ProRodeo Sports News - January 20, 2023

EDITOR’S LETTER TRACY RENCK

Pope’s humility is refreshing in today’s ‘me-sports’ world

W hen interviewing bareback rider Jess Pope on the night of Dec. 10 at theThomas &Mack Center in Las Vegas, his emotions were raw. Moments earlier he had just won his inaugural PRCAWorld Championship with $390,620. In the process, Pope denied Kaycee Feild the opportunity to extend his PRCA BarebackWorld Championship record to seven world titles. Feild finished second with $316,490. Pope also won his third consecutive NFR average title with 860 points on 10 head. Only ProRodeo Hall of Famer Bruce Ford (1979-80, 1982, 1987) and Feild (2011-14) have won more NFR bareback riding average titles than Pope. There’s no question about it – Pope is a rodeo superstar. However, what makes Pope so easy to root for, like a lot of PRCA cowboys, is his humility. Fresh off his banner world championship season, Pope was competing at the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo in Denver on Jan. 12-13. Pope failed to advance to the semifinals of the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo. Pope had a 76-point ride on Cervi Championship

refreshing. Pope wasn’t playing the blame game or being the narcissistic victim. “Winning the gold buckle was really awesome (on Dec. 10) and the next day it starts over again for the next year,” said Pope, 24. “Rodeo is the luck of the draw. Sometimes you draw really good ones and sometimes you draw the middle of the pen. I thought I rode good, but the other guys showed up and did their jobs and I can’t be mad about it.” Pope certainly isn’t playing his world championship superstar card. “You still have to wake up and be the same person,” Pope said. “I just wear a different buckle on my belt now. I wake up and still day work, run cows every day, check them and feed them and be a good family man and enjoy the time I get on Earth while I can, and I get to rodeo and that’s the best thing I could ever dream of.” Not surprising, capturing a coveted gold buckle was a mission he started years ago, and it is far from accomplished. “Everybody who is rodeoing, their goal is to win a gold buckle,” Pope said. “From the time I was a little bitty kid I wanted one and I didn’t want just one I wanted multiple. It is no different than a player winning a Super Bowl or a player winning a World Series in baseball.” Except in Pope’s case, unlike NFL and MLB players, he’s not worried about his brand. What you see is what you

Tracy Renck is the editor of the ProRodeo

Sports News . He previously served more than seven years as a media coordinator at the PRCA. He has three decades of experience in sports journalism with the last several consumed by ProRodeo.

Rodeo’s Freshman 15 and his two-ride total of 156.5 points failed to finish in the top three in his bracket to move him to the semis on Jan. 21 at the Denver Coliseum. Pope had an 80.5-point ride on Cervi Championship Rodeo’s Grin & Bare It on Jan. 12 at the Playoff Series rodeo. Pope not moving on in Denver was surprising, but his reaction was so

get – a true American cowboy.

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ProRodeo Sports News 1/20/2023

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