The rodeo moved to Jefferson Elementary School in 2006 and was held annually. Last May, a rodeo was held at Warsaw Community Church, adding more schools hosting: Jefferson, Claypool and Eisenhower elementaries.
On Friday, a rodeo was held at Sacred Heart for the third-graders of Sacred Heart and Lincoln Elementary. The ultimate goal for these service clubs and the school corporation is to hold a rodeo for every third-grade class in Kosciusko County, according to a news release provided.
With combined efforts of Tracey’s Trailer, Kosciusko County Velo (KCV) and the Warsaw Noon Optimist Club, 96 kids got to try out their skills and practice what they have been working on for the past four weeks.
Tracey’s Trailer provided bicycles for the event. There were dozens of bikes, ranging from beginner’s strider bikes up to a more advanced rider bike. Bicycles were available in different sizes for the kids to choose from. The bikes are maintained and serviced by the TrailHouse Village Bicycles in Winona Lake.
KCV provided classroom instruction the last four weeks, leading up to Friday. Topics covered were bike safety instruction, biking etiquette and the proper road rules for road biking. They also spent time measuring each child to be sized for a new properly fitting helmet. A bike safety picture was provided to each student at this time to be colored and submitted for the coloring contest.
Warsaw Noon Optimist Club provided the end of the rodeo treats for everyone and certificates for each of the participants. They also awarded first-, second- and third-place prizes for the coloring contest for each classroom. Third-place received a bike bell, second-place received bike lights and first-place received a bike computer.
New helmets were provided to each student through the combined efforts of KCV and Noon Optimists. Water bottles were provided to each student by KCV.
It took many volunteers to make Friday happen, the release states. “A special thank you to the Warsaw Community School Corporation as well as the Warsaw and Winona Lake police departments. Fun was had by all.”
