LAS VEGAS – Ezekiel Mitchell hopped onto the stage inside the Grand Ballroom at the South Point Hotel Casino & Spa on Tuesday night with his PBR Golden Barrel award in one hand and then busted out a celebratory Dougie with a gigantic smile on his face.

Mitchell was one of four recipients to win an inaugural PBR Golden Barrel award at the 2021 Heroes & Legends Celebration.

The 24-year-old told PBR.com that his now well-known celebration for a qualified ride in the arena was just a fluke deal that came to life last season.

“I don’t remember what event last year, but ‘Teach Me How To Dougie’ came on in the intermission, and they panned the camera to me, and I started dancing,” Mitchell said. “(PBR announcer) Matt West then came up and said the fans loved it and I should keep doing it. ‘You ride one. Do that.’

“I figured that it can’t hurt nothing, and I tried it. The fans seem to love it, and they like my dance. I don’t know. It is pretty cool.”

The fans spoke loud and clear during the voting period last month for the Golden Barrels. Mitchell beat out the likes of Jose Vitor Leme, Thiago Salgado and Mauricio Moreira for the Best Celebration award.

“Jose wins everything. Let me have this one,” Mitchell said before breaking out in laughter.

Leme did not leave Heroes & Legends Celebration empty-handed, though. The No. 1-ranked bull rider in the world won two PBR Golden Barrel awards. The Unleash The Beast locker room voted Leme as the Toughest Cowboy in the PBR, and Leme’s 97.75-point ride on Woopaa was voted the Best Winning Ride of 2021 by the fans.

Leme’s historic ride also earned him the Mason Lowe Award, which is awarded annually to the bull rider with the highest-scored ride in the regular season, for the second consecutive season.

“I have no words to describe this award,” Leme said. “This is so important because it has Mason’s name on this. I will for sure keep this in a very special place in my home, and I will remember him forever, and I hope I continue to do my job to win more of these.”

Additional Golden Barrel Award recipients were Keyshawn Whitehorse (Best 7 Seconds of Agony) and Cody Webster (Best Save).

Mitchell said he might just have to start kicking his helmet when he rides as Leme does for good luck this week at the PBR World Finals, which begin on Wednesday night at T-Mobile Arena (10 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network), but one thing you won’t see him do is attempting to a backflip like Salgado.

“I can, but I get scared,” Mitchell said. “Somedays I will be confident, and I will have the adrenaline to bust out a backflip, but most days I could care less because I am scared I am going to land on my neck.”

Mitchell is impressed with riders such as Salgado and Moreira, who sometimes celebrates a qualified ride by then hopping on the back of Flint Rasmussen, the PBR’s exclusive entertainer.

To help grow the sport, Mitchell believes riders need to bring more personality in and out of the arena.

“It is really important because we are trying to reach bigger and broader audiences so that we can have better opportunities for ourselves to make money in and out of the sport,” Mitchell said. “Bringing something more for people to cheer about beyond a hat tip. I think it is really important to kind of keep that going and let people be more original.”

Mitchell and the other 39 World Finals qualifiers will be able to bring their personalities to life this week during the PBR Black Carpet arrival show in front of T-Mobile Arena. Fans can watch the show live on RidePass on Pluto TV at 7:45 p.m. ET on Wednesday night.

Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko

Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media