For athletes competing in the Chisholm Challenge at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, this week is big.
"This is their Super Bowl," Dwayne Wheeler, Chisholm Challenge President, said. "I feel a sense of freedom for the riders who have challenges every day."
There are 15 therapeutic riding organizations competing, with riders who have physical or intellectual disabilities.
"I was blessed with the gift of cerebral palsy," Kenton Morgan said.
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Morgan has been competing in the Chisholm Challenge for 16 years.
FORT WORTH STOCK SHOW AND RODEO
"I'm on a horse at the Chisholm Challenge at the start of the Stock Show," Morgan said. "And for those minutes, all the eyes and ears of everybody here are tuned to you, and there's something very beautiful and powerful about that."
"After my injury, I heard about therapeutic riding and it seemed like a natural fit," Lisa Ramsey said.
Ramey, a Fort Worth Police officer was shot in the line of duty in 2003, leaving her paralyzed from the chest down.
"I'm riding in a show that's for disabled riders," Ramsey said. "But to me, I'm just living life."
Both Ramsey and Morgan won blue ribbons in their Western Equitation competitions.
"Cody usually wins first," Ramsey joked of the horse, Cody. "Careful, he's a nipper! I nip, too."
The Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo donates the use of the facilities for the Chisholm Challenge, which runs through Wednesday.
The FWSSR starts on Friday, January 13. You can find more information here.
