The world’s smallest cowboy: Two-year-old saddles up miniature pony 'Maybelline' to compete in the rodeo
Youngster is seventh-generation rodeo rider
Takes part in high-speed sport of barrel racing
Competes against 17-year-olds
His belt buckle is nearly as big as his face and his trusty steed is a stumpy-legged miniature pony, but the rodeo kid is causing a big stir in the gritty world of barrel racing.
Little Royce Gill, from Upper Horton in western New South Wales, Australia should be kicking up tantrums as he goes through the terrible twos but instead he is kicking up the dust on his six-year-old pony Maybelline.
It is perhaps no surprise the young cowboy has taken to the sport, which involves racing around barrels at high-speed and requires precise levels of horsemanship, as he is the seventh-generation rodeo rider in his family.
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Standing in front of his beloved animal Royce, who bears an uncanny resemblance to the character Woody from the film Toy Story, is competed in his first competition against under 18s last week at the Beaudesert Rodeo and although he failed to win a place he has plenty of time to catch up with his much older compatriots.
Dad Ryan Gill said the racing was in his son's blood and he was happy to help him follow his passion.
'I have ridden horses since I was five,' said the champion rodeo rider, 'and his mother, Stacey Wilburn, also barrel races.'
'We breed 200 calves purely for bucking bulls and 300 horses for rodeos, so there's not much else around for Royce to play with.
'There are a lot of older kids, but Royce loves it and is pretty keen. I just sit him on and he wants to stay there.'
Mr Gill who lives on a 3000-acre property in the country said he would help his son progress on to bigger calves and ponies as he grew.
The pocket-sized rodeo rider has a busy schedule over the coming weeks.
He is due to compete against people more than seven times his age at barrel racing competitions in Charleville, Mount Isa, Chinchilla, Bundaberg, Maleny, Bowen and Cloncurry.
