LAS VEGAS – Shane Proctor is a bull rider to watch next month when the 2016 PBR Built Ford Tough Series kicks off in Chicago.
The Grand Coulee, Washington, cowboy will arrive in “The Windy City” riding a wave of momentum after finishing strong at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. Proctor, the 2011 PRCA champion, covered three of his final four bulls en route to a third-place average finish that propelled him to third in the final PRCA standings once the dust settled.
Proctor rebounded from a 0-for-5 blanking at the PBR Built Ford Tough World Finals in late October to ride 5-of-10 at the Thomas & Mack Center for a total pay day of $113,385. That triple-digit haul – $43,154 of which came from his average check – allowed Proctor to finish third in the world with $202,398, behind only 2015 PRCA champion Sage Kimzey ($327,178) and Cody Teel ($278,749).
“It felt good to finish it off strong,” Proctor said. “I usually finish stronger than I start, and once you get comfortable at this arena, it’s so much fun to ride here. I wish we had another 10 days here, because I don’t feel sore at all and feel great.
“Third in the average – that’s tied for the highest I’ve ever placed in the (NFR) average.”
Proctor finished with 413.5 points on five rides, capped off with a second-place finish in Round 10 after sticking 86.5 points on Karaoke. He took second in the opening round (81.5 points on No Regrets) before hitting the dirt three consecutive times.
After a 77-pointer on Mr. Buddy in Round 5, Proctor was back at the pay window again. He bucked off Brutus in the sixth round before taking third with 86 points on Chucky in the following round.
His final buckoff came at the hands of Moose Jaw in Round 8 before going back-to-back in the closing two rounds. An 82.5-point effort aboard Red Bone in Round 9 put more money in Proctor’s pocket, and he was then able to close the 10-day extravaganza with another 8-second ride.
This was Proctor’s third time qualifying for both season-ending finales, an accomplishment he does not take lightly.
“I take pride in qualifying for both Finals,” he said. “I take pride in riding for the PBR, and I take pride riding for the PRCA. To qualify for both Finals, it means a lot to me.”
Proctor admits his Las Vegas experience this time around will help erase the memories from October.
“This is good redemption,” he said. “I rode 50 percent of my bulls, which is a lot more than I rode at the PBR Finals. It is good motivation for the new year.”
Primed and focused, the 2016 Built Ford Tough Series can’t come soon enough for Proctor.
“(The NFR) is good motivation and will be good for me when we start off with the PBR in three weeks,” Proctor said. “I feel excited. I’m ready to go again.
“I feel like I’m in good shape, and there’s just something about Vegas that just makes you crave getting on even more.”
With his surgically repaired shoulders feeling strong and everything clicking, Proctor is bullish about the future.
“I still have higher goals and high expectations, and we’ll just keep working on it for next year,” he said. “I got on over 170 bulls this year, and we’ll just keep doing it again. I want to just keep pushing it for as long as I can.”
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