Whirlwind Saturday Journey Pays Off In Big Way For Bareback Riding Superstar

The veteran bareback rider picked up two victories on the same day, inching closer to securing his position for a fifth-straight NFR appearance.

Jess Pope picked up more than $16,000 in earnings over the weekend, including a victory at the 100th anniversary Caldwell (Idaho) Night Rodeo. / Fernando Sam-Sin/@fsamsin

The adrenaline of the last 36 hours was finally starting to wear off. As the clock neared midnight and transitioned to Sunday, Jess Pope was eager for one thing – a good night’s sleep. 

Friday, he had competed at the Gooding (Idaho) Pro Rodeo before making an overnight, 11-hour drive to Baker, Mont., for the Fallon County Fair and Rodeo on Saturday. 

Then, it was a chartered flight with a group of fellow Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association competitors back to Idaho, this time for the short-go at the Caldwell Night Rodeo on Saturday. 

All told, the Waverly, Kan., bareback rider was running on less than three hours of sleep and a lot of positive energy. 

“It’s been a really good Saturday for Jess Pope,” he joked when talking about the experience. 

2022 bareback world champion Jess Pope finishes second with a score of 83.5. Cole Franks finishes first in the go with a score of 84.5. pic.twitter.com/74M5tbjtpF

— Justin Fitzgerald (@jfitzgerald52) August 16, 2024

There was plenty of excitement to keep Pope energized during the weekend marathon, especially on Saturday. The trip to Montana got things started as he drew renowned C5 Rodeo bucking horse Virgil at the event. The result was an 89.5-point score to win the rodeo and more than $4,400 in earnings. 

Then came the flight back to Caldwell for the short-go at the 100th edition of the legendary summer event. After a solid ride to place sixth in the first-go, Pope faced Powder River Rodeo’s Rich N Fancy, an experienced horse known for solid rides. And that’s exactly what Pope got, scoring 86 points to reach a 170.5-point total on two rides, good enough to beat Lane McGehee by four points for the average title. 

It was a welcome change for Pope who has struggled throughout the year to match-up with some of the stronger bucking horses in professional rodeo. For once, everything worked out in his favor. 

“Every time I’ve had really good horses, I've capitalized on them. I’ve just drawn a lot of the middle-of-the-pen, which stinks but it’s part of rodeo. It all comes in waves,” Pope said. “(Rich N Fancy) has taken a lot of guys to the pay window, and everything fell out right. It was really special to get the win on the 100th anniversary of Caldwell and it’ll dang sure help with the world standings too.”

And those world standings are something Pope is certainly monitoring as the regular season draws to close. 

Last year, he reached his fourth-straight Wrangler National Finals, finishing runner-up in the PRCA World Standings and runner-up in earnings at NFR. Pope won the world in 2022 and secured three-straight NFR Average titles from 2020-22. 

This year, he’s at a vastly different point. Pope is on the NFR cutline at 16th in the World Standings as of Monday morning with slightly under $91,500. This weekend will certainly help his quest to get back to Las Vegas in December as he earned $16,501 between the five rodeos he competed at, including $5,852 for the win at Caldwell. 

While the position he’s in might not be the most comfortable right now, Pope knows what a few more weekends like this could mean. 

“There’s guys that are 30th, 32nd, 33rd in the world that dang sure still have a shot to make the NFR with all the rodeos that are left and all the money that it pays out, especially right at the last two weeks of the year,” Pope said. “I’ve just got to keep going. Got to keep drawing good and just finish the year out strong and see what happens.”

Other results from the Caldwell Night Rodeo:

Steer wrestler J.D. Struxness won the average with an aggregate time of 13.4 seconds on three head. In total, he secured $10,353 in prize money. 

The team roping title was shared between the pairings of Brenten Hall and Kaden Profili, and Tee McLeod and Sid Sporer. Both teams finished with an aggregate total of 18.1 seconds on three head. The team of Hall and Profili each earned $6,204 at the rodeo, while McLeod and Sporer each took home $5,895.

Kade Bruno secured the saddle bronc average with 177.5 points on two head. He won a total of $7,664 at the rodeo. 

Tie-down roper Zack Jongbloed finished his three runs in a combined time of 25.1 seconds to win the average title, earning him $9,170. 

Michelle Alley won the barrel racing average with a collective time of 51.13 seconds on three runs. She took home $10,370 in earnings. 

Breakaway roper Shelby Boisjoli-Meged won the average title in 8.7 seconds on three runs. She secured $6,212 in prize money. 

Bull rider Wacey Schalla captured the title after posting an 89-point ride on Powder River Rodeo’s No. 38j, earning him $9,808. Schalla was also named as the all-around cowboy for the rodeo as he competed in bull and bareback riding.