Going for No. 7

Coleman Proctor has been roping long enough to know what works and what doesn’t. The six-time NFR qualifier stuck to his game plan last year and found himself ranked 8th in the world when the season was over.

This year, Coleman - along with heeling partner Logan Medlin - is on track to qualify for his seventh. He currently is No. 6 in the PRCA World Standings after a great run in July and early August. 

“We have a great run that works. I know how well we can do, and that brings a lot of confidence,” he says of his partnership with Medlin. “ We both have high expectations and lofty goals.”

With $1,356,721 in career earnings and six trips to the NFR, Proctor takes his craft seriously. But he also possesses an infectious personality which is on full view in his social media posts and media interviews. His easy going personality has served him well in a highly decorated pro run spanning 20 years.

The highlight of his career will most likely remain the George Strait Team Roping Classic in 2010 with his best friend and then partner, Jake Long. The two lifelong pals bested more than 465 teams to take first.

“That was my first big victory,” Proctor says. “It just showed what I could do. It confirmed that all we’d done hadn’t been a waste of time.”

The prize money made the victory even sweeter. 

“That’s also one of my favorite memories of dating my wife,” he says, laughing. “I wanted to take her to dinner that weekend and was worried about which credit card to put it on. Thankfully I had just won a bunch of money, so I thought, ‘That ought to pay for dinner.’”

Today, he, wife Stephanie, and daughters Stella and Caymbree reside in Pryor, Oklahoma. He says fatherhood has changed his life in countless ways.

“In this business, it’s chickens one day, feathers the next,” he says. “You might mess up, but the kids come in and jump on your lap - that helps keep it all in perspective.”