Coleman Proctor has seen the good, the bad and the ugly in his five Wrangler National Finals Rodeo appearances, and he knows a thing or two about the mental game in big money situations.
“This is Round 4, so we’re going to start to see these guys bringing out their bag of tricks,” Proctor said. “They’re going to cycle it through and rope Round 1 steers tonight. They’re generally stronger, but maybe they’ll stay a little truer because they’ve been jackpotted on. It’s going to be so important to be on the barrier. If you miss the barrier and one comes left, you’ll have trouble.”
Here is his team-by-team analysis:
Dustin Egusquiza and Travis Graves
Round 3: 4.2 seconds
Round Winnings: 26,230.77 points each
Total NFR Earnings: 80,653.85 world standings points
World Standings Earnings: 144,829.89; 137,167.86
World Standings: 1,1
Proctor’s take: I told Justin McKee they were my pick as soon as I knew the dimensions had changed and they lengthened the barrier. Dustin is special at two-foot-under. The barrier at four-under, a lot of guys can throw far enough to make that look good. But at two-under, he’s the only one who can make it work. He’s got the tightest first swing I’ve ever seen—it’s like he fires it from a gun. And Travis is taking one over and making sure and bedding them down. They look unstoppable.
Brenten Hall and Chase Tryan
Round 3: NT
Round Winnings: —
Total NFR Earnings: 16,769 world standings points each
World Standings Earnings: 63,914.15 each
World Standings: 14
Proctor’s take: Brenten Hall hung it on one and got a bad break. That’s why I try to rope them half heads a lot—that tight loop must have burned when it went on and made that steer throw his head back. Maybe he needs to slop that up or shank it onto the neck. Chase Tryan doesn’t ever tip a horn like that. I know they’re home practicing, and they have a full 24 hours to redeem themselves and prove it again. I hope he’s not getting frustrated or down too early. There’s not a whole lot you can do to fix what happened last night and it won’t happen again.
Levi Simpson and Shay Carroll
Round 3: 4.4 seconds
Round Winnings: 15,654 each
Total NFR Earnings: 25,654 each
World Standings Earnings: 76,051.50; 81,921.16
World Standings: 10; 7
Proctor’s take: Levi Simpson’s half head was my favorite run of the night. That was a run. They’ll keep making big runs and letting Levi do what Levi does, and Shay’s horse will keep working outstanding.
Andrew Ward and Buddy Hawkins
Round 3: 4.3 seconds
Round Winnings: 20,231 each
Total NFR Earnings: 37,500 each
World Standings Earnings: 101,372.30 each
World Standings: 3
Proctor’s take: Andrew and Buddy made a great run. I was glad to see them getting it going in the right direction. They needed that and Andrew is one of my personal favorites coming out of Oklahoma. They’ll use that momentum and keep winning checks.
Kolton Schmidt and Hunter Koch
Round 3: NT
Round Winnings: —
Total NFR Earnings: —
World Standings Earnings: 61,021.85 each
World Standings: 15
Proctor’s take: You saw some horse changes with Kolton getting on the gray. I hope Badger isn’t hurt because I’m a huge Badger fan. They’re three up, three down. My heart goes out to him because I’ve been in that situation pretty recently. It’s easy as a fan to think about what he needs to do. He needs to relax and make some little change. He’s one of the best headers in the world and they’re tough to beat in any arena. It’s not a flaw he’s making. It’s a run of bad luck. Throw your hat on the bed or something. Hunter Koch is as fast as any heeler going. You have to blast the start or win something to get the week going the right way. I think he will. He’s got fast hands. Him and Cody Snow are so fast with their hands they’ll ride closer and it will be tight, melted on the horns and the steer is legal. It’s fun to watch that for me especially as I’m getting older. They’re so precise with their measurements. It’s poetry in motion.
Cody Snow and Junior Nogueira
Round 3: NT
Round Winnings: —
Total NFR Earnings: 14,231 each
World Standings Earnings: 83,458.83; 72,314.74
World Standings: 7, 11
Proctor’s take: In this building, if you hang it on one real fast, you see it’s almost like at Sikeston, Missouri, where you can hit the wall. Right as Junior went to set it down, the angle Snow had going to the chutes, it let up on him just a little bit. Any time Junior turns in, you expect him to catch. It’s like watching Champ miss—you figure the steer’s feet must have literally disappeared.
