CULLMAN, Ala. – Sydni Helms-Hipp is remembered by all as a bright, caring young woman who loved her family, community and Jesus. Her life was tragically cut short in September 2023, but her memory lives on in her community and her family. Her family and friends have come together to create the Sydni Helms-Hipp Memorial Scholarship Fund to benefit graduating students from her alma mater, Curry High School, and on Saturday, Dec. 16, will host the inaugural Sydni Helms-Hipp Memorial Barrel Race.
“The scholarship is available to a Curry High senior going into the medical/first responders field. They have to have a GPA of 2.75,” said her fiancé Scotty Hipp. “They have to also do volunteer work with a letter from someone they have done volunteer work for this school year. They must write a paragraph essay on why they think they should receive this scholarship.”
Helms-Hipp loved to ride her horses, for leisure and competition; her love of horses began at a young age and continued to blossom; for her family, a memorial barrel race was the perfect homage to the beloved rider.
Her aunt Angie Payne said, “Riding horses was a passion of hers that developed at a young age. She learned to pull her own horse trailer so she could take her horse to practice and get to shows whenever the opportunity came along.”
The barrel race will take place at Cullman County Agricultural Trade Center Saturday, Dec. 16, beginning at 9 a.m. There are three divisions, two of which carry hefty payouts for the winner; 75% of the jackpot goes directly into the hands and pockets of the division winners and 25% returns to the Sydni Helms-Hipp Memorial Fund to assist Curry High School students in their college endeavors.
A $40 entrance fee to the Open 4-D category and $30 to enter the Youth 4-D category buys riders the chance to potentially walk away with bragging rights as well as a hefty prize purse. Generous sponsors from the community have added money to each pot, increasing the prize for Open 4-D to over $2,500 and adding $500 to the Youth 4-D cash prize. Although the PeeWee category doesn’t carry a monetary prize, the winner of the youngest group of riders will walk away with a beautiful buckle and a year’s worth of bragging rights.
Admission is $5 and benefits the Sydni Helms-Hipp Memorial Scholarship Fund. Children 5 and younger get in free. There will also be vendors on-site. Vendors will be set up and an exhibition for the riders begins at 9 a.m. with one-minute rides $5 each. Riders and their horses are off to the races at 2 p.m. sharp, competing for the buckle, purse and titles.
Sponsors for the Sydni Helms-Hipp Memorial Barrel Race are Artec Tractor and Equipment, Babbie Styslinger, Butts Cutts, Jasper Feed & Seed, State Farm Dalice Jones, Rockin’ I Farms, Animal Medical Hospital Holly Pond, Byars Realty Becky Jones, The Something Blue Shoppe, Adcock & Frazier Insurance, Redline Diesel and Auto, Terra Pro Jamie Woods, Southern Tire Mart of Jasper, Alfa Insurance Talisa Shikle, Oden’s Auto Glass, GAF Marine, Rasco Cattle Co., Red Oak Veterinary, Bid Daddy T’s, Freedom Homes of Jasper, Anytime RV Service, Diver Down Recoveries Team, Boldo Deer Processing, Dunn Legacy Ranch and Tack, Perfect Choice Towing, Agri-Land Aviation, James R Smith Trucking, Cut N Up Barber and Style, Hanceville Exxon, the Shaddix Company, Bobcat of Cullman, THA Unit LLC, Edward Fence and Pole Barn Company, Preferred Rental, Lost Creek Clay, Jack’s Restaurant of Curry, Gateway Foodland of Curry, Key Farms, Son’s in Arley and Jasper and Smokehouse, Maw Bets, N & N Meats, Walmart in Sumiton, Patton Welding, Nail Tax service, Back Forty Cowboy Church, Emily Sullivan and Carl Cannon with Chevrolet Buick GMC.
The Cullman County Agricultural Trade Center is located at 17645 U.S. Highway 31.
Copyright 2023 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
