08.19.11 - Press Releases
Proctor leads through Day 1 in San Antonio
Don't miss the action Saturday on VERSUS at 8:00 p.m. ET.
By PBR
Shane Proctor has gotten on more bulls this year than in any other season since turning pro.
The 26-year-old Washington native, who now makes his home in North Carolina, has been pulling double-duty this year. He’s competing at Built Ford Tough Series events on the weekends, and traveling to pro rodeos during the week. During the summer break from the BFTS, he competed in and won both the Calgary Stampede and the Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo.
But Friday’s round win, his best opening day at a BFTS event since he finished second in Glendale, Ariz., in March, was set up in a practice pen.
“I started looking at this as a job rather than having fun,” he said. “You know there’s a lot of pressure every time you show up to a Built Ford Tough Series event, and it’s been real hard, because you’re riding against the Top 40 riders week-in and week-out.
“We went and got on a practice bull (Thursday) and made it fun. We had a little retro eighties action going on and it was a fun time. … It reminded me of why I was riding bulls in the first place.”
Shane Proctor came out on top in Friday night’s short round at the Bass Pro Shops Chute Out, riding Hard Times for 86.75 points. He was the third and final rider to go 2-for-2 on opening night. Just moments earlier, Ryan Dirteater had ridden Black Pearl for 85.75 points to take the lead from Reese Cates.
Cates made the buzzer on Big Iron for 86.25 points.
The first-round leader, Josh Faircloth, bucked off his short-round bull, leaving Proctor to take the early lead. Guilherme Marchi rounded out the Top 5 with a qualified ride in the first round, an 86.25-point effort on Little Junior.
“I have 40 to pick from,” Proctor said of the bull draft for Round 3, “so I ought to find one that really fits my style. At least I don’t have to worry about finding one that I think I can get by on. I can find one that I know I can get by on.”
He did. Later in evening, Proctor chose Maverick, a bull he’s successfully ridden three out of three times.
Day 2 of the Bass Pro Shops Chute Out begins Saturday at 7:00 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available, and can be purchased at the AT&T Center box office or at www.Ticketmaster.com.
Each of the 40 riders will ride in Round 3 on Saturday. The riders with the 10 highest cumulative scores will advance to the Built Ford Tough Championship Round, where they will compete with one more bull. The event winner will be the rider with the highest combined score from all four rounds. Fans can catch all of the action from San Antonio on VERSUS, beginning at 8:00 p.m. ET, both Saturday and Sunday. Check local listings for details.
Round 3 and the championship round can also be heard live at the PBR’s Live Event Center.
Bass Pro Shops at 17907 IH-10 West in San Antonio will host PBR Fun Day on Saturday from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Family-friendly activities include stick-bull racing, bull roping, and mechanical bulls. PBR riders will sign autographs from 12:30-1:30 p.m. PBR in-arena announcer and experienced angler Clint Adkins will host a fishing seminar at 1 p.m., while Brandon Bates, an announcer for the PBR and host of “The Elk Chronicles” on the Outdoor Channel, will host a hunting seminar at 1:30 p.m.
San Antonio is the 23rd stop on the nationally-televised BFTS, which makes 29 stops in 23 states. The season began at world-famous Madison Square Garden in New York, and culminates Oct. 26-30 in Las Vegas at the richest bull riding event in the world, the PBR Built Ford Tough World Finals. The Finals is where the 2011 PBR World Champion will be crowned and awarded the $1 million Built Ford Tough bonus.
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About the Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR)
The PBR is the world’s premier bull riding organization. More than 100 million viewers annually watch over 400 hours of primetime PBR programming on VERSUS, NBC, CBS and networks around the world. The PBR has awarded over $100 million in prize money, and 20 riders have earned over $1 million, including Justin McBride with $5.5 million – the most of any western-sports athlete in history. The PBR was nominated as 2010 Sports League of the Year at the Sports Business Journal Sports Business Awards, alongside the National Football League, National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball. Nearly 2 million fans attend Built Ford Tough Series and Touring Pro Division events each year. For more information on the PBR, go to www.pbr.com, or follow on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TeamPBR and http://twitter.com/TEAMPBR.
Stats: Bass Pro Shops Chute Out, San Antonio (Aug. 19-20, 2011)
Professional Bull Riders
San Antonio - Event Leaders (Round 1- Event Points)