(Editor's note: PRCA release)
Shane Proctor’s charge to a sixth Wrangler National Finals Rodeo bid is on hold.
Proctor, the 2011 PRCA world champion bull rider, is sidelined after suffering a broken right fibula and damage to his right ankle after his 85.5-point ride on Andrews Rodeo’s Rapid Fire at the 101 Wild West Rodeo in Ponca City, Okla., June 11.
“I got off and then my right foot stuck in the ground, and my body kind of twisted with the momentum of the bull and it brought my body over the top of my leg” said Proctor, 36. “It was just a freak deal. (Injuries) are part of the game. This isn’t checkers.”
The former Montana State and Northwest College cowboy was scheduled for surgery last week in Dallas.
“I’m hoping to only be out for six weeks,” Proctor said. “This is going to be my sixth surgery, but this is the first time I’ve ever broken my leg. I will have an outside shot to get to the NFR no matter what.”
Proctor, who qualified for the NFR in 2011-13 and 2015-16, is 19th in the PRCA | RAM World Standings with $24,763.
“I had a bad last month, but I had it figured back out and rode four of my last five bulls,” Proctor said. “I love what I do.”
Proctor did find a silver lining in his setback.
“I will get to spend more time with my family (wife, Haley, who is a PRCA specialty act performer, and daughter, Coulee, 6 months),” Proctor said. “Haley stays busy, and I get to be a part of it all.”
