‘Be True to Yourself’: CNFR Champion Cooper Filipek on Winning, Wisdom, and What’s Next

The Rodeo Report caught up with recently crowned bareback riding champion, Cooper Filipek, about where the road leads from here.

Filipek at the 2025 CNFR. Photo courtesy of KB Media.

2025 Gillette College graduate Cooper Filipek can add another line to his impressive résumé: College National Champion. With an 82.5-point ride earning him the win in Round 1 and another 82.5 topping Round 2, Filipek’s 83.5 in the Short Go was the icing on the cake and earned him the win in the Average. 

What makes this young cowboy so unique is not his talent inside the arena, but the person he is outside the arena. Filipek is true to himself and has strong beliefs about who he wants to be in life. With his trademark yellow hat and friendly demeanor, Filipek has quickly built a huge fan base. 

The Rapid City, South Dakota, cowboy grew up immersed in the culture of rodeo and quickly developed an interest in rodeo. He tried a few events, but in high school, his talent for bareback riding began to shine. After qualifying for the National High School Finals Rodeo three consecutive years, Filipek attended his first year of college at Mesalands Community College in Tucumcari, New Mexico. 

Although the experience was valuable, ultimately, he made his way back to South Dakota for surgery to repair an old injury. Filipek knew Marvin Garrett was the rough stock coach at Gillette College — which also happened to be a bit closer to home than Tucumcari. After reaching out to Garrett, Filipek found a new home on the Gillette College Rodeo Team. 

For the next two years, he qualified for the CNFR. In the fall of 2024, he was unable to compete, leaving him just the spring rodeos to qualify for one final CNFR. After winning four of the five rodeos in spring 2025, Filipek clinched his qualification in just one semester’s worth of rodeos. 

Filipek at the 2025 CNFR. Photo courtesy of KB Media.

All of that grit paid off and Filipek got to make the victory lap on the final night in Casper, Wyoming, where he was crowned the CNFR Bareback Riding Champion. What does Filipek have to say about this major milestone?

“It feels pretty good. My phone hasn’t quit blowing up since! I definitely put a lot of time and effort into it. I feel pretty blessed to have the situation go the way it did and have the opportunities I’ve had. The title itself is just a title, but the accomplishment was pretty big.”

Although it was not his first time competing on that big of a stage, the moment felt surreal to the South Dakota cowboy. 

“The whole crowd was blowing up and I was a little out of breath. I had a lot of emotions running, but was just smiling.”

Coming into the CNFR, Filipek had his focus set on the end goal, but was taking it one ride at a time. 

“I wasn’t riding the best before I came or maybe I wasn’t drawing the best and felt like I wasn’t riding that well. I had a few days off before the CNFR and I came home and got ready. All I was thinking about was riding every horse, picking them up, not skipping a gear, and building my ride. Taking care of business was the main thing.”

Filipek after his ride at the 2025 CNFR. Photo courtesy of KB Media.

As for the future, Filipek is going to see where 2025 takes him. With certificates in lucrative trade industries, he has set himself up for long-term success. As of June 24, with a little over $5,000 won towards the PRCA World Standings, Filipek is currently “unranked.” That means very little in the big picture, with so many lucrative summer and fall rodeos right around the corner. Like many cowboys, Filipek’s sights are set on the biggest event in the sport: the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. 

“I’m done with school. I’ll probably hit the road and see where it takes me. Summer hasn’t even really started yet, so we’re going to see what we can do and make the best of it. Making the NFR feels a little far-fetched with how the winter went, but we’ll see what we can make of the summer and fall and see where we end up by October 1.”

Filipek has battled through injuries and recoveries, but has never stopped looking towards the future. Rodeo is all about strategy and if one door closes, he knows another will open. 

“Since my winter didn't start out too well and I was injured, I was just going to see how much money I can get saved up and maybe we’ll hit it hard in the next couple weeks and see where I end up. If I can win some money and jump in the standings, I’ll probably try to keep hitting it as hard as I can. I definitely want to be set up good enough this year to try to make the NFR next year if I don’t this year.”

Filipek wanted to extend a special thank you to Marvin Garrett, his dad, Matt Hughes, and the countless other people who have helped along his journey. 

In typical Filipek fashion, he left us with some powerful words of wisdom for a 22-year-old:

“If you believe in it and you try your hardest at it, you do whatever you can to be honest to yourself, things will work out in life. Not just rodeo, but in life in general. Be true to yourself and everything will work out the way you need it to.”