GLENDALE, Ariz. – The 2008 World’s Toughest Rodeo™ featuring Toughest Cowboy™ presented by Jägermeister made its third stop at Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Ariz. When the dust settled on this rodeo revolution, where the ironmen of rodeo wear jerseys and ride in the new match style competition in three roughstock events, it was Erik Wolford capturing the tournament win, his first of the season.
Wolford, of Clinton, Mich., was matched against Trey Broussard of Estherwood, La. Wolford, who is sponsored by Wrangler, and Broussard, who is sponsored by Dodge, both had four series wins coming into the Arizona tournament, so it was anyone’s ballgame.
Wolford defeated Broussard by one point to take the first win in the bareback riding. Next up was the saddle bronc riding and Wolford turned in one of the highest marked rides on the night with an 85 on Strawberry Shake. Broussard finished with a 77-point ride on Roan Robin, and was down 2-0 heading into the bull riding. Wolford easily captured the bull riding win after Broussard’s score was riddled with penalty points when he was thrown to the arena floor well before the eight second whistle.
“It feels really good to finally do well and to finish on top for this stop is just a great feeling,” said Wolford of his win in Glendale. “This was a huge confidence builder and a big step towards capturing the Jäger Ranch. I hope to be standing in the winner’s circle again next week.”
Toughest Cowboy presented by Jägermeister is revolutionizing the sport by introducing an exciting and innovative format to audiences across the United States. Unlike other rodeos where riders usually compete in just one discipline, Toughest Cowboy is an unprecedented test of endurance as all competitors must ride in three disciplines in one night (Bareback Riding, Saddle Bronc Riding and Bull Riding). The events feature head-to-head matches throughout the season leading to the playoffs and championship…ultimately crowning someone the Toughest Cowboy Champion.
Jägermeister, the country’s best selling shot brand and top selling imported liqueur, is the first presenting sponsor of the Toughest Cowboy rodeo competition and tour in 2008. The Champion at the end of the season will be awarded the deed to the beautiful Jäger Ranch located in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.
Bandy Murphy of Weatherford, Okla., held on to his lead for the Jäger Ranch after picking up another three wins in Glendale. Murphy, who won the first 2008 tournament in Kansas City and is sponsored by The Home Depot, was matched against Jägermeister’s Clovis Crane of Lebanon, Pa. In the bareback riding, Murphy edged Crane by three points to add another “W” to his resume. However, Murphy had problems in the saddle bronc riding when his horse ran into the fence and ejected him out of the saddle before the eight second whistle, so Crane picked up a win in the bronc riding. Murphy rebounded in the bull riding and posted an event high 81-point ride on Go West, to capture another win. He received a bonus win after tallying 224 points to Crane’s 207, and held on to his lead for the Ranch with 10 series wins.
Nelson Tsosie of Farmington, N.M., picked up three more wins in Glendale to move to within one win of Murphy for the title and the deed to Jäger Ranch. Tsosie, who is sponsored by B&W Trailer Hitches, was matched against Super Clean’s Chad Eubank of Cleburne, Texas. Tsosie won the match 3-1 picking up wins in the barback riding, bull riding and overall points.
Shane Proctor of Powell, Wyo., who captured the tournament win in Raleigh, N.C., added three more wins to his resume. Proctor, sponsored by Red Creek Land, was matched against Logan Hodson of Telkwa, British Columbia. Proctor edged Hodson in the bareback riding by four points to get his first win on the night. Hodson had some trouble in the saddle bronc riding and came down before the eight-second whistle, while Proctor finished with an 85-point ride on Fire Fly. Unfortunately, Proctor lost the bull riding after hitting the dirt early and Hodson captured a win. In the end, Proctor was able to add another win to his season total after posting 201 points to Hodson’s 159 in Glendale.
2006 PRCA Bull Riding World Champion B.J. Schumacher turned in his best performance in Glendale and finished second to Wolford at the third Tour stop. Schumacher, of Hillsboro, Wis., was matched against Jared Green of Socorro, N.M. Green won the bareback riding after posting an event high 86-point ride on Ragged Edge. Schumacher finished with a 78-point ride on Dawson Creek. However, Schumacher turned it around in the saddle bronc riding and bull riding, easily capturing the win after Green was bucked off his horse and bull. Schumacher, who is sponsored by Polaris, received an additional win based on his total points of 225 points on three head. He is currently fifth in the overall standings for the Jäger Ranch with five wins.
The next stop on the nationally televised Tour will be from Greensboro (N.C.) Coliseum. Two more competitors will be eliminated from the competition following Greensboro, so be sure to tune in next week to see who gets cut. For more information on this popular event visit www.toughestcowboy.com.
Tournament 3 Results
Glendale, Ariz.
