A life member of both the Wānaka Rodeo Club and New Zealand Rodeo Cowboys Association, Mr MacMillan was introduced to the rodeo world at the age of 16 and still competes.
Mr MacMillan, 82, is one of a very few cowboys his age still regularly competing.
‘‘Not many people my age are dumb enough to be doing this,’’ he said.
‘‘With age I just get worse, worse and bloody worse.’’
The Mt Pisa high country station farmer now competes in the team roping event where he and a team-mate work together to rope a steer as fast as possible.
Mr MacMillan said he now only practised to keep his horse fit.
‘‘She’s nothing like the ones I’ve had in the past. She’s just a horse, but we get on pretty well.’’
Mr MacMillan said despite the growth in rodeo numbers over the years, one thing had stayed the same — the love for the animals.
‘‘We all love our animals.
‘‘I don’t know anyone that hasn’t got a lot of time for horses, cattle, bulls and the rest of it.
‘‘They’re all trained to do their job — there is a big misconception around that,’’ he said.
With no plans to end his rodeo career, he had stepped away from judging to allow someone new to ‘‘get into it’’.
Mr MacMillan was named the winner of the Spirit of Central Otago Award at last week’s Central Otago Sports Awards.
‘‘I really didn’t expect to win — we really just went along for the feed.
‘‘It was a bit of a shock but I’ll accept it with grace,’’ he said.
