For Ezekiel Mitchell, 2024 was supposed to be a year of ascension. The Rockdale native is one of the true matinee idols in the world of professional bull riding. Already recognized as one of the top young talents in the sport and well positioned as a member of a flagship franchise Austin Gambler team, Mitchell expected this to be the year where he took his place at the top of the PBR standings.
“Nothing in life ever really goes the way you expect it to,” said the 27-year-old Mitchell. “If riding bulls has taught me anything, it is that.”
Mitchell had a grand opportunity to take his place as a starter in the Gamblers star studded rotation of riders. After a pair of regular season championships followed by disappointing exits from the playoffs, team CEO JJ Gottsch decided he needed to strengthen his roster. He traded away a pair of talented young riders to obtain former world champion Kaique Pacheco. The bold move gave the Gamblers three superstars in Pacheco, Muleshoe native Dalton Kasel and PBR legend Jose Vitor Leme.
Mitchell was at the top of the pecking for sliding into one of the remaining two regular rider slots. But a sluggish start to the season kept Mitchell, or anyone else for that matter, from claiming a regular position in the starting rotation.
“My coaches and my GM and I, we got together before the season and talked about my role,” Mitchell said. “I was to be the guy that gets on some of the better bulls. You know, I expected more from myself. I wanted to ride a little better whenever it came to those TV series events but that’s neither here nor there. That’s in the past. We’re just moving on.”
The big gamble taken by Gottsch, to obtain a third top level rider cost him some depth on the roster. With all the riders struggling to produce, the Gamblers staggered through a sub .500 regular season. They entered the playoffs in Las Vegas Oct. 17 as the sixth seed and were almost an afterthought as far as contenders for the title were concerned.
Adding further insult, the two-time regular season champs lost their opening round match to the Missouri Thunder, going 1 for 5 in rides, and getting thrown into a last chance battle of opening round losers for the right to stay in the tournament. But then the Gamblers finally, almost miraculously, turned in the greatest run to a championship the threeyear- old league has seen.
Gambler riders went a perfect 5 for 5 in upsetting the top seeded Kansas City Outlaws in their next match by 75.25 points, 432.75 to 357.5, the only perfect game during the league’s 2024 championship event. From there, the Gambler riders went 4 for 5 in their championship showdown against the second seeded Carolina Cowboys with Kasel securing the victory with a 92-point ride atop Always Been Crazy. The Gamblers sudden realization of potential was historic as the team went 9 for 10 on rides in the semis and final rounds. Though not playing a major role in Vegas, Mitchell was as stoked about his team’s success as he would have been
Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media had he been the one posting a 90-point ride. “The first two years we did go into the into the world finals as the number one seed and failed to bring home the gold buckle. Now to walk away with it this year was just great. I wouldn’t say anybody on this team really counted us out. Our management put together a great team. I don’t think anybody really doubted the possibility of us winning but I think it was viewed as an outside shot. I know as a group the goal this year was to win it all. Coming in as the number one seed is cool but we had a lot of unfinished business and ultimately our main goal was to go into Vegas in a good spot and storm Vegas and that’s exactly what the team did.” Mitchell’s optimism, personality and enthusiasm makes him an asset to the team even when he is not riding. “Zeke is j u s t a joy to be around,” said J.J. Gottsch. “It is easy to see why he is such a fan favorite. Zeke’s biggest issue is one that he has struggled with his whole career and that is consistency. That is the million- dollar question, literally. If he could put it all together, he would be a world champion. No doubt he is one of the most athletically-gifted riders in the world.”
While the PBR team series season produced personal disappointment at failing to claim a starting spot and joy at being a part of his team’s ultimate accomplishment of winning the elusive gold buckle, Mitchell’s individual season produced his best win yet. In July, Mitchell won the Camping World PBR Last Cowboy Standing event in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Mitchell outdueled Kansas City Outlaw superstar Cassio Dias and 18-year-old phenom John Crimber, who finished his team series rookie season as the league MVP.
“A lot of people would have looked at it and said that with riders like Dias and Crimber out there that I’d be the underdog,” said Mitchell. “I guess that would be so, but I don’t look at it that way. I’ve got to get eight seconds on the bull. So do they.”
The grueling two-night competition saw Mitchell ride three bulls on Monday due to several re-rides. Part of a 50-rider line-up, Mitchell came out of the evening in fourth place allowing him to advance comfortably into the final round.
His first ride in Round 2 ended with Mitchell getting bucked off of Rorschach (Universal Pro Rodeo/ Rachel & Dustin Howell/ Delmas/ Williams) in 4.28 seconds but he still made the cutline for Round 3. Paired with Dangerous Medicine (Hart Cattle Company) in the third round, Mitchell hung on until the buzzer sounded. His 79-point score punched his ticket into the fourth round.
As the four-man Round 4 began, Mitchell drew War Daddy (TNT Bucking Bulls/ Hart Cattle Co) and gutted out a successful ride good for 84.5-point score. Mitchell then had to watch the 2024 PBR World Champion Dias, aboard Renegade (Hale/ Vella/ Ogden/ Hart) to learn his fate. But Renegade got the better of Dias, launching him in 4.68 seconds, securing the win for Mitchell. Eighteen-year-old John Crimber of Decatur finished third.
“This was pretty high up there as far as top wins of my career,” said Mitchell. “This proved what I was already thinking which was that I have the talent to be a world champion.”
The win earned Mitchell a cool $50,000 which will come in handy as he prepares to wed his fiancé, Jessie Moore, in May of 2025. In addition to a $50,000 check, the win earned Mitchell 235 Challenger Global points, putting him amongst the Top 5 in the Challenger standings. A separate bonus of $40,000 was designated to the team if one of their athletes was crowned the champion—with Mitchell’s win on Tuesday night, the Austin Gamblers earned the bonus.
Mitchell is excited to be part of the PBR teams’ series. He feels like the league is growing in popularity at a rapid-fire pace due to expansion into big television markets.
“There is a lot of fresh talent coming into the league and some older vets have come over from the rodeo side to dip their hands into the honey pot. When you go to events like the one I did in Wyoming and a few days before that in Big Sky, Montana, it is not unusual to see people with team shirts, wearing the Gamblers, or the Rattlers, in the stands,” Mitchell said. “I have people come up to me all the time saying they recognize me from the Amazon Prime show, The Ride. So, the league is really doing a great job in expanding its footprint. I’m happy to be a part of it.”
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