about us

Having tried for four years to get our daughter Skylar (who has Down Syndrome) into the “Giddy Up” rodeo in Calgary, finally in 1999 she slipped into a spot to rodeo in Calgary in March. Finding events for a child with a challenge in central Alberta were few and far between. With friends of ours we approached the Ponoka Stampede Association about starting our own rodeo. They were supportive and off we headed to Calgary to watch Skylar compete. While there we took notes, spoke to representatives from the “Giddy Up” rodeo and came back with dreams of our own little rodeo.

The Ponoka Stampede Association provided the seed money to build the props, provided the venue, parking and invited each child and their family to enjoy an afternoon performance of the Ponoka Stampede. We worked Bingo’s to raise extra money and sponsors started approaching us willing to help out.

A full day of fun for these contestants includes participating in modified rodeo events for a full hour, a hot dog lunch to follow and an afternoon performance of the Ponoka Stampede rodeo.

Today, we are heading into our 10th annual ‘Ponoka Stampede Rodeo Challenge”. Through the years, we have met all the wonderful children and their families, became friends with the volunteer cowboys/cowgirls that return year after year to volunteer their time to spend with a child and admire all the volunteers that make this rodeo possible.

If you have a child between the ages of 5 and 18 with a mental and/or physical challenge, we would love to have you attend our “special rodeo”. Please fill out the registration form below and forward to us. For more information visit the registration section of our website.

2010 Rodeo Challenge Registration Form