Posted on 03/06/2018 4:59:40 AM PST by SandRat
FORT HUACHUCA — Parents skittish about letting their little buckaroos in an arena had nothing to worry about Sunday, when kiddos were able to experience being in a rodeo, but without animals
The event, called the Exceptional Rodeo, was part of the annual Cochise College Rodeo held March 3 and 4 Fort Huachuca.
Cochise College, the Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) Programs and the Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) allowed kids to experience events they would see later in the day.
“Not only is it something fun for the kids to do but it may pique their interest in rodeo,” said Lois Sagmoe, with the EFMP.
More than a dozen kids ran around three barrels as the real competitors in the barrel race would do on their horse. They sat on a barrel while members of the Cochise College men’s rodeo team rocked it to simulate bull riding, and they learned to lasso a steer mannequin.
Tanya Renteria, a Sierra Vista resident, took her two children to the event ahead of their first rodeo.
“It’s something to get the kids involved,” she said. “It’s great they do this for the kids. My kids haven’t seen anything like this before, so it’ll be cool that they can do this and see it happen later in the competition.”
The event, held before the championship rounds Sunday, was open to children of all ages and abilities. Each kid was able to borrow a hobby horse to “ride” through the different events. They were also given a bandana so they had the Western appearance to go along with their horse.
Sunday’s event drew a younger crowd of elementary-age children, but it’s not limited by age.
“Sometimes we get big kids who want to act like little kids,” EFMP Manager Audrey Peterson said.
That’s just fine with Sagmoe: “It’s about inclusion.”
The occasion got one grownup rodeo competitor thinking about his roots.
“It’s humbling,” said Jake Burwash, Cochise College men’s rodeo team captain.
“This is where most of us started, learning events like this,” he said. “If we have future fans or contests after this, that’s great.”
Most of the “real” rodeos I’ve been to have an event called “mutton-busting”. It usually takes one of two forms: either one kid at a time, with helmet and full rodeo gear, attempts their 7-second ride on the back of a sheep, or a whole herd of kids tries to run down a sheep and wrestle it to the ground. These are also elementary-aged kids.
The wussification of America continues apace, apparently.
These apparently are kids with disabilities” ... “The Exceptional Family Member Program or EFMP is a mandatory U.S. Department of Defense enrollment program that works with other military and civilian agencies to provide comprehensive and coordinated community support, housing, educational, medical, and personnel services worldwide to U.S. military families with special needs.” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exceptional_Family_Member_Program
Here is one of many photos of this event on the Fort’s Facebook acct https://m.facebook.com/u.s.armyforthuachuca/photos/a.10151346660200819.478908.96914535818/10155493074640819/?type=3&source=54&ref=page_internal
In our quest to eliminate the "r" word, we have gone from 'challenged' to 'differently abled' to 'special' to 'exceptional.' This reminds me of the scene in Parenthood where Steve Martin's character is told by the school that his son is 'special' and he assumes they meant 'gifted'.
being in a rodeo, but without animals
Never saw the movie. Used to be, kids were called now-forbidden words, but at least they had lives. Now, most kids with Downs Syndrome are aborted. It is stunning how few kids I saw anymore with Downs.
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