Hail to the King, Brazile Wins Second Triple Crown

Trevor Brazile smiled from ear to ear, pumped his fist to the crowd and walked out of the Thomas & Mack Center arena with his second Triple Crown in four years. The Decatur, Texas, cowboy won the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo tie-down roping average and finished second with partner Patrick Smith in the team roping average to secure world titles in both events to go along with his record eighth all-around crown, which he clinched in Round 2. In front of a sold-out crowd of 17,683, Brazile won his first tie-down roping average and first team roping gold buckle en route to becoming just the third cowboy in PRCA history to become a multiple Triple Crown winner. He joined ProRodeo Hall of Famers Jim Shoulders (1956-58) and Everett Bowman (1935, 1937) with that distinction and became the first contestant in ProRodeo history to earn $500,000 in a single season with his $507,921. Brazile joined Bowman as the only cowboys to win Triple Crowns with two different event combinations, as his first trifecta came in the all-around, tie-down roping and steer roping four years ago. Brazile pocketed $211,509 at the Wrangler NFR, a PRCA record for the most money won at a single rodeo, and far more than the previous record of $149,099 he set in 2008. Because of those earnings, Brazile won the Wrangler NFR’s all-around title and also earned the inaugural Ram Top Gun Award – which included the keys to a 2011 Ram 3500...more