For Shane Proctor, it was a season in which nothing could go wrong.

Then, 3.8 seconds after nodding his head in the fourth round at an event in Springfield, Mo., it came to a grinding halt when he pulled his groin on an ABBI Classic bull named Bad Blake.

That was Sept. 17. He's only been on three bulls since then.

But Proctor said he feels better today than he did when he arrived in Las Vegas for the PBR World Finals. He's returning to the Thomas & Mack Center in two weeks for the National Finals Rodeo.

After finishing the 2011 PBR season ranked ninth among the top professional bull riders in the world, Proctor is now vying for the PRCA title.

"It sucked," he said of having to opt out of the World Finals after two rounds. "It was horrible. That's the one way you don't want to end the season.

"It's not a bad injury per se, but it just takes time, and that was something with the World Finals coming up we didn't have. I hate watching bull riding if I'm not competing. To be at the World Finals and sitting on the sidelines and not competing is something I wouldn't wish on anybody. I was an alternate a couple years ago, and it sucked, and this year it sucked even worse knowing that I qualified for it and wasn't able to compete to the best of my ability."

Shane Proctor is assisted from the arena after tearing a groin muscle in Springfield, Mo., in September.

After aggravating the injury in Columbus, Ohio, he was apprehensive in late October knowing he wasn't 100 percent.

That's not a good way to go into the PBR's premiere event, especially when you are going to be matched up against the rankest bulls in the world.

He had ridden with injuries before - earlier this year he injured his ribs, and he's even ridden at the Finals injured. But this was different, and of course, he's also in a position to win the other gold buckle.

"I knew my leg wasn't all the way healed," he said. "Knowing I had another Finals to go to makes it … if you tear it again, does that take you away from your next Finals, or do you let it heal? When I got out of the average I decided to let it heal.

"A lot can happen in a short period of time. You can make up points and you can lose a lot of points. It really was disappointing going to the Finals like that. For me, it would have been great to finish the year off the way I had been riding all year. I felt confident and everything was going the way I wanted it."

'For me, it's go and get on as many bulls as possible in this short career we have as bull riders.'

He still finished the PBR season in the Top 10 for the first time.

Now he's focused on the NFR, where he has a lead of over $40,000 over J.W. Harris.

He hasn't been on any bulls since leaving the World Finals, and doesn't plan to get on anything until he climbs into the traditional yellow bucking chutes.

Proctor said the injury was a reminder to make the most of his time in the arena. "For me, it's go and get on as many bulls as possible in this short career we have as bull riders," he said.

NOTES

TWO FOR THE SHOW: Proctor isn't the only Top 10 rider in the PBR competing at the NFR. He'll be joined by L.J. Jenkins. Jenkins is ranked 14th out of the 15 bull riders there. The NFR will take place from Dec. 1 through Dec. 10 in Las Vegas at the Thomas & Mack Center.

FOR A GOOD CAUSE: Ross Coleman, J.W. Hart, and Cord McCoy will participate in a Celebrity Cutting Horse Event to benefit the Careity Foundation on Friday, Dec. 2, in Fort Worth, Texas, as part of the National Cutting Horse Association Futurity. The three will be joined by reigning Iron Cowboy Colby Yates Saturday from 1-3 p.m. for an autograph signing at the Best of the West Shopping Experience in the Amon G. Carter exhibit Hall at the Will Rogers Memorial Complex.