Vastbinder Goes for 90 Despite Separated Shoulder and Possible Broken Ribs
By: Justin Felisko
LAS VEGAS – Eli Vastbinder was hunched over and shuffled his way down the hallway underneath the stands of T-Mobile Arena before collapsing.
Vastbinder could not walk any farther. The pain in his side was just too much for him.
Vastbinder had just put forth the gutsiest effort of the 2021 PBR World Finals so far on Friday night by riding Hell on the Red for 90 points despite having separated his right shoulder (riding arm) and possibly breaking some ribs earlier in the night.
“I just got on him, and that is all you can do,” Vastbinder whispered, at times gasping to catch his breath. “You know it is going to hurt, and you know it is going to be hard. You just put your hand in the rope and nod your head and just hope for the best. I don’t know how it was going to go, really. Before I got on, I kind of thought to myself, ‘This is not the smartest thing. I can’t even bend over.’ (Cody) Lambert came up and told me, ‘Get on, nod your head. It is going to hurt. Worry about it later.’
“I nodded, and it all worked out.”
Vastbinder was injured earlier in Round 3 when Whiskey Bent bucked him off hard onto the arena dirt in 1.31 seconds. After being evaluated by Dr. Tandy Freeman and the PBR Sports Medicine Team, Vastbinder dusted himself off and headed back out to the arena, where he would go on to ride Hell on the Red.
The 30-year-old finished second in Round 3, and his 2-for-3 start to the World Finals has him sitting in fourth place overall. Vastbinder’s two 90-point rides this week at the World Finals are the first of his premier series career. He won Round 1 on Wednesday with a 91-point ride on Manaba.
Vastbinder has also closed the gap significantly in the Rookie of the Year race and is only 79.5 points behind No. 1 Junior Patrik Souza.
Souza is 11th in the event average and is 2-for-3. The 28-year-old rode Drifter for 87.75 points on Friday night.
Meanwhile, No. 2 rookie Chase Dougherty is tied for eighth place in the average and is 2-for-3. Wooden Nickels bucked Dougherty off in 6.64 seconds in Round 3.
Top 3 Rookie of the Year Standings
No. 1 Junior Patrik Souza (648 world points)
No. 2 Chase Dougherty (-29.5)
No. 3 Eli Vastbinder (-79.5)
The question in the Rookie of the Year will be if Vastbinder can battle through his injuries for the final two days of competition in Las Vegas.
Vastbinder will undergo X-rays on his ribs and clavicle and visit with PBR Sports Medicine on Saturday morning.
“They are going to take some X-rays, but there is not much you can do about ribs,” Vastbinder said. “I’ve got a separated shoulder, and they will take some X-rays of my clavicle.”
There are also question marks on the availability of No. 5 rookie Rafael Henrique dos Santos, who is questionable for Round 4 with a concussion, per Dr. Freeman.
Vastbinder has a rematch against Juju (4-3, UTB) in Round 4 (11 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network), and he expects to be ready.
It was in Fort Worth, Texas, at Iron Cowboy in August when Vastbinder rode Juju for 89.5 points. Vastbinder would notoriously ride 3-of-6 bulls on Championship Sunday – the equivalent of what he will need to get on this week at the PBR World Finals.
It will likely be even more challenging to finish out the World Finals, but Vastbinder says he will do all he can to give it a go on Saturday night.
“Oh yeah,” Vastbinder concluded.
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
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