Amarillo’s Exceptional Rodeo hosts over 100 cowfolk

Words and photos by Phoebe Terry for the Amarillo Tribune.

Over 100 cowfolk of all ages participated in pole bending, barrel racing and bucking horse riding at the Exceptional Rodeo on Sept. 6. 

“You have to make sure that you have the right equipment,” Carla Hughes, the co-chair of the event, said. “Because what we’re doing is we’re taking actual rodeo events that take place and modifying them so that our special needs community can participate.” 

One of the most popular activities at Saturday’s Exceptional Rodeo was horseback riding. The event’s organizers built a platform for people with ambulatory issues to be able to mount the horse with ease. (Amarillo Tribune photo/ Phoebe Terry)

Participants were divided into several teams to participate in six different activities from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Amarillo National Center. The activities were facilitated by members of the West Texas A&M Rodeo Team and the junior fair board, which is made up of representatives from 4-H and Future Farmers of America chapters from around the Panhandle.  

A member of the WT rodeo team helps facilitate the barrel racing activity. (Amarillo Tribune photo/ Phoebe Terry)

The day’s cowboys and cowgirls also got to experience riding a bucking bronco. The large rocking horse designed by Skip Jones, who raises cutting horses and bucking bulls in Amarillo, was operated by a lever on the back to provide a roughstock riding experience to all participants. 

“Everybody loves the fair,” Hughes said. “And a big part of the fair is the rodeo, and they love to come to the rodeo, and so to be able to come down here, and have all these cowboys here, and the focus is 100% on them, and them being able to do this means a lot to them.”

Hughes said that in her three-year tenure of the event, it has grown to host over 100 participants, and she has plans to grow the event even more. Next year, she hopes to have 10 teams and more livestock to expedite some of the activities. 

Like any other rodeo, a few lucky participants left with a belt buckle as proof of their exceptional cowboying skills, but not before a dance party led by Hughes and the junior fair board members. 

“My favorite part of the event is just the looks on their faces,” Hughes said. ”They have such an exuberant enthusiasm for what they’re doing out there. And I can’t, I can’t tell you what it looks like, or the feel in here is just, just an overjoy.”