Cooper Cooke of Victor, Idaho, is one of three Cinch bareback riders that will compete at the 2025 National Finals Rodeo. Cooke will return to Las Vegas for the second straight year and will be joined by Texan Cole Franks and Louisianan Waylon Bourgeois.
(PRCA PHOTO BY ALEXIS CADY)

 

Cinch bareback riders will put their exuberance on display at NFR

There’s a youth movement in bareback riding at the National Finals Rodeo.

The average age of the 15 qualifiers to ProRodeo’s grand finale is 25.2 years of age. While many experts consider that the prime age for elite athletes, there’s something more to consider: Two of the 15 are in their 30s, and one of those is 37.

Cinch cowboy Cooper Cooke exemplifies the surge in the younger generation. At 23, he just earned his second straight bid to the NFR, which takes place Dec. 4-13 at Las Vegas. He rides in as the 10th-ranked man in the field with $142,540 in money earned through the regular season.

His biggest payday came north of the border. Cooke won the Calgary (Alberta) Stampede, cashing in $64,000 Canadian dollars that count toward his spot in the standings.

“That’s probably the most meaningful win I’ve ever had, especially because my family was there to watch it,” Cooke told the Calgary Herald.

The Victor, Idaho, cowboy picked up a few other wins, but the key ingredient was cashing in all season. That’s a similar path taken by his fellow Cinch endorsees, Waylon Bourgeois and Cole Franks. This will be Franks’ fourth venture to the Nevada desert in five years, but it is Bourgeois’ first qualification.

“I’m just taking it in and enjoying it,” said Bourgeois, 26, of Church Point, Louisiana. “Whenever it’s time to go to work, we’re going to work. I’ve got some goals set. I definitely want to get some round wins. Going after that average title is a big deal, but I think the big thing is taking it in, enjoying it and making memories.”

An all-around athlete while crowing up in Cajun country, he advanced to the College National Finals Rodeo three times while competing at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana – he would have made it four in a row had the 2020 season not been hijacked by COVID.

Franks made the most of his college experience. He won the intercollegiate bareback riding and all-around titles in 2021 while helping accrue points to help win the team title for Clarendon (Texas) College, which is coached by his father, Bret.

Cole Franks then was named the Bareback Riding Resistol Rookie of the Year that season en route to his first NFR; he won $150,000 in Las Vegas that December and finished third in the world standings. He heads back to Sin City fifth on the money list with $200,000 in his pocket.

The key to such a successful campaign? He married the former Dustie Warr in May, and the two are expecting their first child in February.

“Everything seemed a little easier this year,” said Franks, 24, of Clarendon. “Everything was balanced a little better this year. Life in general was a lot more balanced, so I feel like that translated over to rodeo and just made everything easier.”

The young men mature in time, but their energy and their athletic excellence will be on display for 10 December nights in the City of Lights.