Texas Rattlers Wins Thunder Days and Makes Splashy Trade

PBR's Texas Rattlers won the event in Ridgedale, for the second year in a row. In addition to the win, the Rattlers have also announced a big trade.

Kelly Kistner | Sep 17, 2023

Texas Rattlers Wins Thunder Days and Makes Splashy Trade /

The Texas Rattlers won the 2023 PBR event Thunder Days in Ridgedale. They won the same event last year which was a turning point for a season in which they finished second in 2022 regular season play. Ridgedale is the seventh of ten events in the PBR Team Series.

So...is their 2023 Ridgedale win a sign of similar momentum? The team also finished second last weekend in Oklahoma City and is now second in the standings at 10-9, trailing only the Austin Gamblers (14-5).

Additionally, on Sunday evening the Rattlers made a big trade with the Oklahoma Freedom. Texas traded Dawson Gleaves, a second-round 2024 new rider draft pick and future considerations to Oklahoma for Eli Vastbinder.

Eli Vastbinder is a veteran with a strong resume and the type of grit that embodies our team and system," said Chad Blankenship, GM of the Texas Rattlers. "We look forward to welcoming him to our locker room and winning games together."

Vastbinder was the Freedom's first pick in the inaugural PBR Team Series Draft in 2022. Among eight teams, the Oklahoma Freedom had the eighth pick in the first round of the draft. Vastbinder is also a main character in the critically acclaimed new docuseries "The Ride" available on Amazon Prime.

The PBR Team Series heads to North Carolina this weekend, with two more stops after Carolina, including Arizona and Fort Worth, before moving into the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for the Championships.

Published Sep 17, 2023

KELLY KISTNER

Kelly Kistner is the fourth generation of a farming and ranching family. In addition to living in rural America, Kelly has served in multiple leadership roles in both corporate and public safety organizations. Kelly started his first full-time job at the age of 19, as a part of the management team at a large country-western entertainment facility that hosted many of the largest names in country music and had bull riding every Friday and Saturday night. Kelly holds a Bachelor's degree from Texas State University and a Master's degree from Oklahoma State University. Kelly has served in several roles including organizational restructures and start-ups in the business and governmental sectors. He has worked in management, leadership, and consulting roles with multiple Fortune 500 companies. Having served in both the law enforcement and the fire service, Kelly has a strong drive to give back to his community. He is now taking that drive and experience and placing it in efforts to help grow the Western Sports industry through collaborative efforts with Sports Illustrated and Western Media Sports. During his down time, Kelly enjoys spending time with his wife Ariana and three boys – Kade, Kaleb and Cameron, while also caring for the animals on the ranch he owns with Ariana in North Texas. Kelly and Ariana are members of several western sports organizations and actively support multiple charities in the local communities. If you have any comments, questions or suggestions he can be reached at kellyk@sirodeo.com or on Twitter at @KWKistner.