Ty Murray makes it to Dancing with the Stars semifinal

Last week, judge Len Goodman told Ty Murray that it was time for the cowboy to “hit the trail.”

A week later, the 39-year-old King of the Cowboys stood with his partner Chelsie Hightower as all three judges – Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Len Goodman – talked of his genuine charm, commitment to the show and just how far he’s come as dancer.

The assumption was that Murray was about to become the ninth celebrity to be eliminated from the hit ABC series “Dancing with the Stars.”

Moments later, a stunned studio audience took a collective gasp when they found out it was Lil’ Kim and Derek Hough who had been eliminated.

And today, Murray’s improbable journey begins its tenth week.

“I think people have underestimated the cowboy nation,” wrote Murray, in a daily blog he posted shortly after completing the press line, after Tuesday night’s live show.

Murray and Hightower are among just four couples remaining, and are just two dances – Viennese Waltz and Samba – and one more elimination episode away from qualifying for the series finale.

It was the second week in a row in which the couple to be eliminated was not the same couple who scored the lowest amount of points from the judges.

Last week, Chuck Wicks and his partner Julianna Hough were sent home in spite of Melissa Rycroft’s low scores, which were largely because of three broken ribs.

Nevertheless, the Wicks and Hough elimination was far less surprising (or as those involved with the series would say, “shocking”) than Murray’s ability to overcome the adversity of competing in something that is further out of his element than he’s ever been.

But with each passing week, it becomes clearer to everyone that Murray, whom Goodman referred to as “fascinating,” is gaining the support of an ever-growing fan base.

“What's amazing with this show is that all the couples have a team behind them in America,” wrote Murray, “and nobody knows how big their team is or where they stand, but obviously the cowboy army must be pretty big because it's pretty obvious that I'm not the best dancer.”

Adding to yesterday’s celebration was the fact that Murray’s wife Jewel, originally scheduled to compete on the show until she bowed out with a leg injury, released her latest album, “Lullaby.”

And so begins yet another week featuring a full schedule for the celebrity couple who have yet to “hit the trail.”

Murray and Hightower begin another week of long practices and dress rehearsals. On Friday night, Jewel will perform on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” which is the same day Murray is expected to be part of a cover spread for “TV Guide.”

“Not only have we put a lot of work into this,” Murray concluded, “but I think the cowboy army has put a lot of work into it too, so we'll bear down and see how far this goes.”

The other remaining celebrities include Shawn Johnson, Gilles Marini and Melissa Rycroft.

You can tune in to ABC on Monday night at 8 p.m. ET to watch Murray and Hightower perform. The results show will air Tuesday night beginning at 9 p.m. ET.

You can vote every Monday night for Murray and Hightower by calling 800-VOTE4-08 or texting “vote” to 3408. For complete details outlining the rules for the voting process, please log onto: http://abc.go.com/primetime/dancingwiththestars/index?pn=aboutthevote.

To keep up with Murray’s daily blog chronicling his once-in-a-lifetime experience on “Dancing with the Stars,” log onto: www.pbrnow.com/blog/index.cfm/ty-murray.

—by Keith Ryan Cartwright