A note from a cowboy's dad-
I want to thank all the wonderful folks connected to the Rascal Rodeo!!

And to encourage more promotion & sponsorship to help more participants experience this amazing program.

As a dad of a 19-year-old son; whom has downsyndrom, and has attended many of these events; I can tell you there are many awesome & heartwarming moments that I've witnessed each time we have been to these adaptive rodeo events...

Ann-Erica created an incredible program many years ago, that so inspires personal achievement, pride, and sense of greatness within so many kids and adults that's equal to nothing I've ever witnessed before. And I am certain that this program will continue to thrive as awareness of the Rascal Rodeo spreads.

I've watched this event grow and help instill self-confidence, courage, awareness of abilities (vs limitations) and pure happiness thru an "I can do this attitude" within so many kids and adults with special abilities --- not to mention the glow I've seen (and tears of happy) from parents and caregivers as they stand back and witness things they may have previously never considered letting their kids do...

This is a quote from Ann-Erica, that I love

“My favorite thing is to see the wheelchair empty and someone up on a horse, doing something they didn't know they could do,” (in one sentence; this to me, kind of says it all. Despite the fact that wheelchair participants are actually only a small % of the participants at most of the events I've attended). There are many, many potential participants that have yet to even hear of these awesome events, and this is one of the biggest reasons we need to gather more sponsorship and public awareness!!!

Just one example of the awesomeness of the Rascal Rodeo...

A very special (yet nonverbal, almost expressionless) young lady in a wheelchair I met at an event; after a few minutes into the event, had the most priceless excitedly, happy look on her face when I asked if “they were having fun”, her mother told me she rode the horses TWICE. I could tell this mom was almost in shock that her daughter had even got up on the horse even once… when they had first gotten there the mom told me they were only going to watch, because she felt her daughter would be too scared, etc., and they just wanted to see for themselves what they had heard about the Rascal Rodeo.

…we encouraged her to sign up anyway… And the next thing I knew -- Jeff Bellingham and the awesome volunteers encouraged & reassured her, and with some skilled and patient assistance she got on that horse for the first time in her life...the mom in the end told me "she hadn't seen her daughter so happy in a long time"

I cannot express enough how incredibly awesome an experience the Rascal Rodeo is for so many kids and adults alike (like my son Garrett), and they have only scratched the surface of inclusion in this program.

Many folks have yet to bring their kids or even heard of the Rascal Rodeo yet, we need to help change this…

Jeff O.

Rascal Rodeo End of Year Extra Giving Round Up

By Rascal Rodeo

Rascal Rodeo End of Year Extra Giving Round Up

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