February 3, 2010

Winter showcase pits Toughest Cowboy veterans against top new talent.

It was bitter cold in the Twin Cities when the World’s Toughest Rodeo dropped three million pounds of dirt on the floor of the Xcel Energy Center. A great crowd as always was eager to see their favorite Toughest Cowboy stars return for the showcase event.

The field of competitors included two-time and reigning Toughest Cowboy Champion, Bandy Murphy; 2009 finalist Charlie Barker; 2007 and 2008 finalist Erik Wolford; 2007 and 2008 Runner-up Trey Broussard; 2008 and 2009 competitor Dusty Elkinton. Their were other familiar faces from years past including; 2008 Toughest Cowboy competitors Logan Hodson and Trey Bissett. Also vying for a shot at a spot on the Toughest Cowboy TV broadcast were newcomers Cimmaron Gerke, Dustin Lara, and Aaron Lide.

Tournament 1 – Friday, January 29

Bareback Bronc Round
Always a brutal challenge, the bareback bronc round tested the field right out of the chute. Bandy Murphy draws a great horse and seems to have not missed a step as he bucks his way to a solid 84 points.

Charlie Barker grabs hold of a nasty little horse that does everything it can to pitch him off, but the strong Northwestern cowboy wins out and notches 85 points.

Erik Wolford get lose in his rigging and gets dumped short of the whistle for only 72 points. Newcomer and 5-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (WNFR) qualifier Cimmaron Gerke shows he’s no one to mess with as he racks up 76 points, as does Toughest Cowboy veteran Trey Bissett. After one round Charlie Barker is in the lead, but there’s a lot of rodeo left.

Saddle Bronc Round
The saddle bronc horses clearly won the contest of man vs. beast this night. These were some of the toughest broncs seen in the Toughest Cowboy competition to date, as the scores reflected. It did, however, make for some great wrecks. The best coming from the ever-acrobatic Erik Wolford, who flew off over the handlebars and tucked and rolled his way to only 57 points.

Bandy Murphy suffers a rare buck off as the horse leap from the chutes and then bucked right back against the gate forcing Murphy to eject well before the buzzer for only 14 points.

Aaron Lide and Logan Hodson turned in qualified rides with a 76 and 72 respectfully. But, the top performer in the round was again Charlie Barker, with an impressive 80-point ride.

Bull Riding Round
The bulls are equally as menacing as the bucking horses this night. These bulls take their toll on the cowboys as well as the bullfighters. More than one takes a run at the cowboy protectors, and launched them into the air as they step in to distract these 1-ton leather tornadoes.

Bandy Murphy starts it off and covers his bull, but only racks up 70 points. Both Logan Hodson and Charlie Barker look to make the buzzer, but get bucked off right before they make it the full 8-seconds.

The high point ride of the night belonged to Texas A&M student and 2009 College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) qualifier, Aaron Lide. Lide bucks his way to a respectful 75-point ride.

Lide’s ride brings him close the win, but Charlie Barker’s strength in the two bronc riding events give him a 12 point advantage over the newcomer and secures the tournament victory.

Tournament 1 Summary – Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN

Tournament  Winner: Charlie Barker, 226 points
 
Overall Results: 1. Charlie Barker, 226 points; 2. Aaron Lide, 214 points; 3. Logan Hodson, 203 points; 4. Dusty Elkinton, 188 points; 5. Erik Wolford, 176 points; 6. Cimmaron Gerke, 176 points; 7. Trey Boussard, Bandy Murphy (Tie), 168 points; 9. Dustin Lara, 130 points; 10. Trey Bissett, 100 points


Tournament 2 – Saturday, January 30

Bareback Bronc Round
In the first three years of the Toughest Cowboy competiton, Trey Broussard has grabbed a victory in St. Paul each year. After finishing in the middle of the pack on Friday night, he seems determined to rise to the top in Saturday’s tournament to keep the streak going. As he begins the bareback riding it looks like he might do just that. At the end of his ride, Broussard ends up crashed into the fence, but pops up with his hands in the air and crowd gives him a much appreciated round of applause for his 80-point effort.

Next up is the tournament 1 winner, Charlie Barker. Barker draws another rank horse and can’t keep the rigging this time as he crashes to ground and comes up holding his right shoulder. Barker gathers only 50 points, but main concern is can he continue to compete?

Cimmaron Gerke shows his WNFR bareback riding prowess as he records 81 points and Bandy Murphy gets down to business and throws up an 83. Canadian-native Logan Hodson continues his push towards the top of the leader board with a solid 76-point ride and newcomer Aaron Lide stay right behind him with 75 points.

Saddle Bronc Round
After a bad showing in the bareback round, Erik Wolford turns in a tremendous effort in the saddle bronc riding. Wolford has a knack for making saddle bronc riding an absolute cliffhanger every time he nods his head—but this ride was truly one for the highlight reel.

The horse bucks and jumps its way right into the fence about half way through the ride. One would have thought either the horse or Wolford, or both were going right into the stands. But, the Michigan cowboy will not be denied. He hangs on for remainder of the ride and tops the scoreboard with an impressive 83 points.

After Wolford’s ride it seems, no one can compare. But, both Bandy Murphy and Trey Broussard capture 76 points, and after two rounds are 1st and 2nd on the leaderboard. Charlie Barker re-appears after his nasty fall in the bareback riding, but loses his grip early for a dismal 19 points.

Bull Riding Round
After two rounds there’s a logjam on the leaderboard. The winner of this tournament will be decided in the bull riding. First up is Colorado cowboy, Cimmaron Gerke. Gerke puts the spurs to a big eliminator bull and rides him for the full 8-seconds capturing 75 points and the tournament lead.

Trey Broussard, currently in second place; needs a full ride to stay in contention for the win. The ride begins well but ends up short of the whistle and Broussard notches only 50 points. However, those points are enough to grab the lead away from Gerke.

Logan Hodson, who had to bow out of the 2009 Toughest Cowboy try outs due to a broken leg, gets to a good start and then the bull falls, pinning Hodson’s previously broken leg under his 1-ton frame. The bull quickly gets to his feet and Hodson limps off with the help of the bullfighters. Hodson manages 68 points in the bull riding and tallies a three-event total of 206, tying Trey Broussard for the lead.

Father-to-be, Bandy Murphy needs only 47 points to take the lead, and potentially the win. Murphy has an uncharacteristic buck off and totals only 27 points; while Charlie Barker shows no ill effect from his previous meeting with the ground and covers his bull for 74 points. However, it is not enough to capture the lead.

Erik Wolford still has a chance at victory, and needs only 59 points to clinch it. Again, the human highlight reel puts on a show. About 6 seconds into the ride, Wolford rolls off the back of the bull and gets hung up in the bull rope. The bull continues to spin, throwing horns at Wolford and the bullfighters. The bull turns his attention to the bullfighters and pitches one of them across the arena.

Now the barrel man and gatemen are running to Wolford’s aid, just as they get to him, his rope let’s loss and Wolford takes a free ride into the fence. Battered, but not beaten, Wolford arises from the spinning mess with 67 points, and the tournament victory.

Tournament 2 Summary – Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN

Tournament  Winner: Erik Wolford, 215 points

Overall Results: 1. Charlie Barker, 215 points; 2. Trey Broussard, Logan Hodson (tie), 206 points; 4. Cimmaron Gerke, 193 points; 5. Bandy Murphy, 186 points; 6. Aaron Lide, 162 points; 7. Dusty Elkinton, 159 points; 8. Charlie Barker, 143 points; 9. Trey Bissett, 129 points; 10. Dustin Lara, 115 points