Jess Pope added another $76,000 to his National Finals Rodeo earnings this year by finishing second in the average. He has earned nearly $1.2 million at the NFR over his six qualifications.
(PRCA PHOTO BY LARA ST JACQUES)

 

LAS VEGAS – Mr. Las Vegas was at it again over the last week and a half of National Finals Rodeo competition.

Bareback rider Jess Pope placed in six rounds, including two wins, and finished second in the aggregate race by riding 10 horses for a cumulative score of 853.75 points – in the first year of the quarter-point system at the NFR, he lost the average title by just .25 points to Montana cowboy Sam Petersen.

That runner-up finish was still valued at more than $76,000, and it pushed his NFR earnings to $215,814. He finished the year with $419,443 and was third in the world standings.

“I felt like I rode everything the best I could,” said Pope, the 2022 world champion from Waverly, Kansas. “I didn’t draw the best in some of the rounds, but that is part of rodeo.”

He paused and pondered the difference between him and Petersen after 10 rounds.

“I like the half points better, because it’s a little easier to swallow a half point than it does a quarter point for (about) $20,000,” he said with a smile spreading across his cheeks when talking about the difference in payouts from first to second.

The competitor wants to win at every level, but that kind of money is a valuable thing. He’s done it quite a bit in his six qualifications to ProRodeo’s grand finale. Over his 60 rounds inside the Thomas & Mack Center, Pope has earned $1,174,968 and has never finished worse than fifth in aggregate points.

“I feel really confident getting on 10 head in a row,” said Pope, who won the average title three consecutive years (2020-22). “I might not have the flashiest spur stroke and be able to win on the little hoppers (the easiest to ride broncs in rodeo), but if you put 10 head of every caliber of horse, I feel like I’m going to handle every one of them the best way I can.”

That’s why he’s so successful once he arrives in Sin City.

“At the end of the day, I’m just here excited to be making a living in rodeo,” he said. “There are a lot of people who wish they were in my shoes. That average buckle, that gold buckle … it doesn’t define who I am as a person, but I can walk out of this building confidently that I showed up, rode the best that I felt like I could and enjoyed every moment of it.

“To be able to come out here and make that kind of money is great. I bought a skid loader before I came out here, and I’ll be able to go home now and buy some attachments and just try to set myself up for later in life. It is truly a blessing to be able to be here and ride for the money that we do and hopefully be here for another seven to 10 years.”

When he returns to the City of Entertainment next year, he’ll have another fan with him. Pope and his wife, Sydney, are expecting their first child in May. He’s already making plans for how to prepare for that blessing.

“I think I’m going to pull a Tim O’Connell,” he said, referring to the three-time world titlist from Iowa and one of Pope’s best friends. “We’re going to have a big keg party in my shop, and the only way you can get a cup is if you bring a box of diapers. Hopefully I don’t have to buy diapers for nine or 10 months.”