What to Watch For: Eli Vastbinder Looks to Parlay Good Health with Big Checks in Tulsa
By: James Youness
PUEBLO, Colo. — Sure, it was pretty chilly last weekend when Unleash The Beast took over Allstate Arena for another memorable showcase of epic bull riding, big wrecks and standings-shifting action.
But for veteran Eli Vastbinder, who entered the 2024 campaign with quite the new facial hair setup, the bearded look isn’t specifically defending him from the cold.
He’s just changing things up this time around.
That and when his family welcomed their third child earlier this season, well … time is a bit of a prize when you’re the father of three and travel each and every weekend to pay the bills.
Being a father is far from an easy journey. But then again, neither is being a professional bull rider.
Sitting at the No. 27 rank coming into this weekend’s Express Ranches PBR Tulsa, presented by Hard Rock Hotel & Casino – Tulsa, the 32-year-old has been pretty efficient when looking at his body of work thus far.
With the tour’s season-opening showcase in Tucson, Arizona, (Nov. 10-11) marking the lone event that he’s failed to record a qualified ride at, he’s since warmed up as the winter temperatures cooled down.
Managing a 7-for-16 (43.75%) record during his six premier series appearances this season (missing competition in St. Louis, Missouri, as he spent some time with his wife and growing family), Vastbinder has been consistent in the fact that he’s recorded at least one ride in five of six events this season.
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Turning things around once December rolled around and he was now caring for a family of five, he locked in, courtesy of a season-best 11th place finish in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
Producing a season-high 86.5 points during a head-to-head showdown with Wooderson in Round 1, he was able to parlay his success into the second round, eventually earning 81 points for his dance with Buster. Taking home 11 UTB points for his Top 11 result, he was officially mixed into the standings and had some momentum to build on.
(His event-ending status probably would’ve been a bit higher had he not run into the world’s top-ranked bull in Man Hater later that weekend.)
Staying hot and exiting another pair of matchups the following weekend in Manchester, New Hampshire, with a quality 2-for-3 record, he earned a sixth-place finish and corresponding 33 UTB points.
Anytime riders can perform above the 50% ride clip, that’s typically viewed as success.
Now 4-for-7 through his last two events, Vastbinder knew he had it in him to get the job done.
Eventually closing out the 2023 calendar year with a 1-for-2 showcase in Albany, he’s started the 2024 slate of events with similar outcomes, including a 1-for-3 performance in New York City and 1-for-2 result this past weekend in Chicago.
Especially when you consider how many times the cowboy has been banged up over the last few years, it’s a positive to see him healthy and riding overall. Furthermore, meeting the requisite 8 at least once in five of six events says something as well.
But if Vastbinder wants to start earning the big boy checks, seeing No. 1 Cassio Dias net $48,906 last weekend after watching on as No. 2 Austin Richardson took home $118,650 from his PBR Major win inside Madison Square Garden … well, he’ll have to show up to BOK Center just as he did last year.
With a 3-for-3, event-winning showcase!
Teaming up with one of his PBR Teams’ coach Cord McCoy’s bulls in the short round (at the time, as Vastbinder was eventually traded to the Texas Rattlers), his 90.5-point strike atop Tulsa Time remains tied for his third-best score all-time.
More importantly, the 126 UTB points he earned from the victory during the mid-February event were practically enough to punch his ticket to a third-straight berth to the PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast (with a little help from his third-place, 63.5 UTB point-earning performance in Chicago a few weeks prior).
Back at home, there’s going to be an extra plate on the table for at least the next 18 years or so.
And with the tour prepared to make its next set of cuts following this weekend’s showdown down south (allowing the Top 33-ranked riders to remain on Unleash The Beast while relegating the remaining riders to the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour, where they’ll have to re-earn their qualification status) …
… Friday night’s opening round in Tulsa would be a damn good time for Vastbinder to turn up the heat and to repeat the heroics of last season and produce his first 3-for-3 effort of the season.
Set to dance with Red Bull in Round 1, he’ll look to bare down and stick to his basics while letting his new look and flashy riding do the talking.
Round 1 of this weekend’s action in Tulsa will also serve as an ABBI Classic Round, with 40 of the world’s most promising four-year-old bulls set to challenge the 40 best bull riders in the world for a chance to win $40,000. Big bull power = big scores and big scores = bigger checks.
AKA, Vastbinder and company will very much have the opportunity to get things started in a big way Friday night.
