NCHA Hall of Famer and $5 Million Rider Michael Cooper of Weatherford, Texas, was first out in a field of 10 heavyweight cutting champs when he and 2020 mare Bella Louella set a 226-point bar no other could reach on the night of Aug. 14, competing for $50,000 and the championship title of the $200,000 Cutting Horse Challenge at the 2025 Run For A Million in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Bella Louella, owned by Cooper’s wife, Jennifer, brought some notable momentum to the stage, including a fourth-place finish at the American Performance Horseman to win $25,000 with a 220.5 under saddle for Cooper. The mare has $145,933 in lifetime earnings according to QData, which she’s earned at events like the 2025 Cattlemens Derby and Classic 5/6yo Open, the 2024 Southern Cutting Futurity 4yo Open, the NCHA Superstakes Classic and the Brazos Bash Cutting Derby, where Cooper earned his The Run For A Million Cutting Horse Challenge qualification.
By Metallic Rebel, the mare is a first foal out of 2015 Catty Louella, by High Brow Cat and out of Louella Again, the NCHA #1 Leading Dam in 2004.
2025 TRFAM Cutting Horse Challenge Results
| Place | Score | Rider | Horse | Pedigrees | Owners | Draw |
| 1 | 226 | Michael Cooper | Bella Louella | Metallic Rebel x Catty Louella | Jennifer Cooper | 1 |
| 2 | 224 | Austin Shepard | Kittennish | Kit Kat Sugar x Sweet Lil Gal | Billy Lee Wolf | 7 |
| 3 | 222 | Adan Banuelos | Reyzin The Limit | Reyzin The Limit x Metallistic | Katie Gaughan Banuelos | 6 |
| 4 | 219 | Tosten Peterson | Special Nu Boon | Boon Too Suen x Special Nu Kitty | Bitterroot Ranch, LLC | 3 |
| 5 | 219 | Cade Shepard | Countess Catrina | Im Countin Checks x Catrina Starlight | Rhein and Amanda Standish | 8 |
| 6 | 217 | Grant Setnicka | Princesses Rule | Docs Stylish Oak x Little Bow Peepto | Rio Roca Land and Cattle Co | 2 |
| 7 | 214.5 | Cody Hedlund | Konna | High Brow Cat x Sofie Rey | OO Ranch LLC | 10 |
| 8 | 214 | Kenny Platt | Roasting | Hottish x Betty Greyble | Linda Holmes | 4 |
| 9 | 207 | Beau Galyean | Mui Fuego | Hottish x Cat O Connor | Fults/Jackpot Partnership | 9 |
| 10 | 205.5 | Metallic Smart Cat | Matt Miller | Metallic Cat x Smart Jerri Lee | Matt Miller | 5 |