MOORESVILLE, N.C. - "I did a lot of cowboy rehab digging post holes, putting up a lot of fence," said Shane Proctor, who will return to the Built Ford Tough Series this weekend after missing the first nine events of the season following surgery on a broken free arm.

Coming off his most successful season since turning pro - he finished a career-best ninth in the PBR and won a PRCA world title - Proctor will compete this weekend at the Last Cowboy Standing in Detroit.

'I feel like I'm in good shape to ride, and I just have to go and be able to compete.'

The Ford Field event is the fourth and final Stadium Tour stop.

"I'm working every day to get better and improve to the best of my ability," said Proctor, who estimated he's at 65 percent and still has a lot of work ahead of him.

"I feel like I'm in good shape to ride, and I just have to go and be able to compete."

Shane Proctor may have gotten on more bulls than anyone else in the world last year, competing in both the PBR and PRCA.

In 2011, Proctor finished first in San Antonio, going four-for-four while winning Round 2 and tying for first in Round 3. By the end of the year, he ranked seventh in riding percentage (45.33 percent), 10th in bulls ridden (34) and tied for sixth in round wins with five. He had a career-best 11 Top 10 finishes and tied his career high with four Top 5 finishes.

Proctor has improved his standings every year since debuting in the PBR. In 2011, he finished a career-best ninth in the world, despite being unable to compete in the final four regular-season events. The groin injury he suffered in Springfield, Mo., in September forced him out of competition after two rounds at the World Finals.

'I just have to keep working on waking my muscles up to where they'll react to what I want them to do.'

During the summer break from the BFTS, he won both the Calgary Stampede and the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo en route to winning the PRCA world title. It was at the National Finals Rodeo that he broke his free arm.

"I just have to keep working on waking my muscles up to where they'll react to what I want them to do, instead of making them do what I want them to do," said Proctor, who has ridden three of six bulls at pro rodeos in the past two weeks.

"I have to wear a brace now, and it's still a lot of getting used to."

He explained that he's relearning to control his free arm after experiencing muscle loss during the recovery process.

A groin injury suffered in Springfield, Mo., last September affected the home stretch of 2011 for Proctor, but it was a broken arm that has kept him out of action so far this season.

Proctor said his free arm plays a key role in his riding style, and that's important for him to keep his elbow down in order to successfully ride bulls on a consistent basis.

"For me, once I get it behind my vision point, I'm definitely getting bucked off," he said, "so I really have to keep it in front of me and keep control of it."

Proctor said he's been looking forward to his return to the BFTS, but he has employed a strategy in identifying his return date.

The PBR is finishing up a series of one-day stadium events, and with five BFTS events to ride his way back into the Top 25 - currently he'll need to make up 959.5 points - Proctor wanted to compete at multi-day events to give himself the best opportunity.

'All the strategy in the world isn't going to help you if you don't stay on.'

He'll compete in Detroit this week and then again in Albuquerque, N.M. Next week, he'll pass on competing in Glendale, Ariz., and will be at RodeoHouston, which is sanctioned by the PBR. In Houston, he'll be vying for a $50,000 payday and another $25,000 payout at the shootout.

The money from both events counts toward the Touring Pro Division standings as well as the qualifier standings for the World Finals.

"There's a lot of strategy to doing that," Proctor said. "I want my last event to be at the end of a cut. That way, guys don't have an opportunity to catch me without me being able to defend it.

"I'll just do my best to work my way back on tour. I have to go, stay on bulls and get points. In the end, that's all that matters. All the strategy in the world isn't going to help you if you don't stay on."

"I'm going to go and try to do my best week-in and week-out," he continued, "and that's all I can ask for."

WATCH LAST COWBOY STANDING next Saturday at 9 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network. The event, including the opening Big & Rich concert, will be live streamed at PBR.com/live beginning at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday. Tickets are available at www.TicketMaster.com and start at just $10.