Jess Pope Proved to Be Much More than ‘Average’ to Win 2022 Bareback Gold Buckle

By Brian Hurlburt

In the heat of July 2022, winning his first world title might have seemed a bit of a stretch for eventual 2022 PRCA Bareback World Champion Jess Pope. He struggled with a torn Plantar Fascia in his right foot around that time, but never lost focus nor faith.

Upon returning to competition, he put together a string of terrific finishes and ended up entering the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo presented by Teton Ridge trailing standings leader Cole Reiner by just $1,000.

Then Pope, 24, did what he has become known for during his young rodeo career. He won the NFR average for the third-straight year, but this time he finished the 10 nights of the NFR with an elusive and hard-earned gold buckle. 

“It is a long, tough and difficult road,” Pope said. “Winning the average is being the best guy on 10 head, while winning the world title is the best throughout the whole year. There are a lot of miles and a lot of bucking horses that you need to get on, and a lot of adversity that you need to deal with throughout the year to win a world title. In my opinion, to become a world champion, you have to be consistently great, but your cards also need to fall the right way. You need to draw good horses at the right rodeos and other stuff has to fall right. Plus, you need to deal with injuries along the way.”

The long journey to the NFR is proving difficult yet again for Pope in 2023. Through mid-June, he had earned just $25,170 and was 26^th in the world standings. Only the top 15 qualify for the NFR, but there are plenty of rodeos left to make up the lost ground.

However, there are no certainties in the talent-rich bareback division. According to Pope and other rodeo experts, a bareback world title is one of the most difficult to win.

“In the sport of bareback riding, the talent is better than we’ve ever seen it and I think it is just going to continue to get better,” Pope said. “The sport has really evolved and there is a lot of young talent out there. Shoot, there are eight guys in our rookie class this year that I can think of off the top of my head that have the talent to qualify consistently for the NFR. My brother, Ty, is one of those guys. Watching him through high school rodeo and junior rodeo competing against all of them was neat and I saw a lot of talent.”

With experience, Pope has come to understand what it takes to be successful throughout the long summer and into to the NFR.

“With rodeo, especially during the NFR and at any rodeo all summer long, it is important to take it one horse at a time,” Pope said. “If you count your chickens before they have laid their eggs, then things are not going to go very well. What is most important is focusing on the task right in front of you and then what happens, happens. If it is a great ride and score, that is awesome, but if something does not go your way, you just need to get on to the next one and not dwell on the past. The windshield is a lot bigger than the rearview mirror is.”

Pope’s early 2023 summer prior to the big summer of rodeos was filled with love and laughter. He married Sydney Odie in May and had a little fun with the nuptials on social media.

“I decided to upgrade my subscription with @sydney_ra_pope on May 28th! The best decision I have ever made, and the most perfect day I could we could have asked for. The amount of love and support from our friends and family was absolutely humbling. I will love you forever!”

Sydney and Jess had already created a powerful team even before making things official. When it comes to managing the excitement and chaos that comes with an NFR qualification, Jess has relied on Sydney to keep him calm and steady. 

“Sydney keeps me grounded and helps me stay on task because there are so many distractions when you get out there to Vegas,” Pope said. “It is important to stay disciplined and to just show up focused and ready to ride. It is the longest but fastest 10 days that I have ever lived.”

The NFR is the ultimate goal, and an experience unlike any other.

“The NFR is like being in a storm cloud, man,” Pope said. “You have the lightning and thunder rolling all around, and everyone is feeding off each other. There is no other feeling or rodeo like it. The feeling runs through your bones and makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up. When they play Viva Las Vegas, it’s go time, and we are ready to rock and roll.”