As the dust settled on the Limestone County Sheriff’s Arena Friday all that could be seen or heard were the memories of smiling faces and the residual sounds of laughter and cheer. It was the close of what could only be called a “fun-filled day” by those in attendance and meant the Ninth Annual Exceptional Rodeo had taken place. All held at a location where a number of exceptional cowgirls and cowboys were offered the ride of a lifetime.

“It’s my first time on a horse,” said Rhonda Holt at lunch on Friday after taking a ride around the arena. “I like it.” Holt said her favorite part of the event had to be the horses. “Yee haw,” she giggled.

The Exceptional Rodeo drew hundreds of special needs children and adults to the arena on Alabama 99. Some hopped on horses for the ride of their lives, while others tossed ropes around the necks of man-made steers.  The rodeo had everything from a man-made bucking-bull ride to tractor and mule-drawn buggy rides to a petting zoo harboring llamas, goats, ponies and rabbits.

“This is my first year,” said Logan Byrd of Athens, adding his favorite part of the event is riding the horses as well. “Today was actually a surprise.”

“Here comes the choo-choo train again,” he said before wheeling off. Byrd has Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a form of muscular dystrophy. His mom, Becky Byrd, said he had always wanted to go to the rodeo and she thought it might not be accessible because of his wheelchair. Fortunately, she said, she was told about the Exceptional Rodeo just for kids with special needs. “There is nothing worse then him wanting to go somewhere and you find out he can’t,” she said. “This is perfect. This is fantastic.”

“When you see the smiles on some of these people’s faces, you can’t help but have a good time,” said Limestone County Sheriff Mike Blakely. He added it wasn’t his idea to have the rodeo. Charis Ritter, the 2002 Miss Limestone Sheriff’s Rodeo Queen, came up with the idea almost a decade ago. However, Blakely said the first year it was held it made him so emotional it’s been a part of the rodeo festivities ever since.  “It’s amazing — some of these kids’ parents have told me there is no way they would have ever dreamed or thought they would have the opportunity to put their kids on a horse,” Blakely said. “Now, we get kids out of wheelchairs and they are able to ride.”

Blakely joked when he visits the Birdie Thornton Center, a place for adults with special needs, the first thing he hears is “Hey Mike, when’s the rodeo?”

He gives the community and the employees of the Sheriff’s Department credit for the Rodeo’s success. “They do a great job,” he said. 

“This is my third year to work the rodeo,” said rodeo clown and bullfighter Mark Webber. He has taken part in the Exceptional Rodeo for the past three years.

“I think this is a great event for the community,” Webber said. “It allows all these kids with special needs a chance to experience rodeo life and cowboy life. At some point in everyone’s life, they wanted to be a cowboy or a cowgirl.”

Webber said there are Exceptional Rodeos in other parts of the nation, but he believes Limestone County holds one of the biggest Exceptional Rodeos put on throughout the United States.  “It’s a big event for the community and the state of Alabama,” he said.

Dennis Brooks, a member of the Limestone County Sheriff’s Department Reserves, said he has been helping with the Exceptional Rodeo for more than six years. On Friday, he pulled scores of children around on a buggy hitched behind his tractor.

“It makes for a great time seeing these kids,” Brooks said. “That is what makes it special.”

The Exceptional Rodeo was held in conjunction with the 29th Annual Limestone County Sheriff’s Rodeo, which started at 8 p.m. Friday. Sheriff’s Rodeo events will continue tonight at the arena.