Rascal Rodeo coming to county

SANDPOINT — The Rascal Rodeo is all about allowing those with special needs to enjoy rodeo festivities, while also helping them discover unknown abilities.

This Saturday, the Rascal Rodeo is bringing its unique, safe, and modified rodeo environment to those with physical and developmental disabilities to Sandpoint for the first time, as part of the 2019 Bonner County PRCA Rodeo events.

“We are always excited to add a new location to our annual schedule,” said Rascal Rodeo president and founder Ann-Erica Whitemarsh. “We’ve been in Coeur d’Alene the last several years and have always had a great rodeo, so we are excited to be back in North Idaho again to be able to reach more participants.”

Ashley Gerstenberger, media relations for the Bonner County Rodeo, said when she heard about the Rascal Rodeo, she thought it was a great thing for those with special needs, because a lot of people benefit from animal therapy.

“It’s just an interesting experience for them to get out and see, obviously the practicality of rodeo and the sport itself, but then also the therapy that is lent during the process ... It seems like a very neat organization overall in what they are trying to do,” Gerstenberger said.

The Rascal Rodeo is a nonprofit organization, founded in 2010 by Whitemarsh in the Tri-Cities, Wash., though the concept dates back to Whitemarsh’s high school senior project in 2001, according to the organization’s website. Whitemarsh held the initial “Exceptional Rodeo” to give the special needs people in her community a place to be cowboys and cowgirls. She soon realized there was a lot more to it than that — it was also an opportunity for them to discover unknown abilities, and for families and communities to discover that “people with ‘disabilities’ have more abilities than not.” It was that quote on the website that Gerstenberger said struck her. Rodeos are a very physical sport, she said, so it is not something typically thought possible for people with special needs to be able to participate in.

“So it seems like a very special time to be able to open this up to the community and reach out to people and go, ‘We don’t see those barriers for those individuals to be able to have fun and experience this joy and be a part of this culture,’” Gerstenberger said. “They can come in and be a part of the overall experience.”

Whitemarsh said she encourages parents who may be unsure whether their special needs children — of any age — would enjoy the event, to bring them and check it out. Whether they participate in the activities or not, it can give them a chance to discover what they can and can’t do, she said. It is very “laid back,” she said, and all of the events are altered to allow people of all abilities to accomplish them.

The Rascal Rodeo is free for participants, as it is sponsored by companies such as Pelican Fuel, which covers all of the fuel for the group to travel around the Pacific Northwest, and Les Schwab provides the tires for the truck and trailer, among other large and small sponsorships. The truck itself was awarded to Rascal Rodeo when they won it through Toyota’s “100 Cars for Good” in 2013.

“I just thought it was really neat that they all jump in and see the worth of what they are trying to do, and the experience that they are trying to bring to people,” Gerstenberger said.

The Rascal Rodeo will be held from 10-11 a.m. on Saturday at the Bonner County Fairgrounds. Anyone interested in participating is required to register online ahead of the event at rascalrodeo.org.

Volunteers are needed as well from 9-11:30 a.m., and can register using the same form on the organization’s website. Horse and rodeo experience is not required for participants or volunteers. Whitemarsh said four-legged volunteers are always welcome, as the Rascal Rodeo counts on locals to bring horses to events for the participants to ride.

The Bonner County Rodeo will be held at the Bonner County Fairgrounds on Friday and Saturday, featuring barrel racing, trick riding, saddle bronc, team roping and bull riding. This is the fifth year the rodeo has operated as a professional rodeo, and in 2016 was awarded Small Rodeo of the Year through the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Columbia River Circuit.

One of the specialty acts this year features the world’s smallest cowboy — Whiplash the Cowboy Monkey. Whiplash is a Capuchin monkey, who rides his trusty steed, a border collie named Boogie. With Whiplash is part of a full lineup of entertainment, and Gerstenberger said there will be plenty of family fun for everyone at this year’s rodeo.

“We have a great turnout every year — we really appreciate the community support,” Gerstenberger said.

Gates open for the rodeo at 6:30 p.m. each evening, with events starting at 7:30 p.m. Pre-sale tickets, which are $15 for adults and $8 for youth, can be purchased online at bonnercountyfair.com, or at the Bonner County Fair Office, Columbia Bank’s Ponderay and Sandpoint branches, Carter Country, North 40, Sandpoint Super Drug and Les Schwab Tire Center. Tickets will be available for purchase at the gates during the events as well.

Mary Malone can be reached by email at mmalone@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.