Wishes come true at center ring

The crowd at the Celebration often jumps to a standing ovation, cheering on a favorite horse or simply acknowledging the flag as it is carried by Bud Seaton and Counterfeit Dollar.

Wednesday night, however, fans found themselves giving not one, but two standing ovations that really had nothing to do with horses.

In the second and third classes of the evening, Owner-Amateur Riders on Three-Year-Old Walking Mares and Geldings, sections A and B, two special presenters were honored. The first was an 11-year-old boy, Alex Rodriguez.

"Alex is a 6th grader at Harris Middle School," said announcer Bobby Sands. "He has had cancer of the spine since he was 7."

Sands said Alex had two wishes. One had been to go to Disney World, and he returned this week from a trip there. The other wish was to present a trophy at the Celebration, because he loved Tennessee walking horses.

"He is an example of determination and courage for us all," said Sands.

The response of the crowd was the first standing ovation, and as loud a cheer as any winning horse took home that night.

In the next class, 15-year-old Jessica Little of Shelbyville presented a flag to the winner, in honor of her brother Randy, an Army National Guard Specialist who was due back from Iraq at any time.

What Jessica didn't know was that the time was now. As she, Alex and their escort crossed the arena to the exit, Sands' voice boomed out, stopping them in their tracks. He said, as a special reward for her job as a presenter, the Celebration had a surprise for Jessica.

"Randy?" called Sands. "Are you out there?"

Suddenly, standing on the track in front of her, was her 22-year-old brother, in uniform, his arms out. As they ran to each other and embraced, fans in the stands leapt to their feet and cheered.

"I didn't know if I was going to make it," said Randy afterward. "I got a release for just one day. My mom (Pamela Little) arranged it all."

Jessica said she actually saw her brother on the big screen first, then started crying as she saw him on the track on front of her.

"We're very close," she said.

When Alex left the ring, he didn't take a big brother with him, but he did take his own Celebration rosette. The show gave Alex his own ribbon, a tricolor almost as long as he is tall, and he held it close to his chest as he made his way through the crowd.

Alex does have a brother, Cordero, 17, and two older sisters, Crystal, 23, and Kimberley, 20. Kimberley was there with their mother, Lisa Leverette of Bell Buckle, and her daughter, Alex's niece Juliana.

He was diagnosed with cancer of the spine when he began having back pains as a young child and his mother took him to the doctor. Since then, it's been round after round of surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation. In between the long trips, the hospital stays, and getting to know the pediatric nurses at Vanderbilt by name, there have been some bright spots. The Make-A-Wish Foundation took Alex on a shopping spree where he got the sorts of things you'd expect a young boy to get -- video games, electronics and an air hockey game.

A local businessmen helped fulfill Alex's other two wishes -- the trip to Disney World earlier this week, and his visit to the center ring at the Celebration Wednesday night, which was everything he'd hoped it would be. Seeing the show from the inside out was fun, he said.

"It was great," he said. "There's a lot better view!"

Are there any other wishes the young cancer patient secretly longs for?

"Nah," he said, standing up and holding his ribbon, grinning until the dimples deepened on his cheeks. "I'm good."