Serenity Oakley made a tight loop around the barrel, holding her horse tight.
The 8-year-old from Harrisburg beamed as a professional rodeo cowboy showed her how to barrel race and rope a dummy calf.
“I just tried, tried my best,” she said Thursday.
Before dozens of cowboys and cowgirls competed in the First Frontier Circuit Finals Rodeo at the Pennsylvania Farm Show, they shared their passion with children who have special needs during the Exceptional Rodeo.
“It's something that everybody loves to do. It's very fulfilling for the contestants, everybody involved,” said Becky Clanton, one of the rodeo organizers. “We have a lot of kids that come back year after year. Even as they're more adults, they still love to come.”
Inclusion and acceptance
New Holland Arena is the largest venue at the sprawling Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg. Crews used a roller on the dirt to make the arena floor accessible for kids who use wheelchairs. Onlookers sat in many of the venue’s 7,318 seats, creating an energetic, enthusiastic environment.
Serenity’s mom, Cari Oakley, watched as her daughter tried each event. The professional cowboys and cowgirls paired up with children for lessons on roping and racing. The children sat on saddles, held on tightly as a “bull” moved slowly and climbed in a clown barrel with the help of a rodeo clown.
“I think it's a good opportunity for special needs kids to get out there and interact and be themselves,” Cari Oakley said.
Jackson King, an 8-year-old from Harrisburg, smiled widely as he threw a rope that landed on the mannequin’s horns.
“It's so exciting, because he has such a hard time with the patience to learn things like this,” said his mom, Amber Hammaker. “So getting to see him actually do it and have so much fun doing it himself is amazing.”
Kids asked for autographs from the rodeo competitors and rodeo queens, who came to the event from across the country.
Volunteers share rodeo experience
Starla Miller, Miss Keystone State Rodeo, visits the farm show yearly. She grew up on a dairy farm in Rome, Bradford County. This year, she attended the Exceptional Rodeo with other rodeo royalty.
“I just love this, seeing all the little kids and just seeing big smiles on their faces,” she said. “It just makes me very happy.”
Karissa Landis from Middleburg, Snyder County, planned to compete in barrel racing Thursday night. During the afternoon, she helped children race around the barrels with stick horses.
“This truly is amazing for these kids,” Landis said. “It brings them into the world, like to our world that we get to do all the time, and let them experience it.”
