Saturday, September 6, 2008

Children's Rodeo Gives Special Needs Kids a Day With a Cowboy

The Cowboys Are Coming!
One of my favorite times of the year is here. Every year, the second week of September, the town of Pendleton, Oregon turns into a cowboy Mardi Gras where the Pendleton Round-up resides. Started in 1910, the rodeo is one of the oldest and largest in the world. Boasting a large purse of prize money, professional rodeo cowboy atheletes come to compete from all over the world.
It is in this setting, that the Round up Association and my employer, Umatilla Morrow Education Service District co-sponsor a special rodeo for special needs children. The pro cowboys volunteer to take a child through a circuit of activities out in the arena.
From roping to riding, these children get to rub elbows with real cowboys and spend some time making a cowboy dream come true.
You can read all about the Children's Rodeo on the UMESD Website.
The director, Karen Parker will be my guest on No Limits 2 Learning Live on Blog Talk Radio next Monday, September 8 at 10 am Pacific. The archive will be available on the sidebar of my blog afterwards. I will be interviewing cowboys, kids and parents during the event next week and putting a podcast together to share highlights in the next couple of weeks.

All the best to you!
Lon

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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi, Lon, I know it's been a while. Nice post! We do rodeo in February here. But your description was perfect for bringing the whole atmosphere to my mind.

Horses and cattle - great natural technology, eh?
Barbara

Lon said...

Thanks Barbara. It is a great opportunity for these kids.