The whole rodeo world had a hard time watching Coleman Proctor miss that last steer in Round 10 at the 2024 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo with the possibility of two gold buckles on the line. Coleman roped great all week—all year, for that matter—and you hate to see it come down to one steer. They say that’s rodeo, but in my book Coleman has a gold buckle attitude.
Coleman’s happy-go-lucky mindset reminds me of Bobby Hurley’s back in our day. Bobby was fun-loving and giggling all the time. He could mess up in a big situation, and tell a joke riding out the back end. I always admired and envied him for that, because I wasn’t able to do it. I knew being sick about making a mistake wouldn’t change the outcome, but I never could make myself smile after a miss.
Coleman and Logan Medlin had a great Finals. They won two rounds, placed in four others and got the last check in the average on seven steers (nobody caught all 10 steers, and Clint Summers and Jake Long won the average with 44.9 on nine).
Coleman puts himself out there in the public eye. It’s easy to poke your chest out when the cookie crumbles your way and you win. People who can humbly accept defeat are champions in my eyes. They had the same dream of winning and going home with gold buckles as everybody else when they showed up. But only one team gets to do that every year.
Nobody is happy when they lose. But I saw Coleman’s comments the morning after he let that Round 10 steer get away, and he took it like a man. He couldn’t go back and change it, so he let it go. I wish I’d been more like that. We can’t change what’s already happened, and the people around you don’t deserve to have your frustrations taken out on them in any way.
Being upset and mad when things don’t go your way changes nothing. When it’s done, it’s done. I’m not saying you have to like losing, but letting a loss fester inside of you will only keep you from winning in the future.
What I have to say to Coleman Proctor is, “Great job.” What a phenomenal year you just had. You followed up all-around titles at the Daddy of ’em All in Cheyenne (Wyo.) and the Pendleton (Ore.) Round-Up with a phenomenal Finals. You won $149,095 in 10 days, and third in the heading world championship race with $304,886.
Coming up $675 short of Shad Mayfield for that world all-around crown had to be hard. But what we win does not define who we are as people. At the end of the day, we go home to our loved ones, whether we’re packing a gold buckle or a Cracker Jack box buckle. In all sports, our careers are defined by what we win. But in the end, world titles will not be the most important thing etched into our tombstones.
I’m not downplaying Tyler Wade and Wesley Thorp’s world championship. That’s a proud moment for guys who’ve spent their whole lives dreaming about it and working for it. Winning is very important to all of us, and we can’t keep going without it.
But for whatever reason, gold buckles just didn’t happen for guys like Charles Pogue and Kory Koontz. They were great, and always in the best team ropers conversation. It’s easy to get baited into the trap of what the record books say and what everybody else thinks. But that’s not what matters most in life.
Congratulations to Tyler and Wesley for winning their second straight world championships. They won $169,742 a man at the Finals, and had a record $361,480 season.
Congratulations to Clint and Jake on their average win and $199,355 NFR, which made them the high-money team ropers of the week. Clint and Jake had a $342,501 and $345,938 year, respectively, to finish second only to TWade and Wesley in the world championship race.
Congratulations, Coleman, for holding your head high, keeping your chin up and knowing the sun would come up the next morning after things didn’t go your way. You can’t eat a gold buckle, and it’s the special people in our lives that will live in our hearts forever.
—TRJ—
More words of wisdom from Jake Barnes:
If I Was a Young Team Roper Today
When the Rodeo Road Ends: Life After Rodeo
Never Forget Where You Came From
