Children's Rodeo

The Pendleton Round-Up may best be known for its heart-pounding rodeo and the professional cowboys who compete in it, but there’s another event that’s changing the lives of its participants. The Children’s Rodeo offers special needs children the opportunity to be cowboys and cowgirls for an hour of fun inside the famous Round-Up Arena. The Children’s Rodeo will kick off Wednesday, Sept. 10, at 11:30 a.m. (after slack) and runs until about 12:30 p.m., just before the first day of rodeo action starts in the Round-Up Grounds. The 40 or so children who participate in the Children’s Rodeo – which always takes place the Wednesday of Round-Up week – are special education students with either mental or physical handicaps. Each child receives a trophy, T-shirt, lariat, cowboy hat, scarf and a photo with a cowboy.