Sallie Pilgrim will have something golden and shiny for show and tell when school resume next week.
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The Willow Tree cowgirl was one of the stars of the Australian Bushmen's Campdraft and Rodeo Association's National Finals, winning the All Round Cowgirl and steer undecorating finals titles.
A Kindergarten teacher at St Joseph's Quirindi, Pilgrim joked that her principal had already asked her to bring her buckles in.
It's not the first time the 33-year-old has tasted national title success. At the last National Finals she was crowned the steer undecorating champion for the 2019 season.
It has though been a tough few years since with Pilgrim suffering a horrific leg injury not long after that kept her out of the rodeo arena for about a year.
Missing most of the 2021 season she just scraped into the finals in 15th spot, with the standings encompassing the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
Not being in a position to challenge for the season title, Pilgrim went into the finale with "one goal".
"And that was to win the average," she said.
"And then I also set a goal to be able to win the all round cowgirl (of the finals) as well."
"I achieved both of them so that was exciting."
Pilgrim was on song in the steer undecorating, winning all three rounds.
It was a very satisfying performance, especially given she has only been riding the horse she competed on - BFP Bank Fulo Rednecks, or Red as he is affectionately known, for about three months.
"He's actually my partner's horse," she said.
"I have my own horse that I normally compete on, his name's Goose Duckhampton and I've been competing on him for years, but my partner said I think it's time for a change, I want you to try this horse."
"So I did, and he and I have just clicked."
So much so that she's claiming him: he's her horse now, she said.
It was a finals to savour with Pilgrim also in the money in the breakaway roping, picking up third in the final round.
Of the injury, she said she was just riding a young horse at home and "had a buster off it". Breaking her femur and having to have a rod put down her leg, it was a long road to recovery.
She "couldn't walk properly for about a year".
To do something she started "riding around in circles" at home.
"I was going out of my mind," she said.
"I couldn't do anything and I'm usually such an active person."
Initially when she eventually got back to competing again she wasn't really competitive: she was "doing it just for my own sanity". It probably wasn't until January last year that she said she started to feel like she was getting back to where she was before the accident.
Pilgrim will be back at it this weekend travelling to Taragla and then back to Cassilis for their rodeos.
"I'll go to Taralga first and compete down there first thing in the morning, and then drive back and compete at Cassilis in the afternoon," she said.
