Kansas contestants collected major paychecks at the recent National Finals Rodeo in Arlington, Texas.
Lighting the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association scoreboard the brightest was Jess Pope, 22-year-old bareback bronc rider from Waverly.
In his first NFR appearance, the five-foot-ten, 170-pound cowboy earned the privilege to compete ranking 11th in regular season standings. Prior to the first NFR go-round, Pope had won $49,612 riding bareback broncs this year.
When the curtain closed at the 2020 NFR, Pope had a total of $220,028 in his pocketbook. That put him third in the PRCA yearend bareback bronc riding standings.
Qualifying on all ten of his bareback broncs at the NFR, Pope scored 853 points to win the average worth $67,269 alone.