Homeward bound

FORT WORTH, Texas - A week from now, Brendon Clark will play host to his own invitational for the fourth year in a row.

It's held in the quaint little town of Newcastle, which is 30 minutes from where he grew up in Morpeth, Australia, and 45 minutes from where he competed for the first time when he was only 8.

It's something of a hometown event.

The locals there either saw him compete as an amateur and have followed his career, or they've seen the PBR on television and they're fans of the sport. In either case, for the past three years, they've filled the 4,600-seat venue.

"We're actually lucky," Clark said. "Newcastle is a good little town."

The Newcastle event, which will take place Saturday, July 7, is the first of three PBR events in three weeks, culminating with the Australian Finals in Sydney, on Saturday, July 21.

"We're actually lucky. Newcastle is a good little town."

There is also another Australian Cup Series event in Brisbane on Saturday, July 14.

Clark and fellow Aussies Jared Farley and Lachlan Richardson will be joined by Built Ford Tough Series regulars Ryan Dirteater, Skeeter Kingsolver, Harve Stewart, Jory Markiss and Zane Lambert.

According to Clark, Robson Palermo is expected to compete in Sydney.

"That's a huge name to get," Clark said. "That's great and I think that's awesome."

Living in California with his wife Allison, Clark said he depends on PBR Australia to oversee the logistics surrounding the Brendon Clark Invitational.

Glen Young, Troy Dunn and his wife Jackie, who will be honored in October with the Sharon Shoulders Award, handle everything from booking the venue and marketing the event to setting the draw and arranging which bulls will compete.

Clark referred to Jackie as the backbone.

"She deserves it," he said, in regard to the recent news that she would be the latest recipient of the Shoulders honor. Jackie follows Leanne Lambert, Tiffany Davis and Shoulders.

"She does a lot for the sport that nobody really sees and she lives and breathes PBR, and specifically PBR Australia. I'm happy for her and that she's going to get rewarded for all the hard work she puts in there."

Clark is competing this weekend at a Touring Pro Division event in Midland, Texas, on Friday night. He'll return to California on Saturday, before flying to Australia on Sunday.

He'll land the morning of July 3, and that afternoon, he'll begin the public relations campaign for all three events.

Brisbane is an eight-hour drive from Newcastle, and Sydney is only two hours from Clark's hometown, which makes all three events accessible to PBR fans in that region of the country, and allows Clark an opportunity to spend a considerable amount of time on his trip with family and childhood friends.

"It works out good," said Clark, who plans to return to the states immediately following the Finals in order to resume competing at various TPD events. "I'll get to be around home most of the time."

The Newcastle event is within a three-hour radius of the majority of rodeos Clark competed at prior to coming to the U.S. in 2003.

This year, he said he hopes to share the public relations duties with Richardson, who also grew up in the area.

Australian Lachlan Richardson won the BFTS event in Uncasville, Conn.

At 31 - Clark turns 32 in September - it's a passing of the torch to the youngster, who is a newcomer to the Built Ford Tough Series this year.

It's also a way for someone like Richardson, who won the BFTS event in Uncasville, Conn., to help those who helped him achieve his goal of competing among the elite bull riders in the world.

"Without (Jackie) and Troy and Glen basically taking it all on and continually saying, 'We're not giving up. We're not giving up,'" Clark said, "a lot of guys - from Pete Farley to Lachlan Richardson to David Kennedy, who have come over here, and all of the younger ones who have come with a chance - probably wouldn't have had as good a chance if it wasn't for them, especially Jackie."

Follow Keith Ryan Cartwright on Twitter @PBR_KRC.