Popko qualifies for CHSRA finals

Kerry Popko has earned a trip to the California High School Rodeo Association state finals.

The Fallbrook High School freshman finished fourth in the District 8 Pole Bending standings. The top five finishers in each event from each district qualify for the CHSRA state finals, which this year will be held in Bishop June 13-19.

“That really is a lot,” Popko said of earning a berth in the state finals.

The final District 8 competition of the year took place May 1 at the Lakeside Rodeo Grounds. Popko entered the day in third place in the standings with 116 points, seven points behind second-place Jennifer Rosenberg, one point ahead of fourth-place Erin Bogdanich, four points ahead of fifth-place Bliss Bates, and 25 points in front of sixth-place Trisha Buchanan.

Popko, who rides a 12-year-old paint horse named Banjo, had a time of 21.58 seconds on her first run. “I wasn’t too proud of myself,” she said.

She fulfilled her objective, however, of not knocking over any poles, which would have produced a five-second penalty and deprived her of one of the top ten positions in the go-round. “I’m trying to stay up there for that so I can go to state,” she said.

Popko finished fifth in the first go-round, earning six points for that run. Buchanan placed sixth in the first go, ensuring Popko one of the top five positions for the year. Bates earned eight points with her third-place go-round position while Rosenberg, who lives in Rancho Bernardo but trains in Bonsall, finished fourth to add a point to her lead over Popko.

The pole markers could not be found as the riders prepared for the afternoon run, causing a 35-minute delay while the grounds were measured and marked. “It just kind of gets to you,” Popko said. “Makes you more nervous. That’s why I like being first. I always like being first so I don’t have to wait.”

The order of the morning go-round is reversed for the afternoon; Popko was the 15th of 17 riders in the morning and the third rider after the extended lunch break transitioned into the second go-round.

With a state finals berth secured and only the final District 8 positions at stake, Popko could afford to sacrifice caution for time. Had she not knocked over a pole and incurred a five-second penalty, her time of 21.05 seconds would have placed second in the go-round. The five-second penalty gave her a 26.05-second time and a 47.63-second average.

Bates put together another third-place go-round, giving her eight points for that go-round and nine points for finishing second in the average. That would give Bates third in the final standings with 137 points, which would fall five short of Rosenberg’s total after Rosenberg’s sixth-place go-round time gave her fourth in the average.

Bogdanich was unable to take advantage of Popko’s penalty to end up fourth; Bogdanich knocked over two poles in the second go-round and did not finish in the top ten in either the second go-round or the average. Popko’s average turned out to be the ninth-place time, giving her two points for the average along with fourth place for the season.

The Rosenbergs’ Bonsall ranch will also see preparation for the state finals. Jennifer Rosenberg won the District 8 Barrel Racing and Breakaway Roping championships, the latter by one point, and she also qualified for the state finals in Goat Tying and Team Roping as well as in Pole Bending. Daniel Rosenberg, the District 8 Boys All-Around champion, won the district Steer Wrestling championship and also earned entry into the state finals in Team Roping and Tie-Down Roping.