Suffering a major injury and undergoing facial surgery does not stop Rex Robrahn from helping children with special needs.
Other than being one tough cowboy from Siloam Springs, Robrahn is the 2014 World Senior Professional Bull Riding Champion and the event organizer for Cowboys for Kids. CFK is a free community event to help raise funds for Ability Tree, a local nonprofit. The event is scheduled for 6 p.m. Saturday, May 23, at the Siloam Springs Rodeo Grounds.
"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Robrahn said from his hospital bed in Plano, Texas. "This event is a great thing and helping out just a little bit means a lot to me.... This is a day about making those kids feel very, very special and we try to make them feel like they are the only ones out there."
He said that he was "jerked down" by a bull last Saturday at a World Senior Professional Bull Rider event near Denton, Texas, and injured his face. This is sometimes called "kissing the bull" by other riders. It is when the rider's face is launched into the back of the bull's head. Robrahn said he kissed his bull three times.
After the injury he was taken to a hospital in Denton and then transferred to the Presbyterian Hospital in Plano where two metal plates were surgically implanted in his face. He was on his way back to Arkansas on Monday afternoon.
The injury and surgery prevent Robrahn from carrying out his plans of riding a bull in a dress to help raise more money for charity, he said. However, at the event attendees will have a chance to vote for one of Robrahn's two nephews to ride the dressed bull instead, he said.
The event is scheduled to start with a cowboy meet-and-greet for children. At the meet-and-greet, professional cowboys and bull riders will take some time to talk with the children and answer questions.
"We will all sign autographs," Robrahn said. "And these are the old cowboys, like the ones you see in the movies. They got a soft heart and these kids mean something to them."
After the meet-and-greet the show will start with some "mutton busting," or sheep riding for kids who weigh 60 pounds or less. Following the mutton busting is the main event, where senior professional bull riders will get out and do their thing for the crowd.
There will be concessions and vendors at the show, said Joe Butler of Ability Tree. Special seating will be available for children with physical or visual impairment, Butler said.
He added that he was very appreciative of Rex for approaching Ability Tree with the idea to host this event. Butler said that he and his wife founded Ability Tree five years ago this June, and the two are the fundraisers, directors and nearly everything else for the organization, so they enjoy it when someone from the community steps up to help them out with an event.
CFK is sponsored by Simmons Foods and Monster Bull, as well as Lone Star Cowboy Church, Quantie Auto Parts, and many others. Money from the sponsor's donations will go to the event's overhead and what is left goes to Ability Tree's six-week summer camp for children with disabilities that starts June 22. Butler said the goal was to raise $10,000 in additional funds and last time he checked they were at more than $2,000.
"Events like this will shine the light on the fact that we all have abilities and we all have purpose," Butler said. "We want to come alongside families impacted with disability and create an accessible inclusive community that helps families live healthy lives in their homes, businesses, workplaces, schools, and churches and to do that it takes a community. We love this town, we got about 450 kids in K-12 in special education so it impacts our town just like any other."
For anyone who desires to donate to Ability Tree or to the event go to abilitytree.org/donate.
General News on 05/20/2015