ProRodeo Sports News - December 16, 2022

BAREBACK RIDING AVERAGE WINNER

Domination Continues Bareback rider Jess Pope finished second in Round 5 with an 88-point ride on Summit Pro Rodeo’s Game Trail. Pope went on to win his first career world title. PRCA ProRodeo photo by Phil Doyle BY TRACY RENCK F or the first time in his career, Jess Pope walked away as the PRCA Bareback Riding World Champion in 2022. That run to the gold buckle was fueled by Pope winning the NFR average – for the third year in a row. Pope finished with 860 points on 10 head to earn the $74,150 average payday. O’Connell and Cole Franks it would have been a lot harder. We helped each other all week, pulling riggins and we want to see each other win just as bad as we want to win. To have them right there and give me that pep talk is what I really think is what did it (allow him to win the world championship and the average).” O’Connell, a three-time world champion in 2016-18, finished sixth in the world standings and Franks finished fourth. Pope is the first bareback rider to win the NFR average three years in a row since Kaycee Feild won four consecutive from 2011-14. Pope earned $231,361 at the NFR, bringing his grand total at the last three NFRs to $632,253. Pope wins third straight NFR average “Man, I was just showing up and taking it one horse at a time, and being a cowboy,” said Pope about the key to his success in the average. “When you are day working or anything, whatever you have in front of you, you have to get done. It doesn’t matter the circumstances. If you are out doctoring or whatnot, it is no different than showing up here. Take care of the one that’s right in front of you no matter what it takes and go to the next one.” To clinch his third consecutive average Pope just need a solid eight second ride. That’s just what he did with an 81.5-point ride on Frontier Rodeo’s Southern Star. That allowed him to win the average by eight points over Cole Franks. Round 10 was the only ride Pope had below 85 points at the 2022Wrangler NFR. “There were a lot of nerves (before that Round 10 ride),” said Pope, who has had his PRCA card since 2019. “If it wasn’t for my traveling partners Tim “I don’t have any intentions of leaving any time soon,” Pope said. “I love the brotherhood of this. All those guys in that locker room (at theThomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas) are like my brothers and I love them to death. We all feed off each other. We all want the best for each other. It is rewarding. We battle it out all year long and the hardest thing you will ever do is rodeo for a full year as hard as you can to make here (the NFR). It is gratifying to get here and to be able to win is even better.”

ProRodeo Sports News 12/16/2022

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