Queensland grazier John Thomas has travelled the world in pursuit of ballroom dancing glory.
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While winning the British ballroom dancing championship in Blackpool last year might seem a far cry from backgrounding steers near Beaudesert, for Mr Thomas donning tails and dancing shoes at an elite competition is just as familiar as wearing jeans.
The State Valuation Service area manager who is a fellow of the Australian Property Institute, won the 2023 British ProAm Ballroom title in his division with his coach and dance partner Jody Rollason, against the top dancers from 54 countries.
Now Mr Thomas has a veritable pool room of awards and trophies which testify to the decades of hard work which allows his dancing to look effortless.
"The main reason I love ballroom dancing is the challenge, it's a real buzz," Mr Thomas, 63, said.
"It's exhilarating to be learning something all the time which I have been doing now for 25 years.
"I usually complete in the ProAm male division an amatteur and Jody is the professional dancer in our duo."
His most recent medal was silver in the Australian Dance Sports ProAm Masters in Perth earlier this month which comprised the duo performing a waltz, quickstep, foxtrot and tango, where they attained a tightly-fought second place.
"In many of these events I am competing against male professional dancers," Mr Thomas said.
"Of the couple who did win, the man is an Australian champion and probably half my age, so I am quite pleased with the result."
In May Mr Thomas and Ms Rollason claimed their division at the 2024 Gold Coast Classic in the ProAm Masters and last December, they competed at the national titles at the Australian Dancesport championships at Melbourne.
"There I was judged in the professional student events and won all eight dances in my section, which was wonderful," he said.
"As a team we have competed in new vogue which comprises a sequence of dancing which originated in the 1930s and ballroom, however this year we are specialising in ballroom only."
While Mr Thomas may be a veritable master on the dancefloor, he is the first to praise his wife Amanda whom he said managed the 1001 aspects of his competitions and training.
"Together we run Lara, a 263ha property with different cattle, around 120 steers and bullocks but we mostly background steers," he said.
"Amanda is amazing, she not only manages all the logistics of our travel and competition registration, she also ensures I have the correct gear packed, has me organised and keeps me calm."
Ms Thomas, 62, who works for National Parks and Wildlife, said she loved the fact her husband had so much joy from dancing and loved travelling with him and Jody to different events.
"It's terrific to be part of a big dance family," she said.
"When you go to Blackpool for example, everyone is keen to chat and are all very helpful if someone forgets a shirt, shoes or has a dress malfunction, everyone will offer to help out."
However, while her husband's hobby is based indoors, her interests centre on equestrian sports.
A keen rider, Ms Thomas is an active member of the 2nd Light Horse Mount Morgan Troop and she is currently learning how to break in a new heritage stock horse, Emu Gully Searchlight, whose bloodlines can be traced back to World War One.
And if you think dancing at the local hop will get you on the podium when Mr Thomas is competing, think again as his training routine is intense.
"Through the week I work in Toowoomba and attend ballroom lessons and practices twice a week with Jody at her school Rhythm and Dance Attitude in Brisbane," he said.
"The travel is enormous, I'm up and down the Warrego Highway and we attend many interstate events.
"I also have a personal trainer to improve by core and body strength and movement."
Ms Rollason said she was delighted how Mr Thomas had persevered to reach such a high standard.
"I have taught John for seven years and I am very proud of his progress," she said.
"John has the ability to learn and he is very determined to perfect his dancing.
"During Covid when we had to cancel in-person classes we still continued his lessons and practices via Zoom."
Although Mr Thomas has achieved international and national success, he said he could never take something he loved so much for granted.
"I want to continue to improve and travel further overseas and compete," he said.
"At the end of the day it comes down to prioritising what you love, which for me is Amanda, dancing, work and the farm."
