Mount Isa Rodeo announcer Randall Spann reflects on 21 years

If Randall Spann's career announcing at the Mount Isa Rodeo was an American citizen, it would now be old enough to buy a beer.

After 21 years behind the microphone, Mr Spann said a lot has changed at the rodeo, which used to be held at Kalkadoon Park.

"It's a production now, it's the biggest rodeo in the southern hemisphere," Mr Spann said of the changes since then.

"It's massive - back in the day when it was at Kalkadoon it was just one bloke playing the music and he'd sit in his little box for three day and he'd play the music.

"Now it's a massive production, you've just got to look around and see the men that's involved in setting it all up, you know, it's unbelievable."

Mr Spann said every year when the rodeo wraps up he says he's had enough, but every year he's back again.

"It's exhausting - it didn't worry me so much when I was younger but now I've got to take another week off because... it knocks the guts out of you."
- Randall Spann

"You've got to have your wits about you in front of the shoots, you never know when you're going to get run over by something."

Mr Spann said in his 21 years he's seen plenty of talented competitors, but some stood out more than others.

"Scott Fraser is always a bloke that comes to my mind first, he's from Wilmington in South Australia, he's a great cowboy, an all-round cowboy," he said.

"He's been many times all-round [champion] up here, bull riding champion, bareback riding champion, saddleback riding champion, great bloke.

"I'm announcing guys now that I used to announce their fathers when they rode, so you know you've been doing it a long time when you're doing that."

Roughstock the favourite

Spann said he enjoys announcing all of the roughstock events, but bull riding takes the top spot.

"Up here I love the saddle bronc riding too, the contractors always put together a great pen of horses for the Saturday night," he said.

Mr Spann said it was great to be back out in the dust in Mount Isa after last year's rodeo was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was instead held virtually.

He still announced - but it was a different event.

"It was different, it was actually nice to be sitting in the motel and doing it in the air-conditioning instead of waddling around out in the red dirt," he laughed.

"It's never the same and it's not the same, but you know it was a great concept and it worked, they did well."

Article courtesy of Australian Community Media and the North Queensland Register