With the premier series officially set to complete the first third of its 2024 slate, with event No. 8 of 24 (23 regular season events plus World Finals) primed to invade Tulsa, Oklahoma, this weekend Jan. 19-20, let’s take a look at who’s drawing into the lineup during this weekend’s Express Ranches PBR Tulsa, presented by Hard Rock Hotel & Casino – Tulsa:
ROUND 1 MATCHUPS
Dawson Gleaves vs. Whiskey Business
Clay Guiton vs. Triple Aught
Silvano Alves vs. Fast Flow
Felipe Furlan vs. Sava
Wyatt Rogers vs. Watch Out
Jesse Petri vs. T-Wrecks
Boudreaux Campbell vs. Quick Show
Lucas Divino vs. Rank Hank
Dawson Branton vs. Vigilante
Wingson Henrique da Silva vs. White Dino
Eli Vastbinder vs. Red Bull
Joao Ricardo Vieira vs. King Tut
Mauricio Gulla Moreira vs. It’s Ok
Cort McFadden vs. Sucker Pop
Caden Bunch vs. Cool Hand Franky
John Crimber vs. Tickle Time
Bob Mitchell vs. The CEO
Luciano De Castro vs. Thriller
Vitor Losnake vs. Spendin’ Cash
Mason Taylor vs. PIF
*Alex Cerqueira vs. Buckshot
Briggs Madsen vs. Goin’ Solo
Guilherme Valleiras vs. Boby Face Nelson
Daylon Swearingen vs. Medicine Red
Dener Barbosa vs. Rock ‘n Roll
Paulo Eduardo Rossetto vs. Eeyore
Ednelio Almeida vs. Mr. Demon
Sage Steele Kimzey vs. LA Legs
Conner Halverson vs. Lawless
Kaique Pacheco vs. Mr. Vaquero
Kaiden Loud vs. Always Been Crazy
Julio Cesar Marques vs. Shivers
Cody Jesus vs. Rombauer
Dalton Kasel vs. Uncle Jim
Koltin Hevalow vs. King of Spades
Alan de Souza vs. Thunderstruck
Brady Fielder vs. It’s Cherry
Austin Richardson vs. Let’s Roll
Eduardo Aparecido vs. Mercy
Cassio Dias vs. Lansky
* denotes a rematch
OUT BECAUSE OF INJURY/OTHER
Jose Vitor Leme
Jess Lockwood
Nick Tetz
Dakota Buttar
Chase Outlaw
Marcus Mast
Derek Kolbaba
Colten Fritzlan
Tate Pollmeier
Brady Oleson
Joao Lucas Campos
Jake Morinec
Joao Henrique Lucas
Braidy Randolph
ROUND 1 REMATCHES
Alex Cerqueira vs. Buckshot (2.9 seconds in Fort Worth, Texas)
TOP DAWG CASSIO DIAS SET TO DEFEND 108-POINT LEAD IN TULSA After seeing now No. 2 Austin Richardson show off his top-tier skills throughout the past two showcases, joining Cassio Dias as the only rider this season to capture two event buckles in the opening seven opportunities, the talented 23-year-old was involved in a nasty wreck during the opening round of action in Chicago, thus paving the way for Dias to retake his tour lead. Turning in yet another three-ride performance en route to earning his third event title within the first seven events of the season, Dias literally looked unstoppable once again last weekend. Beginning his flawless outing in Round 1 with an 87-point conversion aboard IHOP, Dias returned to the arena Saturday night with even more energy. Teaming up with Grey Fox for a health 86.75 points, he was able to put the finishing touches on another stellar performance in the short round. Exiting his man vs. beast showdown against Do Dat Eddie, he was scored a round-high-tying 89 points to bring home his third win of the campaign. Healthy enough to give it a go and keep his spicy start to 2024 alive, Richardson is back in the draw this weekend, set to dance with Let’s Roll. Meanwhile, Dias will be challenged by Lansky during the final out of the night.
PWVT’S NO. 2 GETS A SHOT ON THE BIG STAGE
With PBR Teams continuing to not only allow up-and-coming riders to interact with and learn from some of the best bull riders in the world (be in the past or current timelines) but receive a shot to perform alongside them, youngsters are realizing their dreams are quite literally unfolding before their eyes. Getting some bulls rode during the summer series has provided a spark for several youngsters, with Dawson Branton being one of them. Spending the 2023 season travelling with the Carolina Cowboys, he was able to pick up a few pointers in transcending his skills. Back on the individual series for the winter slate, he now finds himself ranked No. 2 overall within the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour standings, now just 30 points behind No. 1 Marco Rizzo. Having competed in just five total events since exiting the Nov. 30 iteration of the PBR Stockyards Showcase with an event title (considered a Touring Pro Division competition at this point of the calendar year), he turned in his second-ever PWVT victory two weekends ago in Portland, Oregon, before following it up this past weekend with a third-place finish in Spokane, Washington. Looking to take advantage of his first Unleash The Beast appearance since completing the 2023 World Finals event sixth overall, Branton has a date set with Vigilante in Round 1.
FOLLOW ALONG
The two-day, three-round showcase inside BOK Center is set to begin Friday, Jan. 19 at 7:45 p.m. CST, with Round 1 airing live via RidePass on Pluto TV. Round 2’s action will begin Saturday, Jan. 20 at 6:45 p.m. CST, with all of Championship Saturday’s action later airing on CBS Sports Network on Sunday, Jan. 21 beginning at 7 p.m. CST.
Fans can stay tuned to PBR.com and PBR social media channels throughout the weekend for the latest scores, wrecks, injury updates and beyond as Unleash The Beast prepares to invade Tulsa during the eighth event of the 2024 season!
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
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