| Special to Austin American-Statesman
Read this story in English.
Jose Vitor Leme is a superstar.
This Brazilian resident of Decatur has amassed an astonishing list of awards and records since he first climbed aboard a bull 10 years ago. With more individual accomplishments than can be counted, Leme now hopes to help Gamblers of Austin to achieve the one thing that has eluded the franchise of professional bull riders with three years in the league Professional Bull Riders: a gold buckle on the Camping World PBR Team Series Championships.
If Leme succeeds, he will mark a new milestone in an already stellar career.
The Gambler who almost didn’t make it
Leme’s Gamblers career was all but a done deal. The Camping World PBR Team Series was a brand new concept in 2022, and the Gamblers — entering their first season in a fledgling league — were just one of many teams that would have killed to land the Brazilian superstar.
Gamblers General Manager JJ Gottsch still remembers how it all fell into place.
“My first day as CEO and GM was at the end of February 2022, and the lottery of draft (drafting) had already taken place, and the Gamblers were going to have the first pick,” Gottsch said. “I had no knowledge of bull riders in the PBR, but it was made clear to me early on that Jose was a once-in-a-generation talent.
“We never doubted we were going to pick him first. The only question was whether he would make the draft, as he was hospitalized after the sixth round of the World Finals, two days before the draft. He fell off a bull and got stepped on, fracturing six ribs and partially collapsing a lung. He left the hospital early and went to the draft.”
Aside from his health, the only other potential obstacle to Leme becoming a Gambler was whether he wanted to stop focusing on a lucrative solo jockey career. He had earned nearly $2 million in 2021, was the reigning PBR world champion and had shattered multiple records, setting new marks for the most 90-point mounts in a season (24), most rounds won in a season (21) and most Premier Series event wins in a season (tied with eight).
Leme had also earned the highest PBR score of all time (98.75 points) and had recorded the first 50-point score in PBR history. When you’re at the top of the bull riding world, why give up for something unsafe?
“Honestly, I was a little nervous about which team was going to pick me because I was injured at the time, so I wasn’t sure if anyone was going to pick me, and when the Austin Gamblers did, I was really happy because that was the team I wanted to be on,” Leme said this week, ahead of the Gamblers’ three-day event at the Moody Center. “I was really excited about the team format because I grew up playing team sports, so I was really excited to have teammates again like I had when I was a kid.”
Leme: ‘Bull riding was already in my blood’
Leme – born José Vitor Leme Batista in Ribas do Rio Pardo, Mato Grosso, in 1996 – was already riding calves at the age of 7.
“My father was a bull rider,” says Leme. “It was in his blood.”
After his parents separated, Leme lived with his mother. As a child, he excelled at football. He was talented enough to play semi-professionally and he acknowledges that the skills he learned in that sport helped him as a bull rider.
“You have to be quick in your movements,” Leme said. “Quick in the decisions you make, in how you have to move your feet, and a lot of balance and coordination.”
A career as a bull rider was always his number one goal. At 18, he finally got the opportunity he was looking for. The event was an invitational competition in Rochedo. As usual, Leme had to cycle nearly 10km to get there. And in his first race, he was whistled for a “slap” (when a rider’s free arm touches the bull during the ride).
Leme’s career accomplishments in Brazil were as prolific as anything he has accomplished since moving to the United States in 2021. In 2017 he was named PBR Brazil Rookie of the Year as well as the 2017 PBR Brazil Champion. He was the 2017 PBR World Rookie of the Year and the PBR World Finals Event Champion, a title he would go on to win again in 2021.
When he steps out onto the ring, he often receives the loudest cheers from the fans, and his jersey is always the team’s best-selling. With so much already under his belt, Leme, 28, finds ways to continually improve himself as a bull rider.
“I’m honestly not thinking about leaving the sport and I don’t like to think too much about the future, just about the moment and trying to do as much as I can now,” he said. “We don’t know tomorrow, so I just want to do my best now, win as much as I can, be a good rider that kids and young people want to look up to.”
Gambler Days
- That: Austin Gamblers Professional Bull Riders Event
- When: Friday-Sunday
- Where: Moody Center
