The most entertaining rides come when the best riders are matched up with the best stock. Rodeo fans got to see both in Thursday's bull riding competition.
Shane Proctor, who won the 2011 bull riding championship in his first National Finals Rodeo appearance, sat atop a bull raised by Bennie Beutler. Beutler was inducted into the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Hall of Fame in 2010 as a stock contractor.
In the 2011 NFR, on the 10th and final night, Proctor was paired up with a bull named Black Attack. He was bucked seconds into his ride, and while he was on the ground the bull stepped on his left upper arm, breaking his humerus in half. However, Proctor was so far ahead in the standings that he won the championship despite his injury.
"I never thought about quitting after that," he said. "If anything I wanted to get back as fast as I could."
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Two months, two plates and 15 screws later, Proctor was back riding bulls. Thursday was his fifth ride since being injured. He earned an 88, the highest score of the day.
"You have to accept the danger of the sport," Proctor said. "Bulls are strong, smart animals that don't want to be sat on. They'll get you off if they want."
This year's bulls, provided by Beutler, can do just that. Beutler brags that one of his bulls, named Triple 7s, has yet to be successfully ridden in more than 50 attempts.
Beutler is a third-generation stock contractor, and when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2010, he joined his uncle Lynn Beutler, who was inducted in 1979. His family's animals have been selected to buck in the NFR in nearly every year of the company's 60-year existence.
The bulls are allowed to work only twice a week, 16 seconds total, according to PRCA rules. Good bulls, like good bucking horses, will change direction and try to hook their riders.
"They have to have fire and spirit," said Beutler. "A good bull will love to buck like Tiger Woods loves to golf."
For riders like Proctor, a good bull could be the difference between getting paid or not. Judges base half of a rider's score on how well the bull bucks. So the combination of top riders and aggressive bulls can mean high scores or broken bones.
"I love the challenge," said Proctor. "I've played other sports like football and wrestling, but there's nothing like trying to ride a bull."
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