Rookie Cooper James

By Patrick Everson

Bull rider Cooper James is competing this week at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, a rookie having the season of a lifetime. So you might assume James has a drawer full of buckles from the rodeos he’s won on the way to qualifying for the 2024 NFR

Well, you’d be wrong. But he’s got one now.

James rode Schott In The Dark to 88.5 points and a win in Monday night’s fifth go-round. With it came a go-round buckle.

“I’ve never won a buckle in pro rodeo before tonight. So I’m ecstatic. I don’t think it’s set in yet. I don’t know what time I’ll get to sleep tonight,” James said. “I won three or four rodeos this year. But just not ones that gave buckles to the winner.”

Still, the fact that five nights of the Wrangler NFR are done, and James just got his first buckle of the entire 2024 season – and of his professional career – speaks to his best attribute: Consistency.

“The one thing this year is that I wasn’t first at a lot of places. But I got a lot of seconds, thirds and fourths,” James said.

That consistency carried over to the NFR. He’s stayed atop four of five bulls, one of only two riders to do so – the other being Josh Frost, who took third Monday night and is No. 1 in the world standings at $326,381.

But James is staying in the race. He cashed on each of the four bulls he’s ridden, capped of course by the $33,687 check Monday night. Plus, since only three riders stayed on in the fifth round, James got an additional $9,418 in ground money, making Monday a $43,105 day.

That gives James $107,439 in winnings over the past five nights. For the season, that puts the Erda, Utah, cowboy at $266,438, fourth in the world.

And he leads the average, with 340 points on four bulls, just ahead of Frost’s 336.5. Somehow, the 19-year-old is keeping his head under the bright lights of the Thomas & Mack Center and the city of Las Vegas.

“I have to think of it as just another rodeo. They’re just paying you more,” James said. “I’m loving it. Vegas has been good to me. The people you get to meet and the experiences you get to have. There’s nothing like it.”

Well, nothing but perhaps riding to a world title as a rookie. A few more nights like Monday could make that a reality. But James isn’t thinking that far ahead. The enthusiastic cowboy is having the time of his life and trying to bring everyone along, one ride at a time.

“I love rodeo. I love the crowd, the fans, all the people here. It’s just peace and love.”