If you enjoy rodeo, the Lyon County Fairgrounds was the place to be Saturday night.
Separate but overlapping activities were held to honor Wrangler National Finals Rodeo world bareback champion Jess Pope of Waverly and Miss Rodeo Kansas Jessica Klumpe of Olpe. Pope was touched by the turnout at the Bowyer Community Building.
Klumpe, meanwhile, was floored to look back at her rodeo career.
Pope was unranked after the 2018 season, then climbed to 28th at the end of the 2019 season. He finished third overall in 2020 and second in 2021. Pope has already had two runs at the National Western Rodeo in Denver last week.
Klumpe, meanwhile, says she will be busy this year as she travels the state serving as an advocate for the rodeo industry, agriculture industry and the Western way of life.
Photos by Chuck Samples/KVOE News
