Cooper James Dominates NFR Round 7 Eliminator Pen Aboard Midnight Rider

NFR rookie, Cooper James, is riding like a seasoned veteran at the National Finals Rodeo and earned his second round win in a tough pen of bulls in Round No. 7.

Cooper James / PRCA Photo by Roseanna Sales

Tonight was the eliminator pen in the Bull Riding and what a night it was. We saw five bull riders make the whistle and this is a huge factor in the race to a gold buckle for a couple of these cowboys. The top two in the World Standings and the average race both rode their bulls tonight and this drama is going to continue to heat up until round ten in Saturday night.

National Finals Rodeo Rookie, Cooper James of Erda, Utah, earned his fifth check and second round win of the week tonight in Round Seven. Aboard Midnight Rider of Rafter H Rodeo, he scored 88 points to earn the victory, which was worth a little $34,774 with the extra ground money.

In his post-ride interview on the Cowboy Channel, James reported, "I just knew it was the eliminator pen and I was going to have to keep moving. I talked to a couple buddies of mine who had rode him (Midnight Rider) and they said 'You better keep moving,' so I kept trying to get back to the middle and it worked out for me."

Nineteen-year-old James is thriving under this pressure and said, "I love it, it's always been that way for me. The pressure, state finals and national finals in high school, I always fed off that and rode really good there, so coming here I knew the pressure was going to be on and I was going to be hot."

Not only is he winning checks and buckles this week, James has climbed to second in the World Standings, as well as second in the average race. He is one bull down behind Josh Frost in the Average and roughly $68,000 behind in the World Standings. The next three rounds could change that drastically, with a lot of money still on the table in the rounds and the average.

Tonight on the Cowboy Channel, Steve Kenyon mentioned that James had bucked off three or four bulls straight while competing on his permit and told his dad that he thought he should stick to his other event, Saddle Bronc Riding. It was immediately after that, he drew Bull of the Year, Chiseled, in Blackfoot, Idaho, at the Gem State Classic Pro Rodeo. He scored 92.5 points to take the win and never looked back, making the 2024 NFR.

Josh Frost also get a score tonight - a 67.5 aboard Closet Gangster from Fettig Pro Rodeo kept him in that Average race and earned him a fifth place check for $9,780. This bull was almost a guaranteed no score, as he was a very tough draw and if I heard correctly, had never been ridden. The way he came out of the chute seemed to set him off a little differently and he spun in quieter circles, looking disoriented. It slowed the bull down enough for Frost to easily stay with him. Although offered a re-ride, Frost opted to keep the score on the board.

These two are going to stay in a dead heat until the final round, with the performances we have been seeing and it will be exciting to see which one comes out on top with the gold buckle.