Ezekiel Mitchell of East Central Texas had a candid conversation with God before deciding to pursue a career in professional bull riding, where eight seconds can feel like a lifetime.
Story by Cara Clark, Photos by Bull Stock Media
In the world of PBR (Professional Bull Riders), a top-tier bucking bull can weigh up to 2,500 pounds. That number alone begs the question — what drives someone to climb aboard such raw, unpredictable power, aiming to hold on for eight adrenaline-charged seconds? Whether thrown off violently or making a clean, well-timed dismount, every rider ends up in the dirt — in an arena where danger is never more than a heartbeat away.
Among the elite athletes who make a career of defying those odds is Ezekiel “Blue” Mitchell, a standout Texan with a fearless spirit and unmistakable flair. Towering at six feet — unusually tall for a bull rider — Ezekiel is easily recognized by his signature blue vest and chaps. When the chute gate swings open, the clock starts, and fans lean in, hoping to see a successful ride and one of Ezekiel’s famous post-ride victory dances.
“From my earliest memories, I don’t remember ever wanting to be anything but a cowboy,” Ezekiel recalls. “My dad was an equine dentist, so growing up, we would go to rodeos. I loved it.”
Raised in the heart of ranch country, Ezekiel’s childhood was filled with horses, cattle, and hands-on experiences across local ranches. Thanks to his father's work, rodeo culture was ever-present, and it wasn't uncommon to see Ezekiel riding his horse, Two Socks, through the streets of Rockdale. Though he initially gave roping a shot, financial constraints quickly shifted his focus.
“We realized it was very expensive for us to haul horses around to various rodeos, so we gave up on the roping dream for a while and went full-fledged into bull riding. The rest is history.”
And what a history it’s become. Now 28, Ezekiel is far more than an emerging talent — he’s a PBR favorite with more than $500,000 in career earnings, 17 professional wins, and a 31% ride rate. He’s competed at six PBR World Finals in Las Vegas and has his sights set on more.
“When I started bull riding, I guess people thought I was chasing another part of the cowboy dream,” Ezekiel says. “I don’t think anybody thought it would be as serious as it turned out to be.”
Though praised for his natural talent and grit at early bull riding schools, Ezekiel remained uncertain — until a heartfelt conversation with God shifted everything.
“I kind of gave God an ultimatum after me and mom argued about my riding,” Ezekiel says. “I prayed about it and asked him if this was really for me. I said, ‘If this is what I should be doing, will you show me? Let me make the Texas high school state finals and do well at it. And the funny part about it is I didn’t do it as well as I thought I would. I was 57 points in the last long round of the high school state finals with an option of a re-ride, but I made the short round. So I kept my score; I didn't take the re-ride; and that was the start. I didn’t know if this was going to work, but I knew that God had something for me, and I got to try to figure it out. So I just went at it as hard as I could after that. And I think it didn't take me very long after that to realize that I had a pretty good knack for it.”
With that realization, Ezekiel started visiting stock contractors’ ranches and practicing on high-level PBR bulls — the kind even top-tier riders struggled to stay on.
“I was riding them really well, and I was getting on them for practice sometimes, and they're like, ‘Okay, Zeke. You realize that you got something here. You're riding these bulls that they can't even ride on the big tour right now. So why don't you try to make a run for it.’
“That's pretty much what I did, and that's how I started figuring out I really had a knack for it. The more I got on the road, the more I got outside of Texas, the more I realized that I could be a big fish in a big pond, not just a big fish in a small pond. So it was all a really cool process that I feel God has allowed me to journey through because it hasn't been easy by any means. There have been a lot of times when I wanted to give up, but it all ended up working out the way it should have.”
Some of his most impressive rides have been against notorious bulls like Smooth Operator and Preacher’s Kid, both known for their intensity and unpredictability.
“I’ve had similar stories on both of these bulls as far as tough ones that I ended up riding,” Ezekiel said. “I got on Preacher’s Kid twice, and it didn’t last very long. I had no idea how I was going to figure them out. One day, I ended up having Preacher’s Kid at Greensboro, and I just made up my mind the night before that I was going to ride him no matter what. And that was the best strategy I could have had.”
Conquering both of those bulls — Smooth Operator has “a big boil” that makes him especially volatile — gave Ezekiel two of his highest scores. In bull riding, the cowboy’s ride is scored for half, and the bull’s performance is scored for half. On those days, everything clicked for the cowboy in blue.
“For some reason, those days I rode them, it felt like the easiest thing in the world,” Ezekiel says. “It was so easy for me to get him rode that day. It still amazes me that there are just certain times when everything works out perfectly. You do your job the right way, and the next thing you know, you’re 90 points on a bull that not a lot of guys get along with, and it was easy. Those days like that make you feel like you can do anything.”
One of the most perilous moments in bull riding happens before the bull even bucks — while the rider secures his grip and wraps his hand in the rosined bull rope, finding his balance in the chute before the beast is unleashed. A lot can go wrong when an animal of that size is ready to explode.
“That is definitely the moment that you try to make everything work, you'll know pretty much how you're going to do whenever you're in the bucking chutes, because that's where it all starts. I'm not trying to think too much at all at that point. I've already done all the preparation I can possibly do in order to talk myself into it or talk myself out of it. Ultimately, I tell all the young kids that you have to have a routine in bull riding because even when your mind isn't working for you, your body will. Your body knows what to do. You have to trust that.”
That trust — and repetition — has gotten him through countless challenging rides.
“I've been very blessed with mostly sprains and bumps and bruises, a few stitches here and there, but I've been very healthy,” he says.
A New Chapter
In May, Ezekiel married Jessie Moore Mitchell, his partner in ranching and life. A former Hunter/Jumper competitor, Jessie now races barrels and trains horses alongside her husband. Together, they’ve started raising young horses and envision building a breeding and training operation of their own.
Even at the peak of his career, Ezekiel’s thoughts are turning toward the future.
“I do think about the future,” Ezekiel says. “I know that bull riding is not a sport that lasts forever. And I also know that I want to go out on my own terms. I don't want to be some washed-up guy that everybody's like, ‘Man, he should have quit a long time ago.’ So I do think about retirement. I'd love to stay a part of the sport in any way I possibly can. I'd love to get into commentating. I’ve had a lot of ideas, and I really want to train horses and have our own line of quarter horses that we send off into the world to do bigger and better things.”
