A tough night for team ropers
SPRINGDALE — Just moments before the team roping event Friday at the 78th annual Rodeo of the Ozarks, an all-expense paid trip to Disney World and a Disney Cruise were given away to one special rodeo fan, who has battled a brain tumor and other ailments.
The presentation and special tribute were warmly received by the packed crowd at Parsons Stadium — and by the cowboys.
“It’s hard to rope with tears in your eyes,” said veteran roper Coleman Proctor of Pryor, Okla.
But that’s part of what makes the Rodeo of the Ozarks special, he added.
“Oh man, the Rodeo of the Ozarks is amazing,” Proctor said. “It’s an awesome place. The committee’s amazing. They add a lot of money, make it a rodeo we try to not miss on our schedule. We always come back here.”
It also helps that Proctor’s hometown of Pryor is less than 80 miles away.
“Of course, growing up in Oklahoma, I’m a big fan of it,” he said.
It was a tough night for most of the team ropers on the third night of the rodeo, including Proctor and his partner Logan Medlin, who’s from Tatum, N.M.
Of the nine entries, only two recorded a score as the other seven were forced to accept a “no time.”
“That’s rodeo,” Proctor said. “It’s off to the next one.”
For Proctor, the next one is in Greeley, Colo., and the Greeley Stampede.
Proctor and Medlin, who ended the 2022 season ranked sixth in the team roping world standings and earned more than $420,000 combined, were busy loading up minutes after their failed attempt Friday.
Proctor said you’ve got to put it behind you and move on.
“It’s just like hitting a bad golf shot,” he said. “You just turn around, clear your mind and try it again tomorrow.”
The Driggers brothers, Britt and Seth, of Pearcy, can relate. They were another roping team that came up short Friday.
“It would have been a big night you know if we would have hit,” Britt Driggers said. “Every night’s a new night and go get them tomorrow.”
The Driggers brothers were on the road back to the Hot Springs area to compete in rodeos at Benton and Malvern today.
“We’ve been rodeoing ever since we were little,” Britt Driggers said. “We went to high school rodeos here in Springdale. We kind of grew up around this rodeo. We’ve been doing it our whole life.”
The team of Will Clark (Erin, Tenn.) and Derrick Crawford (Lebanon, Tenn.) moved into third place overall with a time of 6.1 heading to tonight’s final evening of competition.
The team of Keven Daniel (Franklin, Tenn.) and Travis Graves (Jay, Okla.) recorded a time of 6.1 seconds but they were penalized and had five more seconds added.
In saddle bronc, Springdale’s own Montgomery “Shorty” Parsons moved into a tie for first place with Sterling Crawley with a score of 85.