World Champion Bareback Rider Jess Pope was in a heated battle for a place inside the Top 15 when he pulled into the Puyallup Cinch Playoffs. When he left, he took home the win and enough money to jump into the Top 10 in the World to be your Exmark Roughstock Athlete of the Week.
Pope’s Round 1 match up was an 80.5-point ride on Calgary Stampede’s Daunting News. That would be his lowest score in Puyallup by seven and a half points as he would double down with a pair of 88’s in the next two rounds. The first would come aboard I Fly Plane of Korkow Rodeo to win Round 2 of Playoff 1.
In the Semifinals, Pope’s draw would be Bridwell Pro Rodeo’s Buster. This is a horse that has found his footing in the best way during this 2024 season as six of his ten outs have resulted in scores over 85 points. Pope would top that Stock Stat while also picking up the Semifinal Round win with his second 88-point ride.
When the Final Four rolled around, Pope drew a horse that he was ready for. The week before Puyallup, at Ellensburg Rodeo, Pope rodeo Calgary Stampede’s Disco Party for 88 points. In the Final Four, the two met again to best that with an arena record breaking 92.5-point flashy ride.
Pope added over $16,000 to his season earnings at the Puyallup Cinch Playoffs and it came at the perfect time. He was $2,000 out of the Top 15 and he flew past and into the Top 10 with this success. The cherry on top came when he cashed in another $2,600 with a third-place finish at the Lewiston Roundup to cinch his title as your Exmark Roughstock Athlete of the Week.
