A promising rodeo rider caught drink-driving in Queenstown has been granted a discharge without conviction.
Logan James Cornish (21), of Earnscleugh, recorded a breath-alcohol level of 504mcg after police stopped him at the Queenstown Events Centre on December 16 last year.
Defence counsel Kieran Tohill told Judge Mark Callaghan in the Queenstown District Court yesterday that Cornish was ranked 10th in New Zealand in bull riding, was a former national rookie of the year, and had carried the dream of being a professional rodeo competitor in North America since the age of 11.
A conviction would jeopardise his ability to compete on the Australian rodeo circuit, which was a stepping stone to that in Canada and the United States.
It would certainly prevent him from getting a working holiday visa for Canada for some years.
Although he had made a "silly mistake'' by driving drunk, the consequences of a conviction would outweigh the seriousness of the offending.
Judge Callaghan said a conviction would not prevent Cornish from competing in Australia, and there was a "paucity of evidence'' about the impact on the defendant's North American ambitions.
However, the offending was at the lower end of the scale for the resort, and it would be wrong for the court to deny the defendant the opportunity to fulfil his potential.
He granted the discharge on the condition Cornish make a $500 donation to The Right Track programme in Invercargill.
Cornish was disqualified from driving for three months.
