East Coast Calf Ropers: Tori and Robbie Murdock

Introduction to the Sport

Tori and Robbie Murdock are a North Carolina calf roping power couple whose dedication to quality competition, advocacy, and community education is well known along the East Coast.

Respectively from Villanow, Georgia, and Statesville, North Carolina, they make their home together in Statesville but spend plenty of time burning up the rodeo road as competitors in the Southern Rodeo Association (SRA) and the International Pro Rodeo Association (IPRA).

Growing up in Georgia, Tori was raised by parents who grew up in the country and enjoyed horses. Her dad trail rode a little and her mom would barrel race in fun shows. Tori started out by taking lessons at an English barn and did some jumping.

After a while, Tori shifted her focus to the western world. When she entered her fourth-grade year, she met her teacher Emma Chapman, daughter of calf roper Steve Chapman, and her life was transformed as she dove headfirst into rodeo with the allure of swinging a rope.

While in high school she continued competing in pole bending, goat tying, breakaway roping, and heeling. She even took the title of Georgia Junior High School Rodeo Association State Barrel Racing Champion in 2011 on her little sorrel mare Missy, with the coaching of Cathy Pharr. Yet her main love then and now has stayed the same: breakaway roping.

Her husband Robbie grew up with horses although his parents didn’t rodeo. But when the local junior rodeo came to town, his dad asked him if he wanted to compete, and Robbie decided to give it a try the next time it came to town. He began chute dogging and competed for half a season before switching to team roping. He loved roping and competed as a header throughout junior and high school rodeo but began to have a hard time finding partners who were a good long-term roping fit. So he switched to calf roping and never looked back.

Present Day Focus

Today, the duo competes in mainly co-sanctioned SRA and IPRA rodeos but also travels the country to a few larger jackpots and special events. Tori works with the World Champions Rodeo Alliance (WCRA) as an Athlete Services Rep. In this role, she helps athletes manage their rodeo schedules and earn points.

The WCRA hosted the first annual Rodeo Carolina event in Tryon, NC this past October, allowing athletes to qualify for that major event by nominating local SRA/IPRA rodeos, which provides greater opportunities with less travel time.

When not competing, practicing, or working for the WCRA, Tori puts on breakaway clinics with Robbie’s support and help. She truly loves teaching and believes that few people understand that rodeo is not something that falls into place and stays that way—but is rather something filled with ups and downs, that demands not only a good horse but the grit and will to always keep trying and learning no matter what the level because of the many moving parts in rodeo.

Robbie is a farrier and also has a hidden talent as a bit maker, always looking to create something better for his horse. He’s at the stage in his career where he worries less about his roping and knows he will be alright if his horse works well. His attention to his horses shows in their performance and both Robbie and Tori feel they learn something new each time they enter.

Horse Power

The Murdocks feel grateful to have had some nice equine partners on their journey and are just getting started with some new ones as well. They had a great breakaway horse named Hide that they trained together and just sold last May. They also have Mobster, a little bay horse with a roach mane who is honest and quick. Mobster was purchased from Landon and Cadee Williams. The final part of their string is made up of a dun horse named Fritz that they bought from Grace Toberer.

East Coast Competition

Tori and Robbie have been excited to see opportunities growing on the East Coast, but still see the differences in competition opportunities such as the lack of jackpots and weeknight ropings. In addition, the majority of the ropings on the East Coast have the same setup—the crowd is right there on top of you, the barriers are short, and the rodeos are fast.

However, they both feel this is continuing to evolve, especially in the breakaway. A few jackpots have popped up for breakaway ropers, including one Tori recently attended that paid $12,000 if you won the average.

Robbie hasn’t seen as much growth in the tie-down roping and says there are more rodeos than there are competitors to fill them.

Favorite Ropes

Tori loves the Striker made by Rattler ropes. She feels the rope has a lot of body and good tip weight. She previously struggled with having to go up a size for better tip weight and then the rope felt too big in her hand but with the Striker, she found the balance of it feeling good in her hand, with the proper weight. Plus, it stays open even during fast swings.

Robbie appreciates grass ropes, preserving a long-time cowboy tradition. While he may occasionally practice with a poly rope (preferably from King ropes), he always competes with a grass rope. His grass ropes are either Webb or King ropes, and he feels both provide a great feel.

Mental Game

Robbie has a steady mental game with his laidback approach of trusting his horses to work and then showing up and doing his job. He grows mentally every year by reflecting on different instances and never letting the highs get too high or the lows get too low.

Tori feels like a turning point came for her in 2022. She was riding her horse Hide in the Southern Rodeo Association (SRA) finals. They had been winning and Hide was working great, but she didn’t do her job, not knowing how to handle the pressure, and ended up second that year. She’s learned how personal developing your mental game can be and finds a variety of factors helpful. Her husband Robbie and his influence are paramount, as well as hearing pros talk about their ups and downs on Jordan Jo Hollabaugh’s “In the Loop” Podcast. She also enjoyed the book “Heart of a Champion” by Donene Taylor.

Favorite Rodeo Moments

The previous year was tough for Robbie, especially when it came to horsework. As he got ready for the last rodeo of the year, he knew his only opportunity to make finals was to win first at this rodeo—but his horse wasn’t working very well. His friend stepped up and offered his horse for Robbie to compete off of at that rodeo. Everyone was on eggshells waiting to see how Robbie’s run would go, but Robbie just knew it would either happen or not. He did his job, made a good run, and secured his spot at the SRA Finals (Southern Rodeo Association).

Tori’s moment came as she was preparing for the Women’s Rodeo World Championship in Ft. Worth, Texas. She’d won great money on her horse Hide and decided to put him up for sale, thinking some folks in Texas would be interested. As interest began pouring in, she received a call from a friend in Missouri she sold another horse, Judge, several years prior. She stated Judge was great, but she had outgrown him and was ready for a step up and wanted Hide. Tori told her they were about to leave for Texas and if she wanted Hide she’d have to hop in the truck then and come on and get him. They did just that, and through a partial trade, Hide went home to Missouri and Judge came back to NC with the Murdocks. At the time of his arrival, Judge hadn’t been ridden in six months by anyone and Tori hadn’t ridden him in six years. But she hauled him to Ft. Worth, competed on him, and made the semifinals—a testament to the horses she and Robbie have shaped.

Looking Forward

With their shared commitment to their craft and to building up the sport for others, Tori and Robbie have a bright future ahead on the East Coast and beyond. Follow their competition journey and keep an eye out for clinics, lessons, horses for sale, and potentially some handmade bits from Robbie in the future!