After a record-breaking team roping event in October that filled the Bulloch County Agriculture Complex to overflowing and had riders competing until dawn, complex director Billy Springer said there will be some adjustments when  the event returns next year to streamline the event and be better prepared for massive participation.

The arena has not only lived up to the county’s expectations, but has exceeded them on occasion, Springer told the Statesboro Herald. JX2 Productions, the organization that booked the arena’s very first event in 2019, held the “largest recorded team roping ever held east of the Mississippi,” Springer said.

JX2 Productions’ “Truck Roping” event had riders tossing lariats into the wee hours of the morning for three days straight, Springer said. The event, which he said had an impact of “over $300,000” on the local economy, sold out all 218 stalls and JX2 brought in cattle panels to make temporary stalls for 134 more horses. There were more than 500 horses on the grounds, he said. There were “540 head of cattle… 70 RVs, and an estimated 1,200 people with 1,000 of those from out of county,” he said.

That single event translated into $20,536 in facility revenue plus $6,518 in concessions, totaling  $27,054  in gross revenue. It was the “largest to date for both facility and concessions,” he said.

The JX2 Truck Roping event had 3,574 teams, paid out $139,000 in cash and $208,000 in –prizes. “Including this roping, over $75,000 in cash and prizes has been paid in team roping events at the Bulloch County Agricultural Complex,” he said.

In 2020, the arena hosted events for Good Times Barrel Racing, JX2, the  Statesboro-Bulloch County Chamber of Commerce Farm City Luncheon,  the American Bully Kennel Club, Coastal Hunter  Association horse shows, Top Hand Productions team roping, the Horseman’s Quarter Horse Association, the Georgia Paint Horse Club, and the American Ranch Horse Association.

Also, the arena hosted the BossCHELLA Small Business Networking and Shopping Experience and the Low Country Wranglers Barn Hunt Club event.

The barn hunt will return next month, and so will most of the other past clients, some with two and three-day events, he said. Also. there will be the Bulloch County 4H speaking contest in March. In May, the National Walking Horse Association will be a first-time client and in November 2021, Good Times Barrel Racing will bring back “The American Qualifier” for four days.

For a listing of events, visit https://bullochag.com/events-2/.

Herald reporter Holli Deal Saxon may be reached at (912) 489-9414.