Town saddles up for rodeo

Cowboys and girls are oiling their leathers and heading west to Boddington for Australia's biggest rodeo event.

The rural town will host the National Rodeo Championships on Saturday, when the event comes to WA for the first time.

Boddington Shire president John Allert said rodeos had been part of Boddington's DNA for close to four decades.

"Boddington is in its 37th consecutive year of rodeos," he said. "We hold the biggest rodeo with the biggest prize money in WA and we are one of the only towns in WA with a purpose-built rodeo ground."

He said the town's population would nearly double at the weekend, with about 5000 revellers expected.

Local barrel racer Hayley Hall said she was itching to test her skills against some of the best in the world.

"Everyone in Boddington is talking about the championships," she said.

Ms Hall has ridden Lazy H Twist in rodeos around the country for the past 12 years.

US bareback rider Justin Miller is venturing to Australia for the first time to compete in Boddington.

Miller was coaxed by fellow cowboy Anthony Thomas, of Derby, to join him on the Australian rodeo circuit.

"I have been rodeoing with Anthony Thomas all around the US," he said.

"Now it's the fall and rodeos are slowing down in the US, so I planned a trip with him to Australia."