Wednesday Mini Mag

Thursday’s go-round list of horses was the “Eliminator Pen,” the hardest-to-ride broncs in the game, and they proved it. Six cowboys failed to make the whistle, which is uncommon in bareback riding, even for these types of horses. But Pope and Xplosive Skies got along very well.

Additional go-round money winning scores, placings and earnings for Pope were also announced. First go-round, 87 points, split second, $18,192; Fourth go- round, 85 points, split fifth, $3.664; Seventh go-round, 83.5 points, split third, $13,327; and 10 th go-round, 89.5 points, second, $20,731. In the Top Gun standings for most winnings at the NFR, Pope was seventh with his checks totaling $170,410.

Regular season highlights for Pope were winning rodeos in Louisville, Kentucky; Des Moines, Iowa, and Depere, Wisconsin. He was third at Fort Worth, Texas, pocketing $4,300, and collected semifinals payback at San Antonio, Texas, worth $6,500. Growing up wanting to be a cowboy and from a competitive family attracted Pope to the rodeo arena. He competed in all three rough stock events in high school and was a 2016 National High School Finals Rodeo champion. Focusing on bareback riding at Missouri Valley College (MVC), Marshall, Missouri, Pope finished third in the 2019 College National Finals Rodeo.