Shane Proctor (born March 24, 1985) is an American professional
rodeo
Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqu ...
cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the ''vaquero'' ...
. He is the 2011
Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association
The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) is the largest rodeo organization in the world. It sanctions events in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with members from said countries, as well as others. Its championship event is the N ...
(PRCA) world champion
bull rider
Bull riding is a rodeo sport that involves a rider getting on a bucking bull and attempting to stay mounted while the animal tries to buck off the rider.
American bull riding has been called "the most dangerous eight seconds in sports." To rec ...
.
Early life
Shane Proctor was born on March 24, 1985, in
Grand Coulee, Washington
Grand Coulee is a city in Grant County, Washington, United States. The population was 972 at the 2020 census.
History
Grand Coulee was officially incorporated on November 6, 1935. It is located above the Grand Coulee Dam and next to North Da ...
.
Personal life
He currently resides in
Delaware, Oklahoma
Delaware is a town in Nowata County, Oklahoma, United States. Its population was 267 at the 2020 census, a decline of 35.9% from the 417 recorded in 2010. whom he married in 2019. In his previous marriage, he was married to two-time
Professional Bull Riders
The Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR) is an international professional bull riding organization headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It is the largest bull riding league in the world, sanctioning hundreds of events every yea ...
Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association
The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) is the largest rodeo organization in the world. It sanctions events in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with members from said countries, as well as others. Its championship event is the N ...
. He also competed in the
Professional Bull Riders
The Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR) is an international professional bull riding organization headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It is the largest bull riding league in the world, sanctioning hundreds of events every yea ...
(PBR), as well as the now- now-defunct
Championship Bull Riding
Championship Bull Riding, Inc. (CBR) was a professional bull riding organization that was based in Weatherford, Texas, United States.
History
Stock contractor Terry Williams and Texas businessman Joel Logan founded Championship Bull Riding (CBR) ...
(CBR) circuit. He is the 2011 PRCA world champion bull rider, and has qualified for the PRCA's
National Finals Rodeo
The National Finals Rodeo (NFR) is the premier championship rodeo of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). It showcases the talents of the PRCA's top 15 money winners in the season for each event.
The NFR is held each year in the f ...
(NFR) six times (2011 to 2013, 2015 to 2016 and 2021) in bull riding and the PBR World Finals nine times (2006, 2008 to 2011, 2013, and 2015 to 2017). Apart from being a bull rider, he is also a bareback and saddle bronc rider.
Proctor made his debut on the PBR's elite series, the
Built Ford Tough Series
The Built Ford Tough Series (BFTS) was the Premier Series tour name of the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) competitions from 2003 through 2017.
Inaugural season (2003)
The BFTS kicked off its tour on November 16, 2002, with the Mohegan Sun Invita ...
in 2006. In January 2010, at
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...
, in
New York City, New York
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...
, Proctor rode 2008 and 2010 World Champion Bull
Bones
A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...
for 91.25 points. Bones scored 44.5 points, just an average score for a bull of his calibre. Proctor won the event that weekend. In April 2017, in an event in
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...
, Proctor rode World Champion Bull Contender
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...
for 93.50 points. The bull scored 45.75, a very good score for a high calibre bull. The ride won him the 15/15 Bucking Battle. "Riding in my home state, it doesn’t get much better than that,” Proctor said. “Definitely probably the highlight of my career." In 2011, prior to winning the PRCA bull riding world championship, Proctor won the PRCA Xtreme Bulls tour championship as well as the PBR Touring Pro Division championship.
Proctor has qualified for the NFR five times. Four of those times he also had qualified for the PBR World Finals, including when he won the PRCA World Bull Riding Champion title. "That is one of the biggest things I take pride in," Proctor said. "When it comes down to it, I was good in both associations, but I was never great. I would like to be a great cowboy. The guys I looked up to were
Ty Murray
Ty Monroe Murray (born October 11, 1969), is an American former professional rodeo cowboy. He competed in the three "roughstock" events; bareback bronc riding, saddle bronc riding, and bull riding. He won nine world championships in the Profe ...
and
Cody Lambert
Cody Lance Lambert (born December 2, 1961) is an American former professional rodeo cowboy. He specialized in saddle bronc riding and bull riding. He was also a co-founder and vice president of the Professional Bull Riders (PBR). He created the ...
. Guys that did the all-around."
On Friday, January 6, 2018, after completing his last PBR event at
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...
, Proctor announced his intention to leave the PBR in order to pursue an
all-around
The All-Around is an award given to a rodeo competitor who is most successful in two or more events. Most individual rodeos and championships determine the winner of this award at the conclusion of the other events or championships.
Championship ...
title in the PRCA. Proctor had spent several years competing in both circuits, but was focusing solely on the PRCA as of January 2018. "Proctor has long been considered a better bronc rider than bull rider, but bull riding was something that Proctor knew would always pay the bills better for him": Since his PBR debut, he has earned $1.3 million. He almost won a couple years ago, but fell short by $400 in one event (you have to win at least $3,000 in two events). He also felt it was time for another roughstock athlete to win the event. The last time was when Ty Murray won the title in 1998. Stetson Wright later won the first PRCA All-Around world title by a roughstock cowboy in 21 years in 2019.
In the summer of 2020, Proctor accepted an invitation to compete in the PBR's Monster Energy Team Challenge, a temporary series of events in which several teams of riders competed for a large amount of money. These events were held at the South Point Hotel Arena in
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
. No fans were allowed to attend due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. However, the championship event at the
Denny Sanford Premier Center
The Denny Sanford Premier Center is an indoor arena in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The building is located at 1201 North West Avenue, and is connected to the Sioux Falls Arena and Sioux Falls Convention Center. The Arena's naming rights partner ...
in
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Sioux Falls ( ) is the List of cities in South Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the List of United States cities by population, 117th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha Coun ...
, did consist of a limited and socially distanced crowd.
In 2021, Proctor returned to riding in the PBR and won the Velocity Tour event in
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only incorporated city, city in Escambia County, Florida, Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...
, in April. As a result, he was invited to compete at the
Unleash the Beast Series
The Unleash the Beast Series (UTB) is the Premier Series of the Professional Bull Riders (PBR). Monster Beverage Corporation is the current series sponsor for the premiership since 2018. From its founding in 1994 through 2002, it was sponsored b ...
event in
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Sioux Falls ( ) is the List of cities in South Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the List of United States cities by population, 117th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha Coun ...
. Prior to the event, Proctor stated that he did not wish to compete full-time in the Unleash the Beast Series. He ended up bucking off all his bulls in Sioux Falls.
Proctor eventually returned to riding full-time in the PRCA. He announced that 2024 would be his final year competing in bull riding, but that he would continue riding broncs.