Coleman Proctor and Logan Medlin jumped to No. 7 and No. 8 in the PRCA World Standings after a fruitful Cowboy Christmas run that earned a total of $15,131 each at the St. Paul Rodeo and the Cody Stampede, putting them in the Top 5 Money Earners for Cowboy Christmas 2022.
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In total, Proctor and Medlin earned $9,388 each at St. Paul after they won the second round with a 4.6-second run for $4,074 each and finished second in the average with a total time of 10.3 seconds on two for $5,314 each. Following that, they won the one-header at Cody with a 4.3-second run for $5,743 each.
“We had a good week,” Proctor, 36, of Pryor, Oklahoma said. “We only really cashed in at two rodeos. Thankfully it was two great rodeos. We made some great runs and we got paid for it. Probably the best Fourth I’ve ever had. We buddied with Jake Clay and Billie Jack Saebens. I think that’s an important aspect to have a successful trip, having a group of guys that are all on the same mission as you. They’re a fun bunch, everybody’s pretty low-key and laid back and do whatever it takes to make it work.”
Payout Change
As a result of the new payout rule by the PRCA, rodeos such as Cody paid out 15 holes this year instead of 10 like in the past. The new ground rule in team roping is that a rodeo with a total purse of $12,500 to $20,000 will pay 10 holes, one with a purse of $20,000 to $30,000 will pay 12 places and any one-header with a purse over $30,000 will pay 15 places.
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“I think it needed to happen,” Proctor said. “Of course the year I won Cody they paid 15, so it made it not quite as good a rodeo as Livingston, but you know, with the input cost nowadays, any chance you can get a lot of checks for $2,000 sure helps. I don’t know about 15, that feels maybe a bit aggressive, but I’m sure sliding back to 12 was worth it, you know? I think it’s overall a good thing for the sport and for all the contestants going. Back in the day when Cody was at 10 money, there’d be some great runs happen that didn’t get paid. I think with the bigger payout scale it helps even the herds up a little bit and you get paid for making good runs on your steer.”
Cody Champions
Proctor and Medlin won the Cody Stampede by just a tenth of a second over the reigning World Champions team of Kaleb Driggers and Junior Noguiera and the team of Tanner Tomlinson and two-time World Champion Patrick Smith, who tied for second with 4.4-second runs.
“We drew really good, which is a huge deal,” Medlin, 31 of Tatum, New Mexico, said. “We had a good steer, and Coleman has a good start. He got it on him so fast, that he made my job fairly simple. Coleman did all of the work.”
“I had a great horse, a great steer, and a great partner,” Proctor added. “We were fifth out that morning, and the steers were real tricky. We were in the second slack and the report from the first slack was that the start was an easy go to get, and everybody was getting rolls so it was gonna be a tough rodeo. So I’m fifth, but the first few steers don’t leave, and all the headers broke the barrier and then I’m up and I just kinda relied on what Clay Tryan told me a long time ago, that the measurements never lie.”
“I got really lucky to get as good a start as I did,” Proctor said. “I took off a little early, but my yellow horse kind of stepped it out for me and got me a great go at the barrier and our steer kinda hit out on the end of it pretty lightly but he came together really fast. My partner absolutely drilled him. I was kind of in a weird place to finish it and Logan did a great job of bringing the steer and my head horse around trying to get it all slammed shut. That’s ultimately why we were 4.3, you know, if he hadn’t finished that run so strong for us we could very easily have been 4.5 or 4.7. That was kinda the difference-maker, Logan Medlin and the Horse-of-the-Year on the backside, really the reason why we won Cody.”
Head Horse Power
For the win at Cody, Proctor rode Admiral, registered Lena Spark Dun It, a 14-year-old palomino gelding he purchased in 2019 that was later injured due to a torn deep digital flexor tendon during the 2020 season. After being rehabilitated by Dr. Charlie Buchanan at Signature Equine, he is back for the 2022 season and has played a major role in Proctor’s success.
