CLASSIC NON-PRO Phil Rapp Becomes champion with highest score of show‚224 As Phil Rapp had predicted after the second go-round, nobody was going to hand him the first-place check. Indeed, the fifth rider to work in the finals, Priscilla Rothwell, laid down a 219 on Cats Summertime. A 219 or lower had won this class five times, but, as it turned out, it wasn't nearly high enough in 1998. Not with Rapp riding Smart Little Jerry. As the next rider to work after Rothwell, Rapp and Jerry teamed for a 224, making the rest of the finals academic. He won $14,350 in finals money. As it turned out, Rothwell finished third after Rapp's wife, Mary Ann, passed her with a 219.5 on Miss Peppy Jay Bar. The 224 by Phil Rapp would end up being the highest score of the 1998 show. The 224 was set in motion by a perfect draw for Rapp ã sixth in the 11-horse first set of cattle. "He was really good," Rapp said of Smart Little Jerry. "The first cow got a little soft and he did his pretty stuff, and on the second cow he went and stopped him." Not many horses win the first two go-rounds of a class and the finals, but that's what Smart Little Jerry did. The stallion had marked scores of 221 (the top score in the first go-round) and 218 (tied for first place in the second go-round) to lead the charge into the finals. "It's difficult to put strong run-after-run together," Rapp said. "The odds of doing that sometimes work against you. It's nice when it does happen. I've done it a few times. It's nice to come to a show like this and do that." It was a sentimental ride for Rapp in more ways than one. Since he was to sell a half-option in Smart Little Jerry the following month, Rapp, as a non-pro, would be ineligible to ride the horse after the deal was struck. Secondly, the horse was named in 1993 after Rapp's ailing father, Jerry, who would die the following year. "Dad never did get to see the horse shown, of course," Rapp said. "It's just a little memory of Dad when you go down there and ride. You feel like he's in here watching you." After the victory, Rapp admitted some cutters wondered why he would sell the half-option in a horse that was only getting better. Rapp's answer was that it was his chance to become involved in the world of politics. Rapp was selling the half-option to Texas politician Tom Loeffler. "I hate to lose him, but the door it opens up for me and my wife by selling the half-option to Tom is a tremendous deal," Rapp said. "I think my father would be proud of me for selling the option to a person like that. We have such broadening horizons through that horse. The people I'll be able to meet through Mr. Loeffler is something I'd never have got the opportunity to do. "I think my dad would have sold him (Smart Little Jerry) himself. My dad was an outstanding businessman. He made wise business decisions ã he didn't do it with his heart. I try to be like that."