Knocked-down poles at Brawley take Popko out of season lead

A pair of five-second penalties for knocking down a pole took Kerry Popko out of the lead in the California High School Rodeo Association District 8 season Pole Bending standings.

The Fallbrook High School junior ended the January 13-14 weekend in Brawley with 122 points for the season, one point behind Melanie Miller. Miller accumulated 59 points during the weekend’s rodeos while Popko earned 35 points.

The CHSRA rodeos in Brawley consist of two separate rodeos, each of which has two go-rounds. Popko finished second to Miller in both go-rounds of the January 13 rodeo.

Miller won the first January 13 go-round with a time of 20.55 seconds. Popko, who rode Banjo, completed the course in 21.33 seconds while third-place Carollann Scott had a time of 21.89 seconds.

“I think the weather was a big issue because it was so cold,” Popko said. “It was not the perfect condition for my horse.”

Popko’s time in the afternoon go-round January 13 was 20.89 seconds, placing behind Miller’s 20.69-second run and ahead of the 21.54-second time of third-place Destri Devenport.

In the first go-round January 14, Popko’s time of 21.23 seconds placed behind Miller’s 20.91-second run and Devenport’s time of 20.99 seconds. “It was okay because I knew that as long as I kept the poles up I’d hold my standings,” Popko said.

The tipped poles in the final go-round were Popko’s undoing. She noted that it was Banjo’s fourth run over two days. “He was just really tired. He didn’t want to do it again,” she said.

Popko slowed down once she realized that she would not place in the go-round or average and finished the run with a time of 31.01 seconds, including ten seconds in penalties. Tyla Treasure had the winning time with a run of 20.54 seconds while Miller finished second with a time of 20.69 seconds. Miller also won the average and its associated ten points while Popko did not place in either the go-round or the average.

Whether Miller, Popko, or another competitor win the District 8 title will depend on the results of the season’s final four District 8 rodeos. “I have a while, so I can catch up,” Popko said.