“I didn’t have him all last year and that was a big detriment,” Proctor said. “My good friend, Charlie Buchanan at Signature Equine has him back up and rolling. It’s been a year-long process. He is on point at the right time in the season. It’s been about six months of roping on him and getting our timing back together, but Admiral, at all those one-headers, just gives me amazing goes at the barrier and he brings the run together really fast. He gets the steer legal in a hurry. He kind of teeters on the line of maybe a little bit too quick, but does a great job. That’s what is important, for an old guy like me, that doesn’t throw in the box like these young kids do, is having a horse that brings the run together for you.”
For the win at St. Paul, Proctor rode Jesse James, a sorrel gelding, who made his first rodeo debut in September of 2019.
“He could really run,” Proctor said. “But he was really green last year when I didn’t have Admiral. He kind of had to step up to the plate and he did a great job for me. Of course, he got me to the Finals, especially late in the season when I was really relying on him. He could be a little squirly, like in the box and stuff. I actually had Tate Kirchenschlager ride him for me, getting him ready for the summer and he’s done a phenomenal job. He can really, really run. He’s what I’ve been trying to ride in the two-headers and the longer setups just cause he does make the draw kinda come to you a little more as far as the speed and the way he can score.”
“Both those horses have been working really great over the Fourth. They are what has allowed us to have a lot of success.”
Heel Horse Power
During the 2022 ProRodeo season, Medlin has relied heavily on Drago, registered Nita Win Playboy, a 13-year-old ex-ranch horse who has carried Medlin to two NFRs and won the 2020 Heel Horse of the Year award.
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“He’s my favorite one to go to and I know that he’s gonna do his job and he makes mine much easier,” Medlin said. “What makes him pretty good is he’s pretty universal. I can ride him in any setup. I rode him at Cheyenne, and I rode him at the NFR. He excelled at both setups. I think he’s just very forgiving. He never takes a throw away from you. Even if a steer doesn’t clean up and come together whenever you think they’re going to, he’s not taking your throw away or making it hard to catch, he’ll just stick with you and let you throw on the next jump. I think that’s probably his greatest quality.”
Staying Hooked
The grind continues as Proctor and Medlin head out to Elko, Nevada, Vernal, Utah and Estes Park, Colorado before taking off to Calgary in the hopes of maintaining their strong standing through the rest of the season.
“We’re in a decent spot right now, but we’re still so far from where we need to end up whenever September 30th rolls around,” Medlin said. “I’m not really worried about where in the standings I am. I’m just trying to keep my head down and keep trying to catch ‘em by two, all that’ll take care of itself. I just take it steer by steer.”
“This whole month of July, there’s a lot of opportunities, honestly, all the way through August,” Proctor added. “The rodeo committees they’re stepping up, they’re adding equal money to team roping and they’re adding more money than they have in the years before. There’s a lot of really cool rodeos adding a lot of money that are bringing our circle a little different than we’re accustomed to going, you know? So we’re full throttle right now and trying to catch up to that No.1 spot. The way those guys are roping, that’s looking pretty difficult, but that’s still what we’re shooting for. At least go into the Finals with an opportunity to get caught up.”
Money Makers
Among the top five money earners for Cowboy Christmas 2022, Proctor and Logan ranked fourth, while Kaleb Driggers and Junior Nogueria broke the Cowboy Christmas Team Roping Record with $35,152 each.
“I’ll tell you what we talked about in our little buddy group was how really impressive of a feat that was with the new payout scale,” Proctor said. “There wasn’t like that big hit of winning Cody and winning $10,000 like you used to. This year it was you won this one, you won that one, but you can only win so much at each. I mean, they had to do it on every steer. That just shows you how many steers they made great runs on. I think what was so impressive, and it’s not like they just drew good and caught ‘em. They made great runs on steers across the spectrum. They had runners, they had good steers, you know, they just made great team roping runs. It was just something you had to tip your hat to, man. Their second round in St. Paul, when they made their run, they had one that screamed. And when they got across there, I thought there was a chance they could go 5.8, then we slide ahead of ’em, you know, and when I tell you this Driggers reaches from way back, Junior pulls off an amazing heel shot and they went 5.5, it was just, ‘Good job fellows.’ You know what I mean? That’s all you can say. Cause it was the most impressive display of team roping I’ve ever seen in my life.”
