SPRINGVILLE — Those in Portervillle who opted to spend Saturday night in the cooler temperatures of the mountains in Springville’s rodeo arena were certainly not disappointed.

Gathered from neighboring cities, including a few from as far away as Utah, a crowd of an estimated 900 were treated to an evening of prime bull riding, some prime music and, of course, prime rib dinners.

“It’s just something we like to do and the city gets involved,” said Dennis Corzine, one of the 11 members on the board of the Springville Sierra Rodeo Association. “Porterville gets involved just as much as Springville does.”

The Hot Summer Nights Bull Bash was truly a statewide affair with 30 bull riders, including five from Porterville, and the event’s other entertainment — local country western singers Longriders and San Diego’s knife throwing couple Larry and Sondra Kaczynski — all from California.

“We started this thing about eight or nine years ago and we’d do three every year — June, July and August,” Corzine said of the Bull Bash. “It started off really well, but we decided it was too much work so we narrowed it down to one (per year).”

Corzine said the Springville Rodeo Arena is still host to a dozen or so events each year, mostly rodeo competitions held by the Springville Junior Rodeo Association, which was in attendance Saturday conducting silent auctions to raise money for its year-end awards for young bull riders.

Corzine said the Sierra Rodeo Association occasionally struggles to make ends meet themselves. Aside from the Bull Bash, the SSRA also hosts the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association rodeo in late April as its major source of annual income.

“(The Bull Bash) just helps us get through the year to support future rodeos,” he said. “We have a hard time getting from rodeo to rodeo financially, so this gives a little boost in the summer. We own this facility, so we’ve gotta pay for the upkeep and power bills.”
Many, however, would prefer not to see the event close down.

“The food was amazing and the bull riding was great,” said Salt Lake City native Rob Harry, 28, who was in attendance. “The music wasn’t too bad, but there wasn’t a whole lot of dancing going on. I think most people were there for the bull riding.”

The crowd gasped and stood silent when Bakersfield’s Tyler Yates was bucked off the bull and then trampled on by its hind legs. Yates lied on the ground for ten minutes while an ambulance crew tended to him.

“I’ve been to a few rodeos in Utah, but I’ve never seen anything like that where a guy is carried off in an ambulance,” Harry said.

Yates got up for a few moments before the ambulance took him to the hospital for further evaluation.

The event’s winner — Keith Rocquemore of Cottonwood — is another who hopes the event is here to stay.

“This is where most (bull riders) start out around here,” Rocquemore said. “For people like me, this is what keeps us going. These (events) are like gold mines where you can find a little gold nugget here and there just so we can keep riding.”

Rocquemore’s “gold nugget” turned out to be $3,400 in prize winnings. He and Porterville’s Dave Ballard Jr. are No. 1 and 2, respectively in PRCA earnings in the state. Rocquemore said he’s earned nearly $13,000 this year alone.

“It’s a real good chunk of change, so every little bit helps,” Rocquemore said.

-- Contact Jason Peterson at 784-5000, Ext. 1048, or jpeterson@portervillerecorder.com.