Huntington Council selects Broken Heart Rodeo after multi-bid contest

The Huntington City Council voted to award the city’s 2025 rodeo contract to the vendor identified in the meeting record as Broken Heart (referred to elsewhere in the record as “Bridal Heart”). Councilmember Judd Beagley made the motion to accept that bid; the motion was seconded by Councilmember Gloria Wilson and carried on a unanimous voice vote.

Council members spent more than 20 minutes comparing three bids and the likely draw of each contractor’s stock and rider followings. Councilmember Lisa Miller and others warned that crowd size and the quality of rough stock riding were key to keeping attendance growing. “If we’re gonna keep our crowd, we probably need to give them a show,” a contractor and multiple council members said during the discussion.

The three bids described in the record were: Broken Heart/Bridal Heart (listed at roughly $16,000–$16,500 in the transcript), Diamond H (reported at about $13,000–$14,000), and Rocking Bee (amount not clearly stated). Representatives or contract-identifying names mentioned in the discussion included Wayne Hibdon (Diamond H), a person named Rex Malol (Rocking Bee), and Ben Gurman (associated in the discussion with the larger circuits that draw more cowboys). Councilmembers expressed that Diamond H has reliably provided stock in prior years but may not draw the same rough-stock riders as the higher-priced contractor.

Councilmembers said the city will run a one-year contract this year and evaluate moving to multiyear contracts next year. Multiple councilmembers recommended trying a new contractor for a single season before committing longer-term: “After this year, we will put out for a multiyear contract,” one councilmember said.

The motion adopting Broken Heart/Bridal Heart’s bid passed; the presiding officer announced, “Motion passes. We’ll go with broken heart this year on our rodeo bid.” The contract details recorded in the meeting (room nights, livestock, specific event counts and per-run charges) were discussed but contained inconsistent numeric reporting in the transcript; the council did not finalize a multi-year commitment at this meeting.

Council members also discussed logistics the chosen contractor requested, including hotel rooms, grain and hay specifications, and livestock counts for slack and performance events. Several councilmembers noted uncertainty about whether contractors could guarantee specific numbers of PRCA-level contestants for an open rodeo in early summer months, when other nearby events take place.

The council did not record a separate, detailed line-item contract award in the meeting minutes; the vote taken at the meeting authorized staff to proceed with the selected contractor under the terms discussed and within the city’s procurement rules.