Indelible Reminder Of Risks In The Ring

Newcastle Herald

Friday May 30, 2008

By MARTIN DINNEEN

FOR American bull rider Shane Proctor, the risks of his sport have never been clearer.

The 23-year-old, who has lost two close friends in the bullring, has a permanent reminder in the form of two small tattoos.

Proctor, who is in town to ride in the Brendon Clark invitational at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre, has the ID numbers of the bulls that took his friends' lives inked onto his wrists.

"It's about closure on the issue and their death," he said.

In 2006 Proctor rode Stoney, the bull that killed high school friend Anthony Covington the year before, scoring 91 points and securing second place in the event.

"Half the crowd was going wild and cheering while the other half was crying and emotional," he said.

"It was an amazing experience."

Proctor said the sport that killed his mates was a way of life in his home town of Grand Coulee in Washington State and bull riding was right of passage.

"I just wanted to prove to the people around me that I could do it," he said.

Proctor said the danger of the sport was obvious and the deaths of his friends had made him realise there were consequences to pursuing dreams and doing what you love.

"We take as many precautions that we can but it's just you against an animal," he said.

"If you get stepped on then you just have to take it."

The Brendon Clark invitational begins tonight with a teams event and continues tomorrow evening with individual honours up for grabs.