A special champion
Cerebral palsy doesn’t stop exhibitor Chase Carpenter
On a beautiful morning when community members with special needs were celebrated at the Porterville Fair, one young man proudly held court in the livestock pavilion, ribbons in tow, with a winning smile that was as much of a showcase as his lamb in the pen behind him.
That young man was Granite Hills High School senior Chase Carpenter, and the reason he was beaming was because his lamb Sheldon had just won “Brocklefaced” Breed Champion.
“It’s been a lot of work,” said Chase, still showing off his smile.
Chase, who has cerebral palsy, got Sheldon in January when he weighed 80 pounds, and has spent the past few months working hard to get him into Breed Champion shape, walking him every day and feeding him the finest cuisine.
“Sheldon has eaten better than us,” said Chase’s mother Teresa. “He has a specialty diet and supplements. There’s days where I want to eat like he does.”
Groups like 4-H and FFA have long been recognized for instilling responsibility, leadership and character, but Chase recommends other young people get involved with raising animals for another important reason.
“I want people to know more about how their food gets to their table,” he said. Chase is also an Aztec dancer, and one of their cultural values is to demonstrate respect for their food by knowing where it comes from.
“It’s important to him because if you don’t know about your food then that’s when people start to become wasteful,” added Teresa. “I’ve been using it as a lesson for my foster kids to show them that this is not just something you get at KFC — someone worked really hard to raise what you’re eating.”
Having Sheldon around has inspired Chase and his family to transform their oneacre property near Monache High School into a special needs-friendly attraction.
“I want it to be like a park,” said Chase.
For Chase, who is also the reigning Granite Hills Homecoming King, the accomplishment is yet another sign of his bright future. He plans to go to Porterville College in the fall, and after that he hopes to study physical therapy at University of California, Berkeley, which has an outstanding special needs program.
His body may be affected by cerebral palsy, but inside Chase beats the heart, soul and mind of a typical American teenage boy.
“He has every desire of every other teenage boy. We got him a 15-seat van for his birthday last year, and we had a disco ball installed
because he’s a teenager and that’s what he wanted,” said Teresa.
He also has a service dog, a purple poodle, that he describes as his wingman because “the girls like it.”
In a world where many with special needs are still marginalized, Chase’s family have encouraged him to merge into the mainstream and pursue all his hopes and dreams with gusto. And he listens to them.
“He told me, ‘I want to jump out of a plane. Can we do that?’” Teresa said.
He is so enthusiastic that he often sets the example for others who are not disabled when they are reluctant to step forward.
“Your limitations are what you put on yourself,” said Teresa. “Every excuse you have to fail is just that — an excuse.”