Jess Pope smiles to the crowd during his victory lap after winning Thursday’s eighth round of the National Finals Rodeo. It was his second straight round win this NFR.
(PRCA PHOTO BY CLICK THOMPSON)

 

LAS VEGAS – Jess Pope was 20 the first time he arrived in this desert city with a love for bucking horses and dreams of being a ProRodeo champion.

He was competing in the PRCA’s Permit Challenge at the South Point Equestrian Center as one of the top young guns in bareback riding. He won the title at that event that December 2018 weekend, and he did so on the back of a Midwest bucking horse named Deep Springs.

The two already had a history. Pope first rode the powerful gray to win the ProRodeo in Marshall, Minnesota, in August 2017. By the time he arrived in Sin City the next December, he knew what to expect.

The old foes returned to the ring again during Thursday’s eighth round of the National Finals Rodeo. The winning continued. Pope scored 88.25 points on the Four Star Rodeo bronc to win for the second straight night and propel him directly into world-title contention with two nights remaining in the ProRodeo season.

“We got the draw (Wednesday) night before we went on stage at the South Point, and I was really excited to have him,” said Pope, a six-time NFR qualifier – and the 2022 world champion – from Waverly, Kansas. “I’ve been on him a bunch. I knew it was a really good shot to win a go-round.

“I think I’ve been on that horse nine or 10 times, maybe more than that.”

It was worth another $36,668 and helped increase his NFR earnings to $136,564 in just eight days of competition. Pope has ridden eight broncs for a cumulative score of 684.5 points and sits first in the average race.

He has moved to third in the world standings with $340,193 and trails the standings leader, Texan Rocker Steiner, by $81,000. Also in the mix for the Montana Silversmiths gold buckle is Montanan Sam Petersen, who is second and has nearly a $9,000 advantage over Pope. With just Rounds 9 and 10 remaining, it will be a race to the top.

Pope might have an advantage, not just in the aggregate race but also in experience. Steiner is eighth in the average, and Petersen is second. It might come down to which cowboy has the best two-night series. Pope is a three-time average champion, having won the title consecutively from 2020-22; he finished second in 2023 and fifth last year.

He also has one gold buckle already, so that experience has been paying off.

“It took me a while to get heated up here, but I finally drew good, finally drew right,” Pope said. “We’ll see where the cards lay at the end of the week. I feel pretty confident about it.”