The America’s First Campdraft Clinic & Competition is planned for Aug. 23-25 at the Elbert County Fairgrounds, Kiowa, Colo. The U.S. National Campdraft Association is excited and proud to announce the first Sanctioned Australian Clinic and Campdraft Competition on U.S. soil. In fact it will be the first in North America.

Campdrafting is a unique Australian horse sport originating in the outback in the late 1800s as a competition where stockmen and ringers pitted their horses against one another as they worked side by side in stock camps developing our great country.

Campdrafting remains the sport representing the tradition of Australian horsemen. It tests the ability of the man to select and judge cattle and the ability of the horse to control that beast around a predetermined course. It has grown from an outback station entertainment activity to a highly successful national sport involving thousands of competitors, both professional and nonprofessional.

The pinnacle of the sport remains the Warwick Gold Cup, an event established in 1929. It attracts over 700 competitors annually from every state in Australia, and is run over 3 rounds. The competition runs for a week during the last week in October. The winner’s trophy, a single Gold Cup, represents supremacy in this highly competitive industry.

Closely following is the newly established Paradise Lagoons Campdraft. Now in its 11th year, this week-long campdraft program is run at the purpose-built campdraft center on Graeme and Jenny Acton’s property, “Paradise Lagoons”, Rockhampton, Queensland. This venue is responsible for taking the sport to a new level, where competitors enjoy state of the art facilities attracting international respect and following. 

Australian Campdrafting is pleased that two of its senior competitors and leading personalities are heading to America to provide the instruction and advice for your first campdraft. They are excellent ambassadors for our sport and your time with them will be deeply rewarding. What Pete Comiskey and Steve Hart have achieved is admired in Australia and through their excellent school formats they will be able to advance the understanding and enthusiasm for the sport.