Ezekiel Mitchell

Bucking bulls can sense and feed off a rider's energy

They can tell more so if you're nervous or if things don't feel right with you. They kind of feed off your energy... I'm already like an amped up person as it is. So I guess I'm more of a try to calm myself down, and that way I can actually focus on the things that I'm supposed to be doing.

Whoop-A is currently the baddest bull in the PBR

Currently, it's a bull called Whoop-A. W-O-O-P-A-A. Because he's produced the biggest numbers. He jumps the highest, kicks the hardest, and he's just an incredible animal athlete.

Dillinger was a better bull than Bodacious

I'd be a Dillinger guy. As far as what a guy would want to see out of a bucking bull as a rider, I think that Dillinger was a way better bull.

Bucking bulls are getting tougher and bred to buck harder

Bulls are getting tougher. It's just like the horse racing industry. They bred faster horses. They're breeding bulls to buck harder. And that's where we're finding a lack in actually getting more bull riders into the sport.

Being smaller is a distinct advantage for professional bull riders

It's an advantage to be smaller. Just a lower center of gravity... There's a balance between being light and you have to be, I guess, an actual athlete. You can't just be... I mean, there is some exceptions to the rules, but for the most part, everybody's pretty much a physical specimen.