First it was Mother Nature delivering blow after blow with drought, floods and bushfires but then COVID-19 hit, which virtually put a stop to 2020 campdrafts.
There were only 45 events held this year between the Australian Bushmen's Campdraft and Rodeo Association (ABCRA) and Australian Campdraft Association but organisers say there should be a full calendar next year with COVID-19 restrictions easing.
ABCRA executive officer Craig Young said there were plenty of applications to run events next year with 120 already booked in the new year.
"The sport has had a tough couple of years with drought, fires and the odd flood popped in between then COVID, so it's nice to see a full compliment next year," Mr Young said.
"We started campdrafts in July and they continued to evolve throughout COVID-19 but in the last six weeks we have been back to running three to five most weekends, which is a trend that will continue until Christmas. We should be back to normal unless there is another outbreak."
Mr Young said campdrafts were important to the social fabric of rural communities as they not only injected money into the towns but they were also beneficial for socialising.
"One campdraft can bring 200 competitors to town, who all drive a truck and bring a load of horses so in this one event it could bring $100,000 worth of income to a town quite easily," Mr Young said.
Hugh Philp from the Australian Campdraft Association echoed Mr Young's sentiments saying everything was back on track for their competition.
"We generally run 300 campdrafts a year so when our season starts on April 1 we hope to be back on track," Mr Philp said.
"There are still plenty of places still in drought especially in central Queensland so there are lot of people fed up with the dry conditions.
"COVID-19 was the nail in the coffin, so it's a credit to people in the bush who have stuck together and rallied to encourage each other in these hard times."
Meanwhile at the Macleay Challenge Campdraft, held in Gladstone recently, there were 230 competitors from the Hunter Valley to Grafton with 735 first round runs and 80 final runs.
"It was nice to catch up with people who you haven't seen for a while as there hasn't been any competitions this year," challenge organiser Laurie Argue said.
Kempsey's Darcy Argue won the maiden, Michael McKeown from Grafton won the novice draft event while Cliff Lyon from Long Flat took out the open draft.
The inaugural challenge event that consisted of two rounds was won by Erin Morgan from Grafton.
Competitors were put through a challenge where riders and horses were tested on figure eights and spins in which they were judged on who had the most technical set.
Then there was a cattle event where riders had to cut out in the camp and chase the cattle in the ring in a circle eight fashion.
The challenge raised around $15,000, which will go towards upgrading the ground facilities and adding more water points for future events.
