HANCEVILLE, Ala. – The fun was just starting in Hanceville. The Parade of Bulls was on Friday night and there was a BBQ dinner afterwards. The fun continued Saturday night at the inaugural Hanceville Bull Bash as a big crowd was on hand to watch some incredible bull riders take on some tough bulls and looked to beat the timer in the process. The no. 1 and no. 2 ranked bull riders looked to take home a lot of cash by taking on a really big bull but were unsuccessful in doing so. The night provided a lot of bull riding, a lot of funny commentary and moments, including a dancing contest.
Mayor Kenneth Nail talked about how the Bull Bash first got started and was really happy to see such a big turnout at the event.
“What we’ve been trying the last few years is trying to figure out what’s our niche around here, what do we need to do,” Nail said. “It didn’t seem like our concert series worked out the best, so what we’ve done is trying to figure out what the folks wanted. I think between the Bull Run that we had yesterday, the chicken dinner we had last night, we were sold out, and this right here, it was sold out. There was several hundred people here, so I’m very excited about this. We got a lot of support here tonight. We appreciate it and I believe that we will probably do it again next year.”
Nail added,
“It thrills me to see so many people show up for this event. As the mayor, my biggest job is to be the biggest cheerleader I can be for this town. We decided to do some fun things that the folks want to see and be involved with, so that’s why we try to do a whole lot of different things. They’re pretty excited about it.”
Mayor Nail was thrilled to see so many people come out and show their support for this event.
“It costs a pretty good bit of money to put on something like this, so you’ve got to try and bring in some money to help pay for it,” Nail said. “And the extra money we raised will go back to Hanceville Park and Recreation.”
Seth Roy, a professional rodeo announcer from Walker, Louisiana, talked about how he first heard about the Hanceville Bull Bash and was very happy to see so many people turn out for the inaugural event.
“Bill Hudson with Double Creek Rodeo called me,” Roy said. “I’ve known Bill for some time now. He said I have an opportunity for you to come to work here in Alabama, which I had never done yet up until this point, and it’s a one-night full ride for a great cause to put back money into the Parks and Recreation here in Hanceville and I took it. I took the opportunity.”
Roy added,
“You know, for such a special cause and for such a special reason to do these kinds of things, it was amazing to see Cullman County and Hanceville, Alabama, come together as a community tonight. We had about 300-500 people. I couldn’t keep track. They just kept coming, 10 rows deep. It was fantastic and I can’t wait to see what 2023 has in store.”
The crowd got into the action from the start and Seth really appreciated it. The chances of seeing this event in 2023 is pretty high, according to the conversation that Seth had with some people.
“They fed off of us all night long. We asked them to jump, they told us we got you, how high?”, Roy said. “It was awesome. I enjoyed every bit of it. After speaking with Mayor Nail and a couple of committee members with this event, I think it’s going to be a great opportunity to be back in 2023, with the same crew, same guys, same faces and hopefully, more bull riders and more money added. I think it’s just going to get bigger and better every year.”
Jake Gray, the rodeo entertainer and barrel man, talked about how he first heard about the event and was so happy to see so many people come on such a special night.
“I got contacted a few months ago. They said they had an event coming up to benefit everybody here,” Gray said. “It was an event by the community, for the community, so that’s what we came here to do is to entertain the community and give back for everything they’ve been doing here lately. It was amazing to see such a big crowd here tonight. When you come to these towns and you do certain things, you never quite know how the turnout’s going to be, but to see a city turn out for themselves and give back to their own community is just an amazing thing to see.”
Seeing the crowd get hyped up from the start of the event to the end of it, made Jake really appreciative to be a part of an event like this, especially doing this for such a special cause.
“I kind of have a feeling. I came in here two nights ago and hung out with the crowd. I went to the Bull Parade and just seeing everybody there, just seeing how motivated everybody was and how excited they were, it’s just a joy to be around crowds like that and towns like that,” Gray said. “In all honesty, that’s why we do all of this. It’s about giving back and pushing forward. To be able to put on an event and let everybody see this, while also giving back to the community, is just an amazing thing.”
A couple of fans, Cassidy Tyler and Lane Haner, gave their thoughts on the Hanceville Bull Bash.
“I enjoyed it. I liked it a lot,” Tyler said. “I think it was a great turnout. I’ll most definitely be back next year.”
Haner said, “It was enjoyable. I enjoyed it. I enjoy every rodeo I go to. This is my third one. It was a great crowd. Everyone kept the bull riders up and going, kept them motivated on everything. It was awesome to see an event like this in Hanceville. I’ll be back next year. I believe they will have another event like this next year.”
Ashtin Hipp, another fan, has been to her fair share of rodeos and was really happy to see such a big turnout at an event that her husband, Shanon, was in charge of.
“I was very proud of the crowd and the turnout because it is Hanceville’s first, so I’m glad that they were able to pull it off,” Hipp said. “It was amazing to see such a big crowd at this event. It brought tears that my husband was able to draw a crowd in this big. It was Shanon’s idea to get it brought here to Hanceville. it was amazing to see an event like this in Hanceville. I hope they do it again next year. I hope it comes back next year, bigger and better.”
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