This competition was started as a charity event in Galveston , Texas , in the mid-1990's. Baton Rouge motor officers competed in this event in the second year of its existence. After the event, Chief Jeff LeDuff (then a motor officer) approached the organizer, Lt. Jimmy Fullen, and asked if Baton Rouge could host the event every other year. The following year (1997), the event was held for the first time in Baton Rouge . It was such a great success that Lt. Fullen suggested keeping the event in Baton Rouge .
Prior to hosting the event, we searched for a charity to which we could donate all proceeds from the event. This was a difficult task because many charities were afraid of the liability involved with motorcycles. We finally partnered with the Dream Day Foundation, which directly benefits the St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital .
The benefits of St. Jude's to our local residents are immense. They have a clinic in Baton Rouge , located in Our Lady of the Lake Hospital . This helps local cancer patients in that their travel expenses are greatly reduced and they can have the family support that is so desperately needed during such stressful times.
Our partnership with the Dream Day Foundation is more like a family. They don't just sit back and wait for a donation. They participate in the planning and production of the event and provide an unlimited amount of volunteer support. This makes for a great team in our fundraising efforts.
Since Baton Rouge began hosting the competition in 1997, we have gone from 75 participants from six states to 137 participants from nine states and Canada . We now have the 2 nd largest charity competition in the United States . The first year we raised $12,000 for St. Jude's and in 2004, we raised $44,000. This brought our total contributions to date to over $188,000. The event has gained more publicity and public awareness, and has many local participants and sponsors. It has become a highly anticipated community event of which we are very proud.
We look forward to the competitions in years to come and it is our sincere hope that this rodeo will continue to be a source of excellent training for police motor officers as well as a source of financial and community support for such a deserving charity.
