Twenty youths rode horses, practiced their lasso technique and painted parents' faces on Friday morning as part of The Catalena Cowpokes Rodeo.
The 12th annual special-needs rodeo, which is for those 21 and under, included stick-horse barrel racing, dummy-head calf roping, pony rides, stick-horse bronco riding, face painting and a large dance party in the middle of the Brazos County Expo's main arena, all put on by a variety of rodeo performers and volunteers in connection with the 47th annual Bryan Breakfast Lions Club PRCA Rodeo.
Two-year-old Emmersyn Cullifer and her mom, Kristin, were among the first to arrive, joined later by Emmersyn's sibling and her dad, Justin. Emmersyn appeared to enjoy climbing on bales of hay and bravely climbed onto a horse, posing briefly before asking to come back down. Kristin Cullifer said Emmersyn's sensory disorder can make unfamiliar textures -- such as a horse's mane -- a challenge, which made her climb aboard the young animal all the more thrilling for the family.
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"I like that they have this, a space at the rodeo where the kids can come and go be themselves. There's not a lot of other kids running around, which is nice," said Kristin Cullifer, who said her family has attended rodeos in Belton as well.
Emmersyn then took her family to the face-painting station and painted the right side of her dad's face light blue, to the delight of her family and several volunteers.
Many of the children in attendance have intellectual and developmental disabilities, their parents and guardians said.
Karen Vinde, 9, enjoyed several horseback rides and took the opportunity to play with her younger siblings, Marlynn and Angel Sanchez.
"I'm never scared. I can do anything!" Karen exclaimed after her second horse ride. Cowgirls and cowboys took the horses and their riders on a half-lap journey in the arena at a regular walking pace.
After capturing video of Karen's rides and photos of Marlynn and Angel, the trio's mother, Karen Ramirez, said it was their first time at the event and called it "a very fun time."
Angel Sanchez found a buddy in the dance circle in Leslie Easterwood, a professor from Texas A&M's College of Veterinary Medicine. Easterwood helped 3-year-old Angel do the Hokey Pokey and step along with the line dance to the Brooks & Dunn song Boot Scootin' Boogie.
"This is one of the best things we can do to outreach with the community," Easterwood said.
Several fourth-year vet students and another professor joined Easterwood in volunteering at the event. She said the rodeo is one of several community events the vet school is involved with in some way, along with the therapy-based Courtney Cares and Horses for Heroes programs.
"Part of why we come here is to take that servant heart our students have and help spur that along," Easterwood said.
Event organizer Shea Johnson, who is in her fourth season as a Catalena Cowgirl, took a break from her backstage duties and enthusiastically danced alongside children and teens during the dance party. Johnson said she loves seeing the change in how children engage with the animals and the rodeo equipment.
"A lot of the kids come in kinda scared, some wary, and then leave with a big smile on their faces. We're very proud to do an event like this," she said.
As the dance circle of about 50 people continued, Terry Starnes, the rodeo's announcer, used the microphone to exhort parents, cowboys and volunteers to keep on dancing. Starnes, who lives in Glen Rose, about an hour southwest of Fort Worth, is a nationally known rodeo announcer.
"Rodeo is a grassroots sport. [It's] still a sport that involves the community," he said. "Why do we do events like this? It gives kids, and adults too, the chance to wear the hat, throw the rope, ride the horse -- to be a cowboy for a day. It blesses us, too."
The Bryan Breakfast Lions Club PRCA Rodeo concludes tonight at 7:30 p.m. and will include rodeo clowns, specialty acts, bullfighting and the renowned Catalena Cowgirls. Doors open at 6 p.m. Adult tickets to the rodeo are $12. Tickets for children 2-11 are $10, and children under 2 get in free.