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In defense of chucks

Lynne Bell

听听听听听听听听听听听 Oh dear.

听听听听听听听听听听听 It's rodeo season in our part of the world and as a result, I am to (once again!) come up with an argument regarding a subject I know very little about-chuckwagon racing. After three decades of living in the same town where the Calgary Stampede is held and witnessing an exhaustive array of all kinds of Stampede shenanigans-including (more than once) the chuckwagon races-I am only discovering now how very limited my knowledge is, regarding the chucks.

听听听听听听听听听听听 My assignment this week is to defend chuckwagon racing and in order to do that, I had to do a little digging. Finding out a little bit about the origins of the event seemed a good place to start.

听听听听听听听听听听听 According to the Calgary Stampede's website: 鈥淐huckwagon races are based on the cowboy tradition of breaking camp after a cattle round-up and then a race for home. The first race mimicked range practice: each entry had a food wagon with chuck box, water barrel and camp stove, all drawn by a four-horse team and guided by four outriders. The race began with the outriders loading the stove and gear into the wagon; the rigs then raced around barrels in the centre of the arena, ran a half-mile circuit of the racetrack, and finished by unhitching the team and firing up the cook stove. The first outfit to make smoke won.鈥�

听听听听听听听听听听听 However, unofficially it is rumoured that Guy Weadick-the Walt Disney of the rodeo world and one of the founders of the Calgary Stampede-was the creator of the chuckwagon race in 1923, because rodeo profits were down, and he needed to liven up the event to keep the paying customers coming. If this account is true, then the chucks are not a historical reenactment of the heritage of the Old West, but instead, an event invented purely for entertainment and profit-procuring.

听听听听听听听听听听听 If Weadick did indeed create the chucks, this may give critics of the chuckwagon races even more ammunition for the argument that the event should be banned. There is also a compelling argument against using (and possibly endangering) animals merely for our entertainment, which at this time, is still a question for each of us to consider as individuals.

听听听听听听听听听听听 However, I can tell you this: the number of accidents that occur during the course of a race-and in which horses are unfortunately killed- are still statistically very low, compared to the horses who live a long (yes, really) and happy life, cared for by owners who truly respect and love their animals. When retired, many of these horses live their lives out in pasture, instead of being trucked to the slaughterhouse.

听听听听听听听听听听听 Saskatchewan chuckwagon driver Wayne Knight (also known as the 鈥淗orse Healer鈥�) of St. Walburg has been racing for over 25 years and has saved over 500 horses during his career. Knight rescues injured, abandoned and otherwise unwanted horses from across Canada and the United States from certain slaughter and rehabilitates them as chuckwagon horses.

听听听听听听听听听听听 Rodeo star Kelly Sutherland has passed on retired chuckwagon horses to families so children can learn to ride, rather than sending the animals to be killed.

听听听听听听听听听听听 In the case of the Calgary Stampede, it has a rigorous and exhaustive animal care code and during the off-season, the Stampede's rodeo stock live in ideal conditions, where they are free to roam but are also very, very well-looked after.

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听听听听听听听听听听听 It can be argued that chuckwagon racing is a cruel and unforgiving sport, but the same argument certainly can't be made regarding the animals' owners.

Find a safer way

By Kelly Running

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 This week Lynne and I decided to look at chuckwagon races and whether or not they should be carried on. We decided to narrow our view to one specific event because as we spoke about the rodeo it became obvious we both agreed that it wasn鈥檛 a cruelty to animals. The people who breed stock for rodeos absolutely love their animals and that the animals, especially the rough stock, thrive entertaining as that鈥檚 what they鈥檙e bred to do.

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Having stated the above, the chuckwagon horses too have a very special bond with their owners. They are loved by their owners and the deaths that were caused at the Calgary Stampede this year were devastating to the drivers.

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 The chuckwagon horses are bred to race, it鈥檚 in their nature as well. Injuries happen in sports and these animals are high performance athletes, but after four horses were killed this year at the Calgary Stampede in the chuckwagon races, is that event something that should continue?

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 It seems to pose a higher risk to the animals than other events as there are more variables involved. In 2011 this was realized and the chuckwagon races were altered. They went from four outriders to teams of two, which brought the rule in line with the World Professional Chuckwagon Association and the Canadian Professional Chuckwagon Association. Additionally horses were made to have mandatory rest days and track maintenance was enhanced to try and prevent injuries.

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 One of the drivers, Layne Bremner, was devastated to find his horse injured after the sixth heat in Calgary and told CBC, 鈥淚t鈥檚 just like losing a family member; your heart just sinks right away. There鈥檚 no words to describe the feeling that you have.鈥�

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Two of the injuries were unpreventable. They were injuries incurred during the race. The animals had been checked over by a veterinarian and approved to race, so they did. They were injured and later euthanized as a result.

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 The other two horses, however, were the result of driver error and developed out of two separate chuckwagon racing incidents.

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 So, because there is a high rate of death for horses in the event what can be done? It could be eliminated by cancelling the event altogether, but keeping in mind those horses are bred to race and are meant to perform is it fair to them to cancel what they were born to do? Not really, but is there a way to attempt to make it safer for the animals.

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Injuries happen, however, the chuckwagon races are dangerous to the horses because of the variables included. There are four teams on the track at once which means four wagons, with four horses each, and they have two outriders. This means there are numerous decisions being made by horses and riders alike, which affect the outcome of the race and can lead to injury, so why not cut down on how many are out racing at once?

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Instead of having four teams, why not cut it down to two teams at a time? Yes, it would take a little longer, but in name of safety for the animals and people participating it sounds like an easy way to eliminate so many variables. Yes, it won鈥檛 have quite as much action as four teams going round, but two teams will still provide entertainment on the track while eliminating a bit of danger.