Toughest Cowboy
Toughest Cowboy presented by Jagermeister
News Release
Contact: Ann Bleiker 719-226-2009 (office)/719-330-4293 (cell)
January 7, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2008 Toughest Cowboy Champion to win deed to Jager Ranch
DENVER - The 2008 World's Toughest Rodeo featuring Toughest Cowboy presented by Jägermeister will feature 12 cowboys from New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Iowa, Louisiana, Wisconsin and even Canada, competing for the Toughest Cowboy ™ Championship, but more notably for the deed to Jäger Ranch located in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.
Toughest Cowboy presented by Jagermeister is revolutionizing the sport of rodeo by introducing an exciting and innovative format to audiences across the United States. Competitors in Toughest Cowboy are the only cowboys in the world riding two broncs and a bull in one night. 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.
Among the field of competitors this year is Bandy Murphy of Weatherford, Okla., who won the first ever Toughest Cowboy title in 2007. Murphy, who is sponsored by The Home Depot, is back to defend his title and hopes to take over ownership of the ranch at the end of the nine-stop Tour. One of the cowboys trying to knock Murphy off the top is 2006 PRCA World Champion Bull Rider B.J. Schumacher of Hillsboro, Wis. Schumacher, who is sponsored by Polaris, is best known as a bull rider but before joining the professional ranks he was a National High School Finals Rodeo bareback riding champion and reserve all-around champion in 1999.
"I am really excited about the 2008 Toughest Cowboy series and a chance to win the Jäger ranch at the end of the season," said Schumacher of his new competition venture. "Most people know me as a bull rider but I am looking forward to competing in all three events with a chance to win a piece of America."
Those that are returning to the Tour from 2007 include Trey Broussard, Estherwood, La., who finished second to Murphy in 2007 (sponsor Dodge); Clovis Crane of Lebanon, Pa. (sponsor Jägermeister); Chad Eubank, Cleburne, Texas (sponsor Super Clean); Nelson Tsosie, Farmington, N.M. (sponsor B&W Trailer Hitches); and Erik Wolford, Clinton, Mich. (sponsor Wrangler). On the Tour for the first time are Jared Green, Socorro, N.M.; Logan Hodson, Telkwa, British Columbia; Shane Proctor, Powell, Wyo. (sponsor Red Creek Land); Wade Sundell, Boxholm, Iowa; and Danny Ward, Mabank, Texas.
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. Red Creek Land, a wholesale land company in Pueblo, Colo., which specializes in purchasing, developing and marketing large acreage, assisted in securing the ranchland. Red Creek Land was incorporated in 1994 and since that time has marketed over 100,000 acres of land. They are also a sponsor of Shane Proctor on the Toughest Cowboy Tour.
Fans can watch each exciting episode of Toughest Cowboy weekly on Fox Sports Network (FSN) in primetime (day and time depend on each affiliate) and at midnight every Saturday. Each show will take fans into the heart of the action to savor the triumph, suffer the anguish and share the intensity of the ultimate challenge that is Toughest Cowboy.
For more information on this rodeo revolution visit www.toughestcowboy.com .
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.
www.toughestcowboy.com
www.prorodeotour.com
www.bullsandbroncs.com
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.
www.aegworldwide.com
www.toughestcowboy.com
