Special-needs kids saddle up for exceptional rodeo experience
Lil’ Rustlers, a three-night RodeoHouston event, brings joy to special group of children
When the Lil’ Rustlers Rodeo kicked off Tuesday evening, Alexander Lowery was the first kid through the gate.
In the NRG Center’s main arena, the 6-year-old motored his red wheelchair expertly through piles of green sawdust chips, headed straight for the barrel races.
“See if you can catch me!” said Kevin Norton, the rodeo volunteer who’d been paired up with Alexander. But the boy didn’t need any direction. He glided through and around the barrels, completing the course like an experienced racer.
Alexander and about 55 other kids were part of Lil’ Rustlers, a three-night RodeoHouston event designed for children with special needs. For an hour Tuesday, they ran freely around the arena trying activities that let them sample rodeo life.
Some kids rode horses; others threw horseshoes and beanbags or tried their hand at twirling a rope.
They also could meet a trio of young goats, and before long a line had formed to pet them.
Genesis Reyes, 8, was a little shy as she approached Ireland, a black-and-white goat held by rodeo intern Jessica Minter.
“Do you want to touch her?” Minter said. “Open your hand. Lay it flat, like this.”
She put a few food pellets in
the girl’s hand, and Ireland leaned in quickly to sweep them up.
Genesis, startled by the goat’s tongue tickling her hand, jumped back a little. Then she giggled as she wiped her hand on her skirt.
Lil’ Rustlers, which started Tuesday and continues through Thursday, is organized by the Special Children’s Committee, which is in its 66th year.
Lil’ Rustlers is about “expanding what the rodeo offers,” said vice chairman Suzanne Andrews.
“There’s a lot for kids to do out here, but how much of it is really accessible?” she said.
Each night, the program has welcomed about 57 kids ages 4 to 10, Andrews said. The Special Children’s Committee partners with schools and organizations that serve children with special needs, finding the ones who might benefit from having a rodeo experience.
The event is for parents, too, Andrews said — for once, they can sit in the stands, take some pictures and enjoy watching their children enjoy something from afar.
Alexander, the 6-year-old, rides with a horse therapy nonprofit called Special CHEERS, but he didn’t want to ride a horse Tuesday. He did, however, agree to pet a brown one named Jet.
Jet leaned down gently and let Alexander gently stroke his nose.
Alexander smiled as he put his hand down. “What a sweet horse.”
The kids moved from station to station, doing whatever drew their interest. Some were shy about touching the goats, but not Willow Kreitz, a third-grader fighting leukemia. In jeans and a black cowboy hat, she was fully at ease with the animals, stroking their backs and noses.
“Awww,” Willow said as she squatted down to greet a twoday-old black goat named Aggie. She held Aggie’s head in her hand so gently, the animal briefly fell asleep.
“Now you can’t move until he wakes up,” teased Agventure superintendent Linsey Osbourn, who held Aggie in her arms.
When Aggie woke up, Willow was free to play with a bigger goat named Dublin. She rubbed his back, then plopped her cowboy hat gently on Dublin’s head.
“Be careful,” said volunteer Steffen Van Keppel, who knows something about goats. “He may eat it.”