BY BRETT NIERENGARTEN
Growing up, bareback rider Jess Pope played several sports, but he always knew he was a cowboy first and foremost.
“When I got into high school I was pretty much told that I needed to pick between rodeo and sports (our coach was the coach for all 3 sports) so eventually, I gave up sports,” he said. “I tried to do both my freshman and sophomore year and was always getting (yelled) at for doing both and was told I would never be able to make a living rodeoing and it just lit a fire under me even more.”
That coach was obviously wrong about Jess Pope, who qualified for his first Wrangler NFR at age 22 in 2020 and ended up finishing third in the world with more than $200,000.
Pope’s mindset is similar to that of his mentor and traveling partner Tim O’Connell’s - both cowboys approach every part of the job like professional athletes.
“Everything about sports made me a better athlete then and now. I feel like if every kid has the opportunity to do any kind of sport (especially wrestling) they definitely should do it,” Pope said. “It teaches you how to forget fast, always look ahead, deal with adversity, and adds a lot of character to who you are as a person. Character is what you are doing when you think no one is watching. That is my favorite saying and I live by it.”
The Cowboy Channel caught up with Jess Pope in late May while he was recovering from a back injury to discuss more about how he stays in shape.
TCC: How hard is it to eat healthy on the road?
JP: It’s pretty hard to eat super healthy on the road. There really isn’t a good way for us to meal prep or anything just because in the Capri (Camper) we don’t have a stove, and when we are really getting after it, we might be in the truck one day, go to the airport and be away from the truck for a few days. So that leaves us with eating out pretty much all the time.
We try to eat the better ends of food when we are on the road. There is no fast food, we use Yelp a lot and try to find good food for us and that may be Mexican, a good burger joint or pho.
TCC: How did you get started riding bucking horses?
JP: George Stineberger started a lot of great cowboys, along with many world champions in the roughstock events. I was lucky enough to grow up about 10 minutes away from him. I started out riding calves and he had a fundamentals practice every Tuesday night, so I was around seeing guys practicing bareback riding.
When I was around 8, we started going to Kellyville, Oklahoma dang near every weekend to what was called the JBR’s, which was an all rough stock event. They had the pony bareback riding and I thought that was pretty cool, so my mom and dad got my brother and I a pony riggin’ to share.
TCC: Did you play any other sports growing up? Did any help you with riding bucking horses?
JP: I got to play some sports growing up. I went to a very small school so all we had was football, basketball, and track. Up through Jr. High, I played a lot of baseball and then got to play football, basketball and track. When I got into high school, I was pretty much told that I needed to pick between rodeo and sports (our coach was the coach for all three sports), so eventually I gave up sports.
TCC: Is there anything about the physical aspect of rodeoing full-time that surprised you?
JP: I was surprised that you’re not sore all the time. Your body adapts to the beating we take as bareback riders. With that being said, I was also surprised how hard it is on your body and how well you have to maintain it.
TCC: What do you think is the most important physical attribute for a bareback rider?
JP: To be tough as nails and have a well-toned body. It’s no different than a car engine. If it’s not firing off every cylinder and well-toned and well-maintained, then it’s not going to perform up to par.
TCC: Has your diet, training and nutrition changed at all since turning pro?
JP: Yes it has tremendously. Before I went to college I didn’t know anything about any of it and it’s something I had to learn and I’m still learning about it every day.
Before college, I didn’t take anything or know really what to eat and that’s one thing I can say a big thank you to (mentor) Tim (O’Connell) for because he answered a lot of dumb questions I had. I learned that there are al ot of things that your body needs to function like vitamins. So I take a vitamin pack, protein, BCA’s, etc. It’s like the car I talked about earlier, you have to keep it maintained all the time or it’s not going to work properly.
TCC: How has being around Tim O’Connell influenced your training, practice and diet?
JP: He has helped me in a lot of ways. Tim is a very dedicated athlete and loves winning. He has definitely taught me how to be disciplined and drive to my goals day in and day out.
TCC: What is a typical workout for you and why are you doing each exercise?
JP: I try to focus on a different part of my body every day, whether it be chest, shoulders or legs, each of them are very important with what it takes to ride bareback horses. The only thing I do every day is my core workouts. The core is the most important and crucial part of being a bareback rider.
TCC: Is there anything about the physical aspect of rodeoing full-time that surprised you?
JP: I was surprised that your not sore all the time. Your body adapts to the beating we take as bareback riders. With that being said, I was also surprised how hard it is on your body and how well you have to maintain it.
TCC: Do you do anything to prepare yourself mentally?
JP: I’m always trying to work on my mental game. I have read a lot of books and I like to keep trying to find new ones to read. That is also another thing that is amazing about being at (Missouri Valley) College with Coach (Ken) Mason. We work together on my mental game a lot, whether that be just having conversation about it, comparing thoughts or the desk full of handout papers that he has. He has been a very big part of it. Visualization is also a huge part for me. I’ve rode a lot of horses on the spur board that I’ve never been on before. It is a very big part of being prepared for the job and so your body will be able to react better than if you didn’t have a game plan for it.
TCC: Where do you see the direction of training for roughstock athletes going?
JP: I see it just continuing to get better. We aren’t just rodeo cowboys anymore, we are rodeo athletes. In order to do what we do for a living and to perform at such a high level and get on the horses we do, I think it’s only going to get better. The sport of bareback riding is evolving and has been for some time now.
TCC: Favorite physical activity outside of rodeo?
JP: I really enjoy playing a good game of wiffle ball or if we can get a few guys together, hacky sack is pretty fun as well.
THIS INTERVIEW HAS BEEN EDITED AND CONDENSED FOR CLARITY
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