February 20, 2008

Broussard picks up big win in the Twin Cities, Murphy remains atop the standings for the Toughest Cowboy Ranch

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Xcel Energy Center in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul was the featured venue for the seventh stop on the 2008 World’s Toughest Rodeo™ Tour featuring Toughest Cowboy™. Eight cowboys took center stage in front of the near capacity crowd competing in the ironmen of rodeo competition. Each competitor was jockeying for position and their respective seeding heading into the Playoffs next week in Nashville, Tenn.

Dodge sponsored cowboy Trey Broussard needed a big win in St. Paul to keep his hopes alive for a shot at the Ranch. Broussard of Estherwood, La., was matched against Jared Green of Socorro, N.M. Both cowboys were coming off disappointing performances in tournament six, so it was really anyone’s game. Broussard jumped out to an early lead with a win in the bareback riding after posting a score of 82 points, his highest score of the season. Broussard continued his winning ways in the saddle bronc riding with another impressive 84-point ride, while Green continued to struggle in St. Paul falling well short of the 84 mark posted by the Louisiana cowboy.

Broussard definitely had the momentum going into the final event of bull riding and he easily captured the win with an event high 86-point ride. With the win, Broussard swept the match and tallied 252 total points outdistancing the rest of the field.

“I drew really well tonight and I took advantage of that,” Broussard said. “The last couple tournaments were less than stellar and I knew I was better than that and I needed to redeem myself. It was huge to get a big win like this heading into the Playoffs and I hope I can keep it rolling.”

The 2007 Toughest Cowboy Champion Bandy Murphy has been the cowboy to beat all season and although he won his match against Erik Wolford he fell short of Broussard’s performance. Murphy edged Wolford by three points in the bareback riding after scoring an event high 83 points. However, it was Wolford who picked up the “W” in the saddle bronc riding after posting an event high 86 points compared to Murphy’s 79.

Tied 1-1 heading into the final event of bull riding it was looking like the champ might suffer his first loss of the season. Instead, Murphy proved why he is the champion defeating Wolford by 41 points and finishing the tournament in second place.

The big story of the night was the return of Chad Eubank of Cleburne, Texas. After being eliminated from the competition after tournament four in Greensboro, N.C., the Super Clean cowboy got back on the Tour after B.J. Schumacher was injured in tournament six. Eubank didn’t draw an easy competitor in Shane Proctor for his return but that didn’t deter the veteran.

Eubank got the first “W” after edging the Red Creek Land cowboy by one point in the bareback riding. Eubank spurred his horse for 81 points and entered the saddle bronc riding with a little momentum. However, Proctor answered and outscored Eubank by 30 points to get the win in the saddle bronc riding event. The match was tied 1-1 heading into the bull riding event, which happens to be both of these cowboys signature event, so it was setting up to be a showdown. Proctor road first and despite a less than stellar ride the judges awarded him with a 72-point ride. Fortunately for Proctor, Eubank didn’t ride to his full potential either and finished with a 63 giving Proctor another win and the overall match title. In fact, Proctor finished behind Broussard and Murphy in the overall standings for tournament seven and remained in second place in the overall series standings behind Murphy.

Tournament 7 Results
St. Paul, MN

Match 1
Erik Wolford vs. Bandy Murphy – 1 win to 3 wins; 198 points to 235 points; Wolford (18), Murphy (23)

Match 2
Shane Proctor vs. Chad Eubank – 3 wins to 1 win; 229 points to 188 points; Proctor (21), Eubank (5)

Match 3
Clovis Crane vs. Nelson Tsosie – 3 wins to 1 win; 169 points to 162 points; Crane (12), Tsosie (15)

Match 4
Trey Broussard vs. Jared Green – 4 wins to 0 wins; 252 points to 129 points; Broussard (13), Green (10)

Non-televised Alternate Match-ups
Logan Hodson vs. Bye* – 4 wins to 0 wins; 177 points to 0 points
Dusty Elkinton vs. Danny Ward – 4 wins to 0 wins; 171 points to 108 points
*Bye due to injury to Schumacher in Tournament 6 and Eubank re-entering the qualification competition

Tournament 7 winner: Trey Broussard
Toughest Cowboy Ranch leader: Bandy Murphy

Overall standings from Tournament 7:
1. Trey Broussard, 4 wins, 252 total points; 2. Bandy Murphy, 3 wins, 235 points; 3. Shane Proctor, 3 wins, 229 points; 4. Clovis Crane, 3 wins, 169 points; 5. Erik Wolford, 1 win, 198 points; 6. Chad Eubank, 1 win, 188 points; 7. Nelson Tsosie, 1 win, 162 points; 8. Jared Green, 0 wins, 129 points.

Overall standings after St. Paul – tournament 7 (standings based on wins and then total points):
1. Bandy Murphy, 23 wins, 1654 total points; 2. Shane Proctor, 21 wins, 1557 points; 3. Erik Wolford, 18 wins, 1466 total points; 4. Nelson Tsosie, 15 wins, 1263 total points; 5. Trey Broussard, 13 wins, 1357 total points; 6. Clovis Crane, 11 wins, 1304 total points; 7. Jared Green, 10 wins, 1085 total points; 8. Chad Eubank, 5 wins, 892 points.