Village News - Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma

The California Junior Rodeo Association competition July 14 at Camp Pendleton’s Ace Bowen Rodeo Grounds was close to home for Kerry Popko. It was also a return to the success she had experienced earlier in the year.

Popko, who had been plagued with five-second penalties for knocking down poles in several previous Pole Bending competitions, kept all of her poles up July 14 and won the event with a time of 20.74 seconds.

“I went in there with a completely different mindset,” Popko said.

Popko’s plan was to ride her horse, Banjo, at a slower pace. “I’ve been riding him so hard s...