Wolford wins Glendale, Murphy remains atop standings for Toughest Cowboy Ranch

GLENDALE, Ariz. – The 2008 World’s Toughest Rodeo™ featuring Toughest Cowboy™ 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, sponsored by Wrangler, was matched against Trey Broussard, 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. Broussard finished with a 77-point ride, 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 Ranch. I hope to be standing in the winner’s circle again next week.”

Bandy Murphy, held on to his lead for the Toughest Cowboy 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 Clovis Crane. 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, 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, picked up three more wins in Glendale to move to within one win of Murphy for the title and the deed to Toughest Cowboy Ranch. Tsosie, who is sponsored by B&W Trailer Hitches, was matched against Super Clean’s Chad Eubank. Tsosie won the match 3-1 picking up wins in the barback riding, bull riding and overall points.

Shane Proctor, 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. 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. 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, sponsored by Polaris, was matched against Jared Green. Green won the bareback riding after posting an event high 86-point ride. Schumacher finished with a 78-point ride. 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 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 Ranch with five wins.

Tournament 3 Results
Glendale, Ariz.

Match 1
Clovis Crane vs. Bandy Murphy – 1 wins to 3 wins; 207 points to 224 points; series wins Crane (4), Murphy (10)

Match 2
Trey Broussard vs. Erik Wolford – 0 wins to 4 wins; 204 points to 244; series wins Broussard (4), Wolford (8)

Match 3
Jared Green vs. B.J. Schumacher – 1 wins to 3 wins; 99 points to 225 points on three head; series wins Green (6), Schumacher (8)

Match 4
Logan Hodson vs. Shane Proctor – 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 vs. Nelson Tsosie – 1 win to 3 wins; 155 points to 184 points on three head; series wins Eubank (4), Tsosie (9)

Non-televised Alternate Match-up
Danny Ward vs. Dusty Elkinton (replacing the injured Wade Sundell) - 0 wins to 4 wins; 117 points to 219 points on three head

Glendale winner: Erik Wolford
Toughest Cowboy 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.