Kids Ranch Rodeo Day provides fun, hands-on experience

By KARI KRAMER | East Texas Edition

Five-year-old Joey Kirkpatrick of Sulphur Springs gets some help with his loop from rodeo announcer Doug Mathis of Cleburne during the Northeast Texas Stampede PRCA Rodeo Hands-sponsored event. About 200 children came to the event to rope, race with stick horses, pet farm animals, and even clean stalls. -- Staff photo by Kramer

June 24, 2004 -- On June 11, children from all over Northeast Texas were given the chance to enjoy a real cowboy experience at the Hopkins County Civic Center in Sulphur Springs.

The Kids Ranch Rodeo Day was sponsored by the Northeast Texas Stampede PRCA Rodeo Hands group. Donna Battles, president of the volunteer group, estimated the total participation at 200 children.

The children were sent through several stations. At the first station, the children roped a small-frame roping dummy. Next, it was time to get dirty, learning how to clean a stall. Stall cleaning was followed by a stick horse race, stick bucking bulls with bells, and then a horseshoe pitching station. The children were also exposed to various farm animals at a petting zoo set up by area 4-H students. The petting zoo included two calves, kittens, birds, and rabbits.

The last station gave the children a chance to pet and ride a horse. Children lined up at the gate waiting for rodeo announcer Doug Mathis to help them mount up and lead them around the ring. Mathis said he tries to help out with kids' rodeo events everywhere he travels.

"I was a kid once, I grew up on a ranch in Texas. A lot of kids don't get a chance to ride a horse. Anything I can do to help with kids is fun," said Mathis.

The volunteers all seemed enthusiastic about introducing children to aspects of the rodeo.

"We are giving them the opportunity to do things just like the cowboys in the rodeo are doing," said Battles.

As if the chance to play like cowboys wasn't enough for the children, they were all given free rodeo passes and invited to come watch the cowboys in action at the rodeo that night.