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Mitchell Getting Comfortable as he is off to Torrid Start to Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Season

By: Justin Felisko

CHICAGO – Bob Mitchell ripped off his helmet Wednesday night inside the Denver Coliseum and viciously tossed it toward the ceiling and let out a vociferous roar.

The 19-year-old man-child, who could easily pass for his late 20s thanks to his handlebar mustache and brown hair flow, had just gone 3-for-3 at the Denver PBR Chute Out at the National Western Stock Show, and Mitchell was oozing with confidence.

“Last year, I came to a few of these deals with all these guys and it intimidated the crap out of me,” Mitchell admitted as he glanced around the locker room to see a slew of PBR World Champions and World Finals event winners. “It was scary.”

Mitchell’s 87.5-point ride on Skull Crusher capped off a third-place finish and the second-year pro has been off to a torrid start to the 2022 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour season.

 

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Mitchell is a perfect 7-for-7 following an 85.5-point ride on Captain Sorrow Friday night at the Cedar Park Chute Out and heads into Round 2 on Saturday sitting in third place.

Fans can watch the conclusion of the Cedar Park Chute Out beginning at 8 p.m. ET on RidePass on Pluto TV.

“I just want to thank the Lord man,” Mitchell said in Denver. “I could have laid down out there and cried. “There is nothing better.”

Mitchell got introduced to the sport at 11 years old by his brother, Matt, and he quickly fell in love with the battle of man vs. beast while growing up on an Angus farm in Steelville, Missouri, once his family sold their mechanic shop in Ohio and relocated.

A journey which started on a stationary barrel quickly evolved into getting on mini-cows and then local youth rodeos throughout Missouri.

A few years later, Mitchell would go on to meet one of his childhood heroes, Mason Lowe, and he was just as intimidated then as he was when he first showed up in the PBR last year seeing many of Lowe’s best friends saddling up next to him in the locker room.

Saturday is the three-year anniversary of Lowe’s passing at the Denver PBR Chute Out Velocity Tour event inside the Denver Coliseum at the National Western Complex.

RELATED: The PBR community reflects on the memory of Mason Lowe

“I started going to (National Federation of Professional Bullriders) and deals like that, and I seen him around,” Mitchell recalled. “I was so scared to meet him. I was probably 14 or 15. I was scared to talk to him, but I did look up to him. He was a heck of a bull rider. I talked to him a couple of times, but it was pretty short, but he would always say, ‘Good job buddy.’”

Mitchell finished as the “bridesmaid” in various youth associations before he won the 2020 bull riding title in the United Rodeo Association.

Mitchell then went 15-for-61 (24.59%) last year in his first PBR season, finishing 82nd in the world standings and 43rd in the Velocity Tour. He also made his premier series debut in Sacramento, California, and was bucked off by TJ Chavez in 3.52 seconds.

“I came to Sacramento and I couldn’t handle it,” Mitchell admitted. “It was too much pressure on me. I put too much pressure on me and my mental game wasn’t strong. I said this year just, ‘Let it go.’

“If you are getting on, you might as well try and put it all out there. If not, there is no point in coming.”

Mitchell is slowly gaining confidence in himself that he belongs right alongside the best bull riders in the world, and if he continues at his current pace he may quickly find himself seeded on the Unleash The Beast.

He is currently ranked 26th in the world standings and fourth in the PWVT. Alternates for the UTB will be based strictly on the 2022 world standings following next weekend’s PBR Gwinnett Invitational in Duluth, Georgia.

“I am finally getting comfortable with all of these people,” Mitchell concluded. “Being around these guys is a dream. Seeing all of these guys here just fires me up now vs. making me nervous. I am becoming buddies with them. Seeing them ride so good and so consistent fires me up and pushes me so hard. Bull riders. We push each other to be great, and I am finally comfortable to deal with that.”

Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko

Photo courtesy of Andre Silva/Bull Stock Media

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