Coulee May Proctor is only 4 years old, but she’s already making a name for herself in rodeo. The budding trick rider has been appearing in performances alongside her mom, Haley, capturing the hearts of rodeo fans across the country. Rodeo is in Coulee’s blood — Haley started performing at rodeos when she was six, and Coulee’s dad, Shane Proctor, is a world champion bull rider. The dedicated rodeo couple wasn’t surprised when their daughter wanted to become involved, having grown up on the road, on the back of a horse and in the grandstands. With Haley’s guidance, Coulee is continually learning new trick riding skills and also competing in other youth rodeo events aboard her horses Phantom and Cricket.
Like her daughter, Haley Proctor grew up in rodeo. Her father rode bulls in the PRCA, and her uncle, Shawn Brackett, is a well-known specialty act performer, which inspired her to try trick riding. When she was only five years old, she started imitating her uncle by hanging off the side of her horse. Her parents decided she should learn how to do things safely and correctly, so she spent her youth learning to do all of the classic trick-riding maneuvers. Haley performed for the first time when she was 6 years old, competed in barrels, and roped throughout her youth. She knew she wanted to pursue performing professionally after high school, and bought her PRCA card when she turned 18. Since then, Haley has performed at PRCA rodeos across the country, including the National Finals Rodeo. Haley has been nominated for the Top Five Specialty Act of the Year for the PRCA six times. She continues to train horses and run barrels.
Shane is a world champion bull rider and has made many appearances at the NFR. He also qualified for the PBR World Finals nine times. Recently, he has been coaching for Western Oklahoma State College. After spending many years focused on timed events, the college wanted to put more time into their roughstock events, bringing Shane in to help move the program forward. This last year, Jesse Hopper went into the College National Finals Rodeo in first place and ended in third, which was a huge success for the Pioneers. Shane also works part-time for the Cowboy Channel, joining people like Justin McKee and Joe Beaver to provide commentary for rodeos.
Coulee grew up on the rodeo road and naturally became interested in all things horses early on. She was riding as soon as she was able, and Haley quickly noticed that Coulee was also interested in trick-riding. Shane and Haley bought her a black and white pony named Phantom, who has been a great learning partner. “He’s still a pony sometimes,” Haley laughed, “but he’s a good one.”
Coulee made her first public appearance when she was two.
“Her first performance coming in with me was in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Shane led her in, and she stood up with him holding her hands. She’s been a little showman ever since,” Haley recalled.
After having fun at that first performance, Shane has led Coulee into the arena to perform at many rodeos. Coulee will stand up, hang off the side of Phantom, wave at the crowd and show off her riding skills. Rodeo fans love seeing young people getting their start in the arena, and are especially fond of having Haley, Coulee and Shane appear together.
As Coulee has grown and found her seat in the saddle, she has also started competing in other youth rodeo events, such as barrels. She started riding one of Haley’s horses named Cricket, who has been one of her main Roman riding horses for years. Cricket is the definition of broke, racing around the arena for Haley during Roman riding performances, and quietly trotting around the barrels for Coulee, never going any faster than she wants.
While Coulee’s interest in rodeo and trick riding is apparent, Shane and Haley are still careful to make sure she wants to do it. Coulee frequently asks to participate in rodeos that Haley performs at, but it is always her choice. Haley learned the value of this from her parents. “I still played sports, and I was involved in everything. It was always my choice to make this [trick riding] my career because my parents gave me every opportunity to do it. That’s what we want to do for Coulee as well,” Haley said.
Shane and Haley shared that Coulee takes a lot of initiative, asking to ride her horses and practice every day. “When we’re home, she wants to go ride her horse, or she wants to get her mom so she can practice Roman riding,” Shane shared.
Coulee enjoys the spotlight but is also learning valuable lessons about taking care of her animals day in and day out. Haley shared that before a recent Oklahoma storm, Coulee made sure Phantom was in the barn for the night. Shane also shared about his daughter learning the basics of equine care, like using a hoof pick to clean out Phantom’s feet. “She’s been able to learn about taking care of animals,” Shane shared.
Haley learned about the business of performing when she was young and shared that Coulee is also starting to pick up these skills. At a recent rodeo, Coulee negotiated fair tickets in exchange for performing alongside her mom.
Trick riding can be extremely fast-paced and dangerous. Haley is well-known for riding Roman, standing on top of two horses with one foot on each. She jumps through rings of fire and hangs off the side of her horse while it gallops around the arena. Things happen fast, but Haley trusts the horses she has trained and has put in the time at home to make sure they are ready for the noise, lights and occasional fireworks that are a part of rodeo performances. Haley and Shane ensure that Coulee always has a safe horse to ride, both for trick riding and rodeo events, in order to build her confidence and set her up for success.
At 4 years old, Coulee has already had the opportunity to perform at some of the nation’s biggest rodeos. She has also traveled extensively, watching her parents compete and perform. “She’s been to 38 states, from Florida to Washington,” Shane shared.
Coulee is quickly becoming a favorite in the rodeo world, and her confidence in front of crowds is only growing. Coulee shared that her favorite trick riding moves are the hippodrome and cosac. Dressing up for performances is another bonus, and her favorite trick riding outfit is pink and black. Coulee also adorns Phantom with sparkles.
Two weeks before the NFR, Shane and Haley found out their family would be growing again. In August, they will welcome another daughter, Charlcee Kate, into the world.
“It’s nothing but pink and bows around here,” Shane laughed.
The couple is also looking ahead with no plans to slow down. Haley hopes to get back to performing as soon as she’s able and is also open to whatever their youngest daughter will want to do when she has the option to learn how to trick-ride. “We’ll support her in whatever she wants to do,” Haley said.
Editor’s Note: You can follow Coulee’s travels on her parents’ Instagram pages @theshaneproctor and @haley_trickrides – because it’s Coulee’s world and we’re just living in it.
