had a couple horses they’d brought up for him to ride, and I thought how I’d always wanted to try it, so I did.” Harry’s friend later sold him all his bareback riding gear, and with the help of Jason Bazant, a pickup man, Harry had the opportunity to practice and start rodeoing in Australia. “I probably wouldn’t have kept going with it if I didn’t have help from him. I’m not very good at sitting still and I like a bit of an adrenaline rush, and rodeo kind of checks those boxes for me. It’s awesome getting over into America, the places you see and the people you meet, and I love all aspects of it, really.”
His first two years of college rodeo, Harry worked through several injuries that sidelined him, but he says being smarter about what practice horses he got on finally made the difference. Presently, he’s sitting tenth in the NIRA Southwest Region. “The season started off good, and then out of five college rodeos I had four re-rides, so this spring I should hopefully put together something nice and make up for it.” Harry is working on a degree in welding from Odessa College, and he’s a certified retail butcher after completing a three-year apprenticeship in Australia. He went home to Australia for Christmas break, and his family flies over occasionally to watch him compete. “Rodeo was all kind of new to them, and my mom wasn’t too excited with me trying to ride bulls, but they’ve gotten into it now and they like coming to watch.”
Harry also enjoys fishing and seeing friends, but it’s more likely he’s at a rodeo. “My goal is to make the college finals,” he finishes. “I’d like to do some CPRA rodeos again and win the bareback title in that, and make the Mountain States Circuit Finals.”
