Proctor regains momentum at National Finals Rodeo
Grand Coulee bull rider lengthens lead with third in latest round at Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS – Shane Proctor regained the momentum in the chase to win the bull-riding world championship.
The Grand Coulee cowboy, who entered the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo with a nice lead only to see J.W. Harris make a charge the last three days, tied for third in the sixth go-round Tuesday night in the Thomas and Mack Center.
Proctor, who failed to score on his last three rides, marked 86 points on Blue Cannon to win more than $9,000. Harris, the three-time defending champion who had completed rides on his last three bulls, was bucked off. Harris is now third in the average with 266 points for three rides while Proctor is fourth at 253.
Harris trails Proctor by less than $24,000 with four rounds left to go.
Winning a go-round pays more than $17,000 and finishing first in the average is worth about $45,000.
Two other local cowboys finished out of the money but remained in the running for the big payday in the average.
Bareback rider Ryan Gray of Cheney is fifth in the average after scoring a 74.5 in the sixth round. Tie-down roper Tyson Durfey of Colbert was 10.1 seconds and is fifth in the average.
World champion bareback rider Bobby Mote has bounced back from a slow start, following up his third-place check in the fifth round with a first-place check worth $17,885 in the sixth.
He’s seventh in the world standings and third in the average race after six rounds.
Trevor Brazile, who clinched the all-around world championship in the fourth round, teamed with partner Patrick Smith to win the sixth round in team roping.
The round proved to be historically fast in the team roping, as teams had to be four-flat or better to win a check on the night, a first in Finals team roping history.
“When the tempo gets set like that, guys start to get even more fired up, but it also lets everyone be loose,” Smith said. “I think it actually relieves some of the pressure, because you know you’re going to have to turn it loose and try to be three seconds to place.”