Rascal Rodeo rounded out Benton Franklin fair week

Kate Edvalson’s favorite Benton Franklin Fair & Rodeo event is barrel racing. She says watching the horses swerve in between the barrels at breakneck speeds makes her happy.

But what brought a smile to the 24-year-old’s face on Saturday was being able to get on a horse herself at the annual Rascal Rodeo event at the Benton County Fairgrounds in Kennewick.

Rascal Rodeo is a non-profit organization that focuses on “Helping those with physical and developmental disabilities discover unknown abilities in a unique, safe and modified rodeo environment.”

The first “exceptional rodeo” was held in Tri-Cities in 2001 when founder and executive director Ann-Erica Whitemarsh created the event for her high school senior project.

Nearly a decade later, in 2010, Whitemarsh made Rascal Rodeo into an official non-profit organization and since then has put on events across the Pacific Northwest.

“It really gives the participants an opportunity to do something that they don’t typically get to do,” Whitemarsh said. “It really helps them discover that they can do hard things and can do things out of their comfort zone and out of the ordinary.

All Rascal Rodeo events are free to participants and their family members. The non-profit relies on volunteers, donations and sponsorship to make each event possible. This year, the Les Schwab Tires sponsored the Rascal Rodeo at the Benton Franklin Fair & Rodeo.

Whitemarsh says anyone who wants to help the Rascal Rodeo can find more information on how to volunteer or donate on their website www.rascalrodeo.org. Details for upcoming events, such as a fundraising auction on Oct. 8, can also be found online.

This story was originally published August 31, 2021 at 10:56 AM.