FORT WORTH, Texas – On Saturday before Round 2 of the PBR World Finals in Fort Worth, Texas, Ezekiel Mitchell headed out to the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo at the Cowtown Coliseum.
The BPIR is the longest-running rodeo celebrating Black cowboys, and Mitchell wanted to support his community during his free hours in Fort Worth.
While he was there, he was a bit taken aback when a little kid he didn’t know ran over to him and hugged his leg.
“You’re his favorite bull rider,” the child’s mom said. “He loves you so much. Can I go get my phone?”
“It really put into perspective how much I mean to my community, the African American community, and just the community in general,” Mitchell said. “So I’m doing a lot of it for them and a lot of it for myself. I’m the underdog in a lot of things, so if I can continue to push forward and be an inspiration to somebody, then it’s all worth it.”
So far, Mitchell’s performance in Dickies Arena at the World Finals has been nothing short of inspiring. The last man to qualify via the world standings, Mitchell has gone 2-for-3 through the first three rounds and is sitting eighth in the event aggregate.
Mitchell was the first rider to go 2-for-2, beginning the event with an 88.5-point ride on Mr. Winston in Round 1 and an 89-point ride on Vanilla Ice in Round 2.
“It felt good,” Mitchell said following Round 2. “I had to work for it a little bit, but it was everything I expected it to be and everything I had visualized in my head before I got here. He was already rode last night.”
Mitchell says that visualizing his rides isn’t something he’s ever done before, but he started doing it heading into the World Finals, and so far, it’s been paying off.
“I’ve just been seeing it,” he said. “I’ve been visualizing success. That’s all I’m here for this week.”
An added benefit of both the visualization and coming in so low in the world standings is that Mitchell has had no nerves on bull riding’s biggest stage.
“This is probably the first Finals that I’ve had absolutely no nerves,” Mitchell said. “I had nothing to lose. There was nothing to lose, all to gain, and with everything going on with the draft and with this being here, I had to figure out what I needed to do, and I needed to step up.”
And step up he has. This is Mitchell’s fourth World Finals, and he’s already matched his best performance. In 2019, his first World Finals, he went 2-for-6. In 2020, he went 1-for-4, and in 2021, 1-for-5.
Certainly not harming him in 2022 is the fact that the World Finals is in his home state of Texas. Mitchell grew up in Rockdale, Texas, about two and a half hours south of Fort Worth.
“It’s good to be home and to have the state of Texas behind me, and all the amazing fans that came out and bought tickets,” Mitchell said. “It’s unlike any other sport. Our fans are everything.”
There have been plenty of opportunities for fans and bull riders alike to experience everything Fort Worth has to offer. There was the Bill Pickett Rodeo, and the Women’s Rodeo World Championship now at Cowtown Coliseum through May 18. There’s the Cowboy Expo and Trade Show open daily at Dickies Arena, tapings of Flint Rasmussen’s Outside the Barrel, ABBI American Heritage events, the Pendleton Whisky Concert Series, Ultimate Freestyle Bullfighting and Bulls Gone Wild, just to name a few.
Mitchell also made it out to Bulls Gone Wild following Round 1 and jokes that he was just as successful in that arena as he was on the back of Mr. Winston that night.
“I beat Cody Webster again,” Mitchell said, a playful smile on his face. “I’m just a big winning machine when it comes to those bull games. I beat Webster twice already, so I showed up expecting to win that one, too.
“I’ve just been having fun. Whatever falls in my place. I’m just moving around. I’m friends with a lot of those bullfighters. I love all those guys over there. So it was definitely fun. It was a good experience.”
It might be all fun and games right now, but Mitchell still has his eyes on the prize.
It’ll be right back to business when action recommences with Round 4 on Thursday (10 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network).
“I’ve replayed it through my head a million times throughout the week, and knowing that I was coming here as the last guy really set a fire under me,” Mitchell said. “The job isn’t done. It’s a long week. So I’ve just got to keep doing the same thing I’ve been doing and not get ahead of myself.”
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
