CHEYENNE — Cheyenne’s most youthful up-and-coming rodeo stars spent Wednesday morning riding horses, playing with sheep and conquering hand-rocked bulls at the Challenge Rodeo, a small sponsored rodeo experience for kids with disabilities.
The event took center stage in the Frontier Park Arena prior to Wednesday’s Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo, finishing with a belt buckle ceremony and a donation of $10,000 from Cowboy Skill to be put toward the rodeo’s ongoing impact.
“Cowboy Skill, powered by Pace-O-Matic, is proud to donate $10,000 to Challenge Rodeo,” Pace-O-Matic chief marketing officer Gina Trumm Reinhardt said. “The Wyoming community and the local families are extremely important to us.”
Before attendees could claim their special belt buckles and complimentary shirts and hats, they took on some of the truest cowboy tasks there are. Broomstick barrel racing, dummy steer roping, steer wrestling, toy bull and bronc riding, goat meet-and-greets and endless pictures were the sources of constant laughter and smiling faces of the kids and their families.
Two of the attendees, Lawson Dennison and Blake Weaver, told the WTE that the best part of the whole rodeo was getting to ride the horses.
Standing at the outer edge of the event, two gentle horses stood ready for any kid who was brave enough to climb up into the saddle. Through Wednesday’s event, they patiently carried kids as they lived out their cowboy dreams and learned about rodeo culture.
“It’s fun,” Lawson said when asked why he liked the Challenge Rodeo.
Families have returned year after year for this event because of how welcoming it is. The Dennison family has been attending the rodeo for the last three years.
“They set it up so that every child with every different type of disability can still be involved and have fun,” Lawson’s mother, Raylene Dennison, said.
Kids at all levels of ability were able to learn and play at the Challenge Rodeo. With the help of several volunteers, kids got to run wild while staying within their sphere of comfort.
Inclusive opportunities for children with disabilities are limited, Blake’s mother, Allison Weaver, said. She added that when there are opportunities as good as this one, she and her family make an effort to come.
“It gives (Blake) a chance to try out some of these other skills that maybe he wouldn’t get the chance to do (otherwise),” Allison said. “There’s not a lot of opportunities for special-needs kids in Cheyenne, and so I feel like this is a great opportunity. We take advantage of those when we can.”
Students were accompanied by volunteers as they took advantage of the many rodeo opportunities at the event.
Blake got to rope a steer and ride the horses he enjoys so much with the help of his volunteer partner, Joey Wood. Wood is an English-as-a-second-language teacher in Laramie County School District 1, and has been volunteering for roughly three years, being partnered up with Blake for the last two.
“I think that any exposure for kids to rodeo, to come out and get to experience the animals and learn about the events, is a positive thing,” Wood said. “And it’s just really great to make relationships with these families.”
Learning about rodeo culture and events is an important part of the Challenge Rodeo. CFD isn’t just a fun weeklong activity, it is culturally important to the city and the people who live here.
“These kids don’t always get included in every activity,” LCSD1 Board of Trustees Chairman Tim Bolin said. “So this is a chance to make sure they do get included and give them a chance to get a real experience with rodeo, since rodeo is such a big thing in Cheyenne.”
The Challenge Rodeo is the result of the collaborative efforts between the Challenge Rodeo Committee, LCSD1 and the Concessions Committee. LCSD1 Superintendent Steve Newton told the WTE that this collaboration is essential to this rodeo.
“We’re blessed that we get to be here today for the Challenge Rodeo, where a lot of the kids in our community are able to come and take part in the events, much like the much larger rodeo that we all enjoy,” Newton said.
This was the first year that Newton has been superintendent during CFD, bringing him closer to the Challenge Rodeo than he’s previously been.
“It’s always been a highlight of the year,” Newton said. “But being able to see it firsthand, seeing our community come together in the spirit of the larger rodeo that we’re at, but with our kids in mind, is just incredibly heartwarming. ... I’m just so appreciative of everyone who came out today to make this a great experience for our kids.”
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