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From the Vault: Bulls on the Beach

By: Justin Felisko

PUEBLO, Colo. – Never before did palm trees, bucking bulls, bikinis, roller blades and cowboy hats ever look as perfect together as they did almost six years ago.

The Pacific Ocean served as a gracious host, and by the time the CBS cameras turned on at 2 p.m., nearly 5,000 people had lined up all around the makeshift arena in the parking lot on the corner of Huntington Street and Pacific Coast Highway on October 18, 2014.

It was a breathtaking view for the PBR’s first trip to Huntington Beach, and it created a heart-pumping appetizer leading up to the 2014 PBR World Finals.

The weather was gorgeous that afternoon. Twenty-four hours earlier, people were hosting bonfires on the beach at night and working on their tans during the day.

2008 World Champion Guilherme Marchi even showed off his surfing and volleyball skills in the days leading up to the 15/15 Bucking Battle. The matchups were revealed with riders flipping over custom surfboards with bulls names on the back.

 
Excitement continued to build day by day.

PBR Entertainer Flint Rasmussen couldn’t believe what he saw after he stepped onto the shark cage during introductions for the 15/15 Bucking Battle.

“I looked to the ocean side and people just went on forever,” Rasmussen said in 2014. “It was crazy. They wanted to come. It was a good atmosphere. It is not contained, so it is a little different feel, but it was something on the beach and people wanted to come.”

Fans can watch Bulls on the Beach Wednesday at 5 p.m. ET on the PBR’s Facebook account. The organization’s YouTube page will also have the event available on demand.

Californians began lining up at roughly 10 a.m. for Bulls on the Beach as the buzz continued to circle around and trickle down the coastline.

“I thought having a bull riding here was fun,” nine-time World Champion Ty Murray said then. “It just felt really cool and it felt like a cool place to have it. The weather was perfect and it seemed like the people were loving it.”

 
Across from the ocean and on the other side of the arena, car alarms began to siren down Pacific Coast Highway from the loud bass booming from the Monster Energy stage.

Matt Triplett would take home the event win – the first 15/15 Bucking Battle victory of his career – with an 87-point ride on Oklahoma Bell. Following his ride, he saluted the packed crowd alongside the ocean-side, before grabbing his bull rope and heading behind the chutes.

“This was a great opportunity to see all of these new fans and see the kind of surfer-type of fans and everyone that gets to hang out on the beach,” Triplett said. “It was a huge opportunity for the bull riders to ride on the beach. It was awesome.”

PBR.com’s From the Vault series takes readers back to Bulls on the Beach today.

Triplett solidifies himself as wild card contender for world title

 
Matt Triplett rode Oklahoma Bell for 87 points to win the 15/15 Bucking Battle, but it was the 200 additional bonus points that helped push him to within 2,026.67 points of world leader Joao Ricardo Vieira.

Oklahoma Bell exited the bucking chute to the left and settled into an easy spin for Triplett to handle, which eventually gave the Montana native the victory. Triplet is the second rider in eight BFTS attempts to ride the bovine athlete.

“This is a bull I have been watching for a long time,” Triplett said. “He is really strong and powerful and I just made the right moves to ride him correctly.”

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Marchi and Mick E Mouse to meet at Bulls on the Beach

 
Marlene Henry gave Guilherme Marchi a big hug following the random draw on Friday for this weekend’s Monster Energy Bulls on the Beach 15/15 Bucking Battle.

If Mick E Mouse does what he does best, Henry may need to give Marchi an even bigger hug if her bull slams the 2008 World Champion into the dirt on Saturday afternoon.

This will be no joy ride for Marchi, like the ones another famous Mickey Mouse offers 22 miles northeast of Huntington Beach at Disneyland.

“He is not just a bull, he is a different bull,” Marchi said. “He is one of the toughest bulls in the PBR and I wish the best for him and for me and that we both do good.”

Marchi laughed when he ripped the piece of tape off the surf board with the fourth selection of the draw Friday and saw the name of one of the strongest World Champion Bull contenders heading to Las Vegas in a few days for the Built Ford Tough World Finals.

Mick E Mouse is a perfect 25-0 in his three-year premier series career and has the second-longest active buckoff streak in the PBR.

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A Battle on the Beach

Valdiron de Oliveira was 20 years old the last time he competed in a bull riding event on a beach in his native state of Goias, Brazil.

Oliveira vaguely remembers climbing aboard his bulls and looking out into an arena that was half sand, half water.

“It was 100 miles north of my house,” Oliveira said. “I did good, but I had a lot of friends that would be bucked into the water.”

The Monster Energy Bulls on the Beach 15/15 Bucking Battle in Huntington Beach, California, may not feature fresh salt water floating in the arena, but the air will certainly be budding with anticipation at the corner of Huntington Street and Pacific Coast Highway with the Pacific Ocean in the distance.

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Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko

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