For the first time in Rowell Ranch Rodeo history, a Special Olympics athlete will join experienced cowboys in the Celebrity Team Penning event, which begins at 4 p.m. Wednesday at Rowell Ranch.

Shane Bonetti of San Lorenzo, 17, has autism. He has participated in the Special Olympics for disabled youngsters for the past five years and this year will partner in the team penning event with Jerry Dominguez, a skilled Castro Valley cowboy who is actively involved on the Rowell Ranch Rodeo Advisory Board. 

Shane has been working with his trainer, Sarah Deane, at Rancho de Los Amigos on Cull Canyon Road in Castro Valley. So far he has been learning the basics of horse handling and riding, but the event on Wednesday will be his first fast-paced event. 

It is bound to be an exciting time for him and for everyone who has helped him along this journey. 

The penning event will be followed by a steak barbeque and dance at the rodeo grounds. Gates will open at 2:30 p.m. Parking and entry to the penning event is free. The barbeque dinner costs $15.

For many years, Rowell Ranch has supported the Special Olympics. Then last year, as part of its 90^th anniversary, Rowell added the Special Partners Rodeo, which was designed to give people with developmental disabilities an opportunity to experience rodeo events in the arena. It is a collaborative effort which involves a dedicated group of volunteers, friends from the Livermore Rodeo, and the generous support of the Hayward Firefighters Local 1909.

Dominguez and his wife Theresa have been heavily involved in the Special Olympics for many years. “Theresa got me involved and eventually I became the agency coordinator for BART police," Dominguez said. "We have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Special Olympics ever since.

"We have done almost anything you can imagine to raise money—such as Polar Plunge, TIP A COP, COPS on Donut Shops, Dunk-a-Cop, Billboard Sit, Bucks for Badges, crab feeds, T-shirt sales, bowling, and chili cook-offs,” he said.

Dominguez will ride his multi-talented mule, Huckleberry, and he will help select a solid cow horse for young Shane.

Let’s take a quick look at exactly what team penning is so that you’ll know what you are looking at.

The arena is filled with 20 cows, and two each are marked with the numbers zero through 10. Team penning uses a three-man team. Two cowboys sort out the correct cow and run it down the arena toward a box area at the opposite end.

As the two-man team (or two-woman team) crosses the start line, the announcer will call out a number. If the number is 5, for example, they must sort out the two cows marked No. 5, separate them from the others, and drive them down the arena and into the box. The third cowboy is in charge of guarding the box. He moves away to let the right cows in and blocks the entrance to keep the wrong cows out. (The wrong ones are called “dirty cows”—a term which I have never totally understood but find amusing).

The Rowell Ranch Rodeo is committed to enriching the lives of Special Olympic athletes by producing their Special Partners Rodeo. Through the partnership of Rowell Ranch Rodeo, Hayward Firefighters, and Special Partners, they continue to keep the Special Olympics Flame of Hope alive. In fact the Hayward firefighters have said, “That’s one fire we’ll never put out.”

Sidney Simpson writes a column for Patch called "Let's Talk Horse."