Match 1
Clovis Crane, Lebanon, Pa. vs. Bandy Murphy, Weatherford, Okla. – 1 wins to 3 wins; 207 points to 224 points; series wins Crane (4), Murphy (10)
Match 2
Trey Broussard, Estherwood, La. vs. Erik Wolford, Clinton, Mich. – 0 wins to 4 wins; 204 points to 244; series wins Broussard (4), Wolford (8)
Match 3
Jared Green, Socorro, N.M. vs. B.J. Schumacher, Hillsboro, Wis. – 1 wins to 3 wins; 99 points to 225 points on three head; series wins Green (6), Schumacher (8)
Match 4
Logan Hodson, Telkwa, B.C. vs. Shane Proctor, Powell, Wyo. – 1 win to 3 wins; 159 points to 201 points on three head on three head; series wins Hodson (4), Proctor (8)
Match 5
Chad Eubank, Cleburne, Texas vs. Nelson Tsosie, Farmington, N.M – 1 win to 3 wins; 155 points to 184 points on three head; series wins Eubank (4), Tsosie (9)
Glendale winner: Erik Wolford
Jäger Ranch leader: Bandy Murphy
Overall standings from Glendale: 1. Erik Wolford; 2. B.J. Schumacher; 3. Bandy Murphy; 4. Shane Proctor; 5. Nelson Tsosie; 6. Clovis Crane; 7. Logan Hodson; 8. Chad Eubank; 9. Jared Green; 10. Trey Broussard.
Overall standings after Glendale (standings based on wins and then total points): 1. Bandy Murphy, 10 wins, 693 total points; 2. Nelson Tsosie, 9 wins, 580 total points; 3. Shane Proctor, 8 wins, 670 total points; 4. Erik Wolford, 8 wins, 628 total points; 5. B.J. Schumacher, 8 wins, 604 total points; 6. Jared Green, 6 wins, 525 total points; 7. Clovis Crane, 4 wins, 614 total points; 8. Trey Broussard, 4 wins, 576 total points; 9. Chad Eubank, 4 wins, 544 total points; 10. Logan Hodson, 4 wins, 494 total points.
About Grit Rock Rodeo
Grit Rock Rodeo is one of the largest producers of live and televised rodeo events in the world. Grit Rock Rodeo owns the World’s Toughest Rodeo, a national touring rodeo that consists of World’s Toughest Bulls and Broncs and Toughest Cowboy. Toughest Cowboy, a revolution in the sport which featured 8 cowboys riding 3 times in a performance, was carried in 2007 on Fox Sports Net nationally on Sunday nights. Grit Rock Rodeo also owns the license rights to the Wrangler ProRodeo Tour, which is the premier Tour of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. The 2007 Wrangler ProRodeo Tour and the Ariat Playoffs of the Tour aired nationally on Fox Sports Net and CBS Sports.
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About AEG
AEG is one of the leading sports and entertainment presenters in the world. AEG, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Anschutz Company, owns or controls a collection of companies including facilities such as STAPLES Center, Toyota Sports Center, Toyota Park, NOKIA Theatre Times Square, NOKIA Theatre at Grand Prairie, Hollywood’s El Rey Theatre, Seattle’s WaMu Theatre, Minneapolis’ Target Center and the just opened The O2, a 28-acre development located in the eastern part of London along the Thames River which includes a 20,000 seat arena and over 650,000sf of leisure and entertainment use; sports franchises throughout the world including the Los Angeles Kings (NHL), Los Angeles Riptide (MLL) and three MLS franchises in addition to overseeing privately held management shares of the Los Angeles Lakers (NBA). AEG developed and operates The Home Depot Center, a $150 million national training facility on the Campus of California State University Dominguez Hills in Carson, California designated as an “Official U.S. Olympic Training Site” by the United States Olympic Committee that includes major facilities for soccer, tennis, track & field, cycling, lacrosse, rugby, action sports, beach volleyball, basketball and other sports.
The company’s live entertainment division, AEG LIVE is one of the world’s leading concert promotion and touring organizations that has recently promoted national tours on behalf of artists such as Prince, Bon Jovi, Kenney Chesney and Cheetah Girls as well as producing “A New Day…” starring Celine Dion appearing exclusively at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace and the international museum tour of King Tut’s artifacts.
AEG is overseeing the development of L.A. LIVE, a 4 million square foot / $2.5 billion downtown Los Angeles sports, residential & entertainment district featuring NOKIA Theatre L.A. LIVE, a 7,100-seat state-of-the-art live theatre, a 54-story, 1001-room convention center “headquarters” hotel, Club NOKIA at L.A. LIVE, a 2,200 capacity live music venue, a 14-screen Regal Cineplex, “broadcast” facilities for ESPN, along with entertainment, restaurant, residential and office space and additional arenas, O2 World, on a 45-acre site in the heart of Berlin, Citizen’s Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California, Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri and in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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