ST. LOUIS – Eli Vastbinder sunk into his chair at the Courtyard Marriott Oklahoma City downtown and let out a sly grin.
Vastbinder, first off, immediately wanted to make sure never would come off as cocky, arrogant or seemingly thinking he believes he is better than anyone else.
The 30-year-old, humble bull rider has a tremendous respect for the other 30 competitors who are riding alongside him on the Unleash The Beast. Vastbinder is often one of the first riders to arrive at the locker room, offering out a welcoming handshake to anyone in his distance and sitting down for a get-to-know-you conversations.
Vastbinder has also embraced the fans who have become Eli Vastbinder fans since he put up four 90-point rides despite riding through broken ribs and a shoulder injury at the PBR World Finals, while also balancing the mental toll of knowing his wife had just given birth to twins.
“I am enjoying the PBRs,” Vastbinder said. “I really have gotten to where I love coming to these deals, so that has made it a lot easier. I am finally at that point of being comfortable.”
Vastbinder leads the PBR this season in qualified rides (14) and riding percentage (70%) on the Unleash The Beast. He has essentially doubled his riding percentage following a 35.9% rate in his rookie year.
The Statesville, North Carolina, bull rider has surged to No. 5 in the world standings, 192.5 points behind world No. 1 Joao Ricardo Vieira, and he could push himself closer into world title conversation with a victory Saturday night at the PBR TicketSmarter Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires, in St. Louis.
Vastbinder qualified for one Wrangler National Finals Rodeo while competing primarily in the PRCA until transitioning to the PBR last season and finishing fifth at his first PBR World Finals.
Now he could be competing for his first gold buckle in 2022.
“There is really no way to say this without being arrogant, and I don’t want to be viewed that way, but this is how I ride,” Vastbinder said. “I have always been a really consistent guy. I have always been a guy who rides the majority of his bulls until the last two years with COVID and everything. Everybody takes it like a surprise. I have done a couple of interviews, and everybody is like, ‘Oh damn?’
“I go, ‘Damn, ya’ll think I didn’t really ride pretty good, didn’t ya?”
In fact, Vastbinder is riding at 64% clip on the premier series since the end of last August. Vastbinder is 32-for-50 since finishing runner-up at Iron Cowboy in Fort Worth, Texas, at Dickies Arena, which is the site of the upcoming 2022 PBR World Finals (May 13-22).
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Vastbinder began Round 1 Friday night at the Enterprise Center with 82.75 points on Soup in a Group.
He will head into his Round 2 matchup against Bentley (11-6, UTB) sitting 13th in the event standings.
Fans can watch the conclusion of the event Sunday at noon ET on CBS national television.
“I feel good, everything has been good,” Vastbinder said. “I don’t know. I kind of just am getting in the groove of things, going from the rodeos to switching over to these. It took me getting into my comfort zone. I rode like this in the PRCA. I rode just like this. I don’t know.”
2016 World Champion Cooper Davis has been a big believer in Vastbinder’s skillset this season and Davis was one of a handful of riders in the locker room surprised Vastbinder did not earn a spot on the Team USA Eagles for the PBR Global Cup USA on March 5.
“Eli Vastbinder went into the Finals last year, got hurt, fought through it, and he has continued to fight through it, grit it out and stay on his bulls,” Davis says in an upcoming Global Cup show on RidePass on Pluto TV. “He is one of those guys who seems to be going under the radar and could have been on the team, and he is a strong right-handed rider.”
Coleman explained on the show Vastbinder was one of the riders he had been considering for the team when he submitted his roster to the PBR competition department at the end of January.
“He is for real. He is tough, and he is a damn, good cowboy,” Coleman said. “I do have him on my list, but he was down there a ways.”
Vastbinder said he will be ready if the Eagles end up needing a rider because of an injury, and he will still be cheering on his buddies wearing the red, white and blue either way.
“It is not my choice to pick the team,” Vastbinder said. “It is not my call who is on and who isn’t. it does hurt that I wasn’t picked for the team, but that is the team I am rooting for. If they call me last minute and need me, I will step up and do the best I can. If anything, it just fired me up. That inspires me.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media