The last time Shane Proctor came to the Calgary Stampede, he was 2 years old, and the highlight of his trip was having his picture taken with the polar bear mascots for the 1988 Winter Olympics.
This time, he made history.
The 26-year-old Washington native, who now makes his home in Mooresville, N.C., covered Bombs Away for 91 points to claim the bull riding title in front of more than 22,000 fans on Sunday afternoon.
Proctor is the sixth consecutive PBR invitee to win the title and claim the $100,000 prize.
“This kind of beats it,” said Proctor of his previous Calgary experience, “but I’ll always have those memories.”
Proctor was one of five riders to cover their first round bulls Sunday in the sudden-death format. He was 88 points on Even Money and joined Cory Navarre, Tyler Thomson and Mike Lee, the 2008 Stampede winner, in the short round.
Lee finished second with a total of $30,000 in the six days he was in Calgary.
Earlier in the week, Proctor was 3-for-4 in Pool A, and made $8,500 in day-money to qualify for Sunday.
While Pool B was competing, Proctor went back down to the United States for a series of rodeo events.
In addition to being ranked eighth in the PBR world standings, Proctor is the top-ranked bull rider in the PRCA. He and his traveling partner Stormy Wing competed in Colorado and Wyoming this week.
Before leaving a rodeo in Estes Park, Colo., he and Wing had 45 minutes to spare in which Proctor found a van for sale on the Internet. In less than an hour’s time, he drove Wing’s car to the location, test drove the van around the block two times, and bought it for $6,600.
The two left Wing’s car behind and headed to Sheridan, Wyo., in the new van.
“It was actually a pretty good deal for 92,000 miles,” Proctor said, “and we have all sorts of room now.”
Proctor then left Wing, who is without a passport, at a hotel near the Canadian border in Great Falls, Mont., and continued back to Calgary.
“The bad problem for him is when he had to stay, he had a bunch of quarters and had to do all the laundry,” Proctor said.
After completing the media requests following his Stampede win, Proctor was told his bronze trophy was transported to the champions banquet, and that he didn’t need to worry about it.
He was more concerned about the oversized check that had been presented to him on stage.
He was told not worry, that the check would also be at held for him at the rodeo office.
“I’m just going to put the check in the van and sit there and look at it for awhile.” he said.
As for his winning ride, Proctor said he knew very little about the bull.
He had been told behind the chutes that Bombs Away was definitely the one on which he would have the best chance of winning. The bull has a tendency to jump out of the chute and turn back to the left.
This time he went right.
“I think I would have rode him that way,” Proctor said. “I was able to spur on him just a little bit there at the end.”
News & Notes
Bull Business: Japetto was named the top bull of the Stampede. However, Jason Davidson, the arena director for this year’s Stampede, said he thought Slash was the better bull, and the only difference was that Japetto had two outs to Slash’s one. “He’s getting the best North American riders to the ground,” said Davidson. Slash hasn’t been ridden in the past two years.
“He’s not easy to track,” Davidson said. “I do believe he was the better bull.”
Thomson, the top-ranked PBR Canada rider, drew Slash in Sunday’s short round for a chance win the $100,000. Thomson had the same bull last month as a bounty bull worth $20,000, but both times he’s bucked off.
Davidson, who works with PBR Livestock Director Cody Lambert, said that Slash will again be considered for this year’s PBR World Finals. “If Cody wants to bring the four top bulls from Canada, he’s the first one on my list,” he said.
PBR North: In addition to having several of its riders competing, the PBR was well represented at this year’s Stampede. Jesse Byrne was among the three bullfighters, Flint Rasmussen was on hand all 10 days, and Leah Garcia worked in the evening during the popular chuck wagon races. PBR CEO Jim Haworth made a trip to Calgary to wish the riders luck and to show Stampede officials his appreciation for including the PBR.
Pain and Paint: Several PBR riders were making their Stampede debuts this year, but not all of them had the best of luck.
Robson Palermo was injured after bucking off his first bull, and Ryan McConnel was suffering from migraine headaches on Saturday prior to the wild-card round. Not only was he unable to eat beforehand, but he also did not slap his face prior to nodding his head as he customarily does.
Austin Meier literally marked the occasion by getting a new tattoo on Friday evening. He filled his left forearm with the words “Faith, Hope and Love” and wrapped his wife Kristen’s name around the top of his left wrist. When they married, he tattooed a wedding band on his left ring finger.
Massive Masses: The cumulative attendance for this year’s Stampede was 1,174,697, an increase of 29,303 from a year ago.
Built Ford Tough Series: The Top 40 riders in the world will resume competing Friday, July 29, and Saturday, July 30, in Thackerville, Okla. The two-day event hearkens back to an older time with the WinStar World Casino Invitational being held outdoors. More information and tickets are available here.
— by Keith Ryan Cartwright
