Eli Vastbinder
Eli Vastbinder – Union Grove, N.C. ($95,114)
First-time WNFR qualifier
Eli Vastbinder’s journey to his first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo started in the unlikely state of Ohio. He was born and raised near Dayton, was the Ohio Little Britches Junior Bull Riding Champion and the Ohio State champion in high school rodeo.
While Ohio was home, he always wanted to be a cowboy and loved everything to do with the Western way of life. That is a gift he got from his parents. His mom’s side of the family competed in rodeos and his dad was a huge supporter.
After high school, he moved to North Carolina where there were better opportunities to practice and be around bull riders. He started competing in bull riding associations. Along the way, he met his fiancée Paige Lutrell. They will be newlyweds at the NFR as they said “I do” on November 10th.
Eli now lives in Texas and has been traveling with Koby Radley. They both set a goal to qualify for rodeo’s championships in 2018. Koby won $2,144 more than Eli during the regular season who will enter the NFR with $95,114 in 14th place.
Experience in bull riding and rodeo has taught Eli that he needs to depend on others to help him in his quest to be the best. He is a student of Gary Leffew and credits the “Bull Guru” as the guy that inspires him to keep trying to better himself.
Part of that comes outside of the arena where he relaxes by roping, riding horses and hunting. He’ll be doing plenty of that to get ready for the NFR where his new wife and Ohio family will be in the stands.
Regardless of what happens at this year’s NFR, Eli’s desire to be a cowboy and qualify for the NFR has been accomplished. He will always be a cowboy and it is highly likely that there are many more trips to Las Vegas in his future.
