The show officially opens on Friday, but competition kicked off Tuesday at the John Justin arena with a special group of riders.
Riders in the "Chisholm Challenge" have a special need, the horses they ride are part of their therapy.
"The horse acts as a tool. Say a person has cerebral palsy and is very high tone, which means they tense up, the horse is warm and their gaite stimulates the walking," said Cheril Becker, a leader for the event.
Hadley White,13, of Amarillo, is one of the riders and her father Greg said he's made a lot of improvement while his daughter rides.
It's not just the riders who are trained, but the horses as well. The horses go through weeks of training just to see if they can make it in the therapeutic riding program. They have to have the right disposition, so the bond between horse and rider can be tightly sealed.
"It's really a neat event to see these young people with disabilities get out there and compete," said Bob Watt, Jr., Stock show president.
The "Chisholm Challenge" began at the stock show six years ago and has grown to 120 riders taking part in this year's 2-day event.
