Ever since he could sit on Mary the family pig, or jump on their sleeping dog at the age of three, Deakan Keven-Faulkner has wanted to be a rodeo cowboy.
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And now the Kootingal local and Oxley High School 14-year-old is one of only 15 hand-selected to represent Australia in Las Vegas at the Junior World Finals in December.
![Kootingal teenager Deakan Keven-Faulkner's family has set up the 'Let's Help Deakan Get to Las Vegas' Gofundme page to help pay for flights, accommodation and entry costs at the Junior World Finals. Picture by Gareth Gardner Kootingal teenager Deakan Keven-Faulkner's family has set up the 'Let's Help Deakan Get to Las Vegas' Gofundme page to help pay for flights, accommodation and entry costs at the Junior World Finals. Picture by Gareth Gardner](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/184392265/7f00a08f-881c-4844-b4cc-0edcdb00fefd.jpg/r0_298_4793_2993_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"I've always wanted to achieve this since 2019 when I started," Deakan said.
It took until 2019 before his father Clayton Keven-Faulkner finally gave in and convinced Deakan's mother Kristina to let their then-11-year-old son ride in the rodeo.
His first ride was on a steer at Quirindi that year.
"I had a bit of a bust-up," Deakan said.
"I landed on the fence and got a bruise. But the next day, I went up to Bendemeer and rode a mini bull."
It takes a fearsome and passionate attitude to do what the Kootingal kid does every week.
He grabs whatever moment he can to put in the training; whether that's five minutes before school or in the afternoon straddling the steel drum his father made that replicates the movements of a bucking bull.
And on Tuesdays and Thursdays after school, he does fitness work with a personal trainer who gets him doing strength work and speed drills.
Deakan's safety wear includes a helmet with a face and chin guard, safety vest, fringed chaps and a one-handed glove to grip the rope tied to the bull.
In Vegas, he'll be wearing green and gold.