OCEAN CITY – The stage was set this week for the first-ever professional bull riding competition and associated events at the Inlet lot in Ocean City.
The arena was constructed this week and truckloads of dirt were loaded onto a portion of the Inlet parking lot in advance of the inaugural Professional Bull Riders (PBR) and the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) event at the Inlet lot set to get started on Friday.
The event, produced by Triple Creek Events, will take place at the Inlet with Friday and Saturday night qualifying events, culminating with the championship finals during a matinee on Sunday.
An arena with bleachers was constructed on a portion of the Inlet lot this week with several truckloads of dirt hauled in in advance of the inaugural event, creating an eight-inch surface on which the rodeo will be held.
Event organizers will haul the dirt back out of the Inlet lot and restore it to its pre-event condition after the rodeo is completed on Sunday.
The PBR and PRCA event on the south side of the pier is just part of a series of special events going on this weekend in and around the downtown area.
On the north side of the pier during roughly the same time frame, the Jellyfish Festival, featuring live music, along with family-friendly interactive events including surfing, skateboarding and other vendors in a festival village of sorts, will also be going on, creating diverse amenities in the downtown area during the first weekend in June.
The bulls for the PBR and PRCA event themselves will be housed off the island during the weekend and will be trailered into the resort on the days of the competition.
Triple Creek Events will be responsible for the event set-up and breakdown, hauling the dirt in and out of the resort and restoring the Inlet lot to pre-event condition when the event is over.
There have been some concerns floated on social media about the safety of the animals competing in the event. However, as part of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) reached with the town last month, outlining each party’s responsibilities, there will be a certified veterinarian on hand throughout the event to ensure the safety of the bulls.
Again, the arena was set up this week and the dirt was hauled into the Inlet lot in preparation for the three-day event. There is a VIP section adjacent to the arena in close proximity to the bull-riding competition itself. Temporary bleachers have been installed for the general admission ticketholders.
Last month, the Mayor and Council approved a request from Triple Creek for a $75,000 contribution from the town to offset some unanticipated upfront costs to produce the event in exchange for a revenue-sharing plan from the ticket sales. The town has contributed the $75,000 in exchange for 10% of the revenue from tickets sold, or $5 per ticket, whichever is greater. The revenue-sharing plan will remain in place for future bull-riding events produced by Triple Creek in the resort until the $75,000 is recouped.
The event will open each day at the Inlet lot at 9 a.m. with vendors and other amenities for visitors in the build-up toward the actual competition, which will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and again starting at 2 p.m. on Sunday for the championship rounds. The event will feature some of the top bull riders in the sport including competitors from the U.S. and Brazil.
The list of Brazilian hopefuls competing in the competition include 2002 PBR world champion Ednei Caminhas, who recently became the oldest rider in history to qualify for the World Finals at age 46.
Other Brazilians competing include world finals qualifiers Wallace Viera de Oliveira and Leonardo Lima.
Highlighting the American competitors is professional bull rider Michael Lane, who has surged to the top after a heartbreaking 2021 PBR season. Lane has led the PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour for nearly the entire 2022 season and is on track to reach the PBR world finals for the fourth time in his career.
Lane was unable to compete during the final weeks of the 2021 series because of a broken thumb.
He has since returned with a vengeance, registering three top 10 finishes on the Velocity Tour including a perfect three-for-three finish at a recent event in Charleston, S.C.
The Ocean City event begins on Friday at 6 p.m. with the first round, followed by a second round on Saturday beginning at 6 p.m.
Over 40 bull riders are expected to compete in the Ocean City event. Each competitor will get to ride on one bull each day of the competition. After the three rounds are concluded on Sunday, the riders’ three-round scores will be totaled with the top 10 advancing to the championship round for one more chance at the event title.
