The festival, organised by the Barellan Working Clydesdales committee, will be held at the Barellan showgrounds from October 2 to 4, with free public entry when the teams arrive on Thursday, October 1.
Five bullockies, Phil Thomson, Ron McKinnon, Matt Stanford, Darcy Quinn and Joey Reedy, will drive a composite bullock team from the Flagg family’s wool shed at Moombooldool, along the stock routes into town.
Their target is the 21st-century Australian record of 40 bullocks in harness, set at last year’s event.
Alongside them, cameleers Rodney Sansom, from Anna Bay, NSW, and Peter Hodge, from Shepparton, will drive a camel team pulling a laden wool wagon.
They are aiming to surpass the existing Australian record of 22 camels, set in 2024.
International guests Doug Baum and Valerie Crashaw of the Texas Camel Corp in Waco will attend, with Baum delivering masterclasses on camel packing and speaking on the history of camel trekking in the US.
The festival drew global attention in 2025 after 62 heavy horses pulled a 10-tonne Bennett wagon laden with wool bales, setting a new Australian record.
Secretary Fiona Kibble said the event had reached a point of maturity with its three-day format and was now considered the only event of its kind in the world.
“Visitors can see horses, camels, bullocks, donkeys, mules and goats all working in harness on site,” Ms Kibble said.
Other program highlights include the Teamsters Trophy, the Tim Peel Perpetual Youth Award, side saddle masterclasses, a wheelwrighting display and a camp oven dinner for around 650 guests on Saturday night.
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