Luke Brown and Joseph Harrison
Round 3: 4.5 second
Round Winnings: 11,000 each
Total NFR Earnings: 39,192 each
World Standings Earnings: 128,857.28; 109,491.31
World Standings: 2
Proctor’s take: Luke Brown is sticking awesome, and Cowboy looks so sharp in this setup. You give him a $20K lead at four-under he’s almost unbeatable in the Thomas & Mack. But he’s made great adjustments, and his horse looks amazing. That team looks amazing. Luke is really setting up Joseph on Main Street great for every shot.
Colby Lovell and Paul Eaves
Round 3: NT
Round Winnings: —
Total NFR Earnings: 30,731 each
World Standings Earnings: 96,239.41; 86,889.81
World Standings: 4,6
Proctor’s take: Last night, that steer changed just a little bit—Colby was going to take two swings and had to take a third one. That steer checked off and came into him, and it was almost an impossible shot for a header. Once it leaves your hand, and the steer changes direction, there’s not a lot you can do about it.
Clay Smith and Jade Corkill
Round 3: 4.4 + 5 seconds
Round Winnings: —
Total NFR Earnings: 21,000 each
World Standings Earnings: 90,703.55 each
World Standings: 4
Proctor’s take: Jade got put into a tight spot as that steer was turning. It looked like Clay almost got closer to the steer than he thought he would and got too good of a start, so that steer hit a little funny. You never think Jade will miss, and he just got that leg.
Erich Rogers and Paden Bray
Round 3: 5.1 + 5 seconds
Round Winnings: —
Total NFR Earnings: 21,000 each
World Standings Earnings: 88,772.34
World Standings: 5,6
Proctor’s take: He had a great shot in Round 1. Every rookie should get the chance to win their first go-round like that. But if you watch it, he reached and pulled off a pretty dang good heel shot. He headed the feet, as Joe Beaver once said about Jhett Johnson. He got behind in the second round and got a leg, and last night he had about as good of go as he’ll have and he just sawed the right leg off.
Nelson Wyatt and Levi Lord
Round 3: 10.9 seconds
Round Winnings: —
Total NFR Earnings: 25,654 each
World Standings Earnings: 76,345.39; 77,543.89
World Standings: 9,7
Proctor’s take: He’ll start making a lot of noise here quick. I watched him be 3 at Spanish Fork on a longer barrier than this. Those guys from back East are a real pain—they can throw from the back of the box every time.
Chad Masters and Wesley Thorp
Round 3: 5.0 seconds
Round Winnings: 6,769 each
Total NFR Earnings: 27,769 each
World Standings Earnings: 80,451.72 each
World Standings: 8
Proctor’s take: Chad’s been a little quiet. He got such a good start the first night—him and Clay Smith didn’t think they’d get that close. The start they’re getting is putting them closer to the steer than they thought. That was a good set of steers in Round 3, so it will be interesting to see as the Finals continues.
Charly Crawford and Logan Medlin
Round 3: 4.7 + 10 seconds
Round Winnings: —
Total NFR Earnings: 14,231 each
World Standings Earnings: 69,460.04; 68,851.61
World Standings: 11, 12
Proctor’s take: Logan’s pulled off two really good heel shots. He pulled off a good shot the first night and got robbed. What a great guy Charly is, and what a great team. It’s special to watch him at his last NFR. He’s a veteran. Nothing bothers him.
Clay Tryan and Jake Long
Round 3: NT
Round Winnings: —
Total NFR Earnings: —
World Standings Earnings: 67,629.29; 73,227.15
World Standings: 11, 12
Proctor’s take: I never anticipate Jake to miss two. They’ll start turning it on. I think Jake will go around the end of it and set one down tonight. This is Clay Tryan’s wheelhouse. He’s roping the horns sharp and getting good goes. We’re almost to the second half, and they’ll start winning day moneys.
Jeff Flenniken and Tyler Worley
Round 3: 5.5 seconds
Round Winnings: 4,231
Total NFR Earnings: 14,231
World Standings Earnings: 63,622.11; 65,368.45
World Standings: 14, 13
Proctor’s take: Tip of the hat to Jeff Flenniken. Misses the start, gets him a whip off, cruises in there and wins last hole in the day money. He just looked like Dave Key worthy whip. I’d have gotten it under my horse’s tail. Worley is doing what Worley does. That was such a veteran move from a rookie header. He’s going to have a good week. Nothing is phasing him. TRJ
