Toughest Cowboy is an American rodeo competition-based reality television program that follows twelve professional cowboys as they compete in three roughstock rodeo events — bareback bronc riding, saddle bronc riding, and bull riding in effort to win the Toughest Cowboy championship and the grand prize of a ranch in the American West. Originally created by Jac Sperling and Tommy Joe Lucia, Toughest Cowboy is a combination of athletic competition and personal retrospectives creating a new genre of television, known as “sports drama.” The first broadcast aired April 8, 2007 on the Fox Sports Network (FSN). In 2009, Mark Burnett signed on to produce the series for Spike TV. Whiskey Falls composed the theme song.
The show follows a group of twelve professional rodeo cowboys through a series of live rodeo tournaments in which they must ride three different disciplines, whereas in most rodeo competitions, competitors ride in one specific discipline or event. This all-around competition adds a significantly higher likelihood of injury. Each week a competitor is eliminated from the competition, until the final four competitors remain. These four final cowboys must ride a total of six animals each (two bareback broncs, two saddle broncs, two bulls) during the championship tournament. Throughout the championship round each competitor amasses total ride points, the cowboy with the most total points at the conclusion of the finals is awarded the series championship and grand prize ranch.
Toughest Cowboy also uses a modified point system based on the standard 8-second qualified ride from traditional rodeo. Rather than scoring a “0” for any ride shorted than eight seconds, Toughest Cowboy competitors are delivered penalty points for the 1/10 of seconds they are short of the full ride mark. Each 1/10 of a second is equal to 1 point. This eliminates the chance of a 0-0 tie between competitors.
In addition to the athletic competition, the broadcast include segments outside of the rodeo arena. These segments give background on the competitor’s lives, most of which include visits to their homes. There are also interviews conducted during the live competition to provide an inside look at the cowboys thoughts during the tournament.
Read more about Toughest Cowboy: Format and Rules, Toughest Cowboy Seasons
Famous quotes containing the words toughest and/or cowboy:
“You can forget what I said about buying the gun. You’re a tenderfoot. Liberty Valance’s the toughest man south of the Picket Wire—next to me.”
—Willis Goldbeck (1900–1979)
“During the cattle drives, Texas cowboy music came into national significance. Its practical purpose is well known—it was used primarily to keep the herds quiet at night, for often a ballad sung loudly and continuously enough might prevent a stampede. However, the cowboy also sang because he liked to sing.... In this music of the range and trail is “the grayness of the prairies, the mournful minor note of a Texas norther, and a rhythm that fits the gait of the cowboy’s pony.””
—Administration in the State of Texa, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)