LAS VEGAS (October 20, 2010) - Grit and try. Dedication and determination. Heart and soul.
Those are some of the most common words used to describe Austin Meier.
But the 23-year-old knows that some think he has less natural ability than other top-ranked professional bull riders.
“Yeah, it’s irritating,” he admitted. “To me, I think that anybody that can make the Top 40 and stay in the Top 40, and have a career in the PBR, probably has some natural ability. I think my natural ability is trumped by the fact that I have the grit, the heart, the determination to not give a care.
“There are a lot of guys you’ve seen growing up that have all the natural ability in the world, but they won’t do anything with it, because they don’t have the heart to put it out there when the time comes. For me, I put it out there every chance I get, if I have to. That’s the way I was raised. I go at it 110 percent, and when things get dirty you get dirtier.”
Meier is the No. 1 bull rider in the world. All that stands between him and his first world title are six rounds at the 2010 PBR World Finals.
This time last year, he rode five of eight bulls at the Thomas & Mack Center to move from 12th in the standings to sixth – his best finish in four seasons.
Now closing out his fifth year, he’s trying to cap off a season in which he won five Built Ford Tough Series events, and held the top spot after nine of 30 events, including the past five.
As important as it is to come into the Finals as the world No. 1, he’s thankful for the lessons he learned the first two times he lost the top spot.
“It was a tremendous growing experience for me,” Meier said. “That’s one thing I believe in, riding bulls every day, you can learn something new.”
The lesson learned?
“Each bull is just another bull to ride, whether we’re in Vegas or Uncasville, Connecticut, or Dallas, Texas,” he explained. “I’m still doing the same old game, and that’s getting on bulls and making money.”
Unlike a lot of other riders in the Top 10, Meier has enjoyed a relatively injury-free year.
He hasn’t missed a single event, and finished in the Top 10 fourteen times. He won five events - two more than anyone else this season. No wonder he said he “feels good about the days that are ahead.”
He’s covered 55 bulls this year – five more than anyone else – but comes to Las Vegas with a slim 241.25-point lead over J.B. Mauney, who has twice finished second in the world standings.
“For myself, I believe that I should be in this position,” he said. “I’m not being cocky about it. I believe that I’m that good a bull rider.”
It was after winning his second event in Kansas City that he came to believe he was truly capable of winning this year’s title. “It was like, ‘This really could happen.’
“We’ll wait and see how it ends up, but mentally and physically I feel like this is my year. I’ll try to do my part riding, and we’ll let the judges do their part judging, and where it comes out for me, it’s up to God. If He feels like I’m responsible enough to handle the responsibilities of being a World Champion, then so be it. One thing we all know is with big rewards come big responsibilities.”
Regarding the notion that he lacks natural talent, he simply says, “It puts an edge on me.”
“It’s like honing a knife on steel. Even though people say that, it irritates me and kind of makes me mad to a point, but I use it to an advantage.”
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