PUEBLO, Colo. (September 7, 2010) - “We’ve only got five events left, five days at the World Finals, and I’m just going to go at each bull and go for the highest score I can get,” said Shane Proctor, currently ranked 11th in the world standings.
“It’s going to be really hard to catch Austin [Meier], Renato [Nunes] and them, but I can definitely move up in the standings and put pressure on them.”
With Guilherme Marchi opting out of this weekend’s Built Ford Tough Series event in South Carolina because of ongoing issues with his injured riding hand and wrist, Proctor will replace the 2008 World Champion in the first of five bonus rounds.
This week’s bonus round – worth a maximum of 300 points to the winner – will take place immediately after the opening round of the Greenville Invitational.
“It’s unfortunate for Marchi to be hurt, but it’s also my lucky day,” said Proctor, “so it’s up to me to take advantage of it now.”
The 25-year-old, who is in his fifth year of competing on the BFTS, has had nine Top 10 finishes this season, three of which have come in the past three events. He has staved off the 12th-ranked Dustin Elliott and closed to within 326.75 points of No. 10 McKennon Wimberly.
“Well, obviously I didn’t battle hard enough,” Proctor said, “because I am in the 11th spot.”
For every memorable moment this season – he spurred Bones for 91.25 points in the opening round in New York – he’s had a forgettable stretch, like the 0-for-5 streak coming out of the summer break.
Most recently, though, Proctor has covered five of his past 9 bulls.
“It’s really hard if you give somebody a little bit of slack; they’re going definitely going to use the most out of it,” said Proctor, who is focused on improving his own consistency, especially when it comes to competing in the short round. “When opportunity comes knocking, you really do have to show everybody what you’re made of.”
Twice in 96 career events, Proctor has come through in the clutch.
Late last season, in Portland, Ore., he won his first BFTS event, and the moment wasn’t lost on him. Proctor pointed to that particular win as a turning point in his PBR career.
“I’ve been to a lot of events and riding that caliber of bulls,” Proctor explained. “Winning that first event really set me off toward the World Finals, and that’s when I really became comfortable in my own skin. Coming into this year I had a lot of confidence, and obviously the [third] event, in New York at Madison Square Garden, that gave me a lot more confidence.”
That 4-for-4 performance, including two rides in excess of 90 points, “set the whole year up.”
In his first three seasons, Proctor went from finishing 69th in the world standings in 2006 to 49th and 42nd in the following years, before a strong ending last year resulted in an 11th-place finish.
Now if only he could crack the Top 10.
There’s not much difference between his 42.3 percent riding average this year and his 42.9 percent a year ago, but he’ll have to ride above that level in the next five weeks. Wimberly (47.1 percent) and Ryan McConnel (45.7 percent) are riding better, even though they’re the only riders in the Top 10 with season averages under 50 percent.
Proctor will keep fighting for a top spot in the standings, and this time the reward will be inclusion in the four remaining bonus rounds. Like he did back in January in New York, he’ll need to take advantage of the opportunity in Greenville.
“This is going to give me an extra bull, at least one, to prepare me to really do well at the Finals,” said Proctor, who said that to attain his 2010 goals, he needs to think of the final five BFTS events as if they were part of the Finals.
“I just plan on taking it one bull at a time and not really put pressure on the final outcome, because I ride better that way, but if I’m going to make a move I’m going to have to make it now.”
“I think that’s going to be my job through the end of the year,” he added, “and that’s to put pressure on anybody above me.”
NEWS and NOTES
PBR Now on RFD-TV: J.W. Hart and his co-host Justin McBride will be back on RFD-TV this Thursday, beginning at 10 p.m. ET. The show is also streamed live at PBR.TV. Fans are encouraged to call 877-731-6733, or send questions by emailing pbrnowshow@pbr.com.
Live Event Center: Follow all the action from this week’s BFTS event in Greenville, in the first of five bonus rounds for the Top 10 riders, by logging on to the Event Center at www.pbr.com/live. The multimedia center provides live scoring, live blogging and event-related interviews.
