A two-and-a-half year old Australian boy might just be the youngest cowboy in the world.
Little Royce Gill might still be in nappies but he is already saddling up against cowboys more than seven times his age.
Sitting astride his beloved six-year-old miniature pony Maybelline, Royce is a regular sight on the Australian rodeo circuit.
Most recently he was spotted manoeuvring his trusty steed around barrels in the under-18 division at the Beaudesert Rodeo. According to proud dad and champion bull rider Ryan Gill, rodeo dust is in his young son’s blood as he’s the seventh-generation cowboy in the family. He comments: “I have ridden horses since I was five, 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.”        –WO