Adults and children with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities are invited to ride high in the saddle during the Rascal Rodeo.
Participants can tap into their inner cowboy or cowgirl while engaging in modified rodeo activities Saturday, Aug. 10, 9 a.m. at the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center, 1705 E. Airport Road. Horse or rodeo experience is not required.
Although the activity is free, registration is required. At check-in, participants will receive a Rascal Rodeo T-shirt and other western swag, including a bandana, cowboy hat and sheriff’s badge. At the conclusion, they can select a free belt buckle.
Kristi Smalley, who serves on the board of directors with The Arc of Umatilla County and the Hermiston-Pendleton Special Olympics, was especially pleased that her daughter, a young adult who has Autism Spectrum Disorder, was able to enjoy a past Rascal Rodeo in Hermiston.
“One of the best aspects of this event is that there is not an age limit for the participants,” Smalley said. “So often these wonderful opportunities are limited to children and do not include young adults with a disability.”
Rascal Rodeo founder Ann-Erica Whitemarsh said about 60% of the participants are adults. Disabilities, she said, don’t go away at a certain age.
Wrangling in volunteers
Also, she said volunteers of all ages are welcome. Tasks include everything from writing name tags and distributing shirts to assisting with activities, such as the stick horse barrel race, milking a “cow” and modified roping and riding events.
Volunteers are invited to bring their horses for participants to ride. Horse handlers and those walking alongside must be at least 18 years old.
Although they have tight schedules traveling to various rodeos, Whitemarsh said some professional cowboys and cowgirls find time to participate. Jesse Brown, a champion steer wrestler from Baker City, is “one of the many amazing Rascal Rodeo volunteers,” she said. Also, Brown has worn the nonprofit organization’s logo on his shirt for several years.
“They are a pretty cool company,” Brown said about Rascal Rodeo during a December 2021 interview. “They have it at the (Columbia River) circuit finals every year and a bunch of us bulldoggers go to that.”
Rascal Rodeo roots
While attending Pasco High School, Whitemarsh coordinated an “exceptional rodeo” in 2001 as her senior project. It featured a handful of participants and 20 volunteers.
Whitemarsh then headed to Warner Pacific College, where she played sports and majored in business. After discovering dissatisfaction with the workforce, she revived the Rascal Rodeo, creating it as a nonprofit organization in 2010.
The Rascal Rodeo is held in conjunction with county fairs or rodeo events. She said the past few years have featured around 16 events, mostly in Washington and Oregon. Although at a different venue, Rascal Rodeo events have been held in Las Vegas during the National Finals Rodeo.
“It’s a really cool opportunity for us to be down there,” Whitemarsh said.
Participation is free, she said, because of the generous support from fundraisers, benefit events, the sale of Rascal Rodeo logo gear and event sponsors, including the Kiwanis Club of Hermiston.
For more information or to register as a participant or volunteer, visit www.rascalrodeo.org. For questions, call 509-528-5947.
