The Chuck Wagon Races

The annual Stampede Chuck Wagon races are a highly anticipated event in Calgary. The night that we attended, there were nine heats with four wagons participating in each heat. It is a little more that just a wagon race. To start, there are three outriders with each wagon. Each wagon is pulled by four horses. The thorough bred horses that pull the wagons are older horses that were once race horses. They range in age from from 10 to 20 years old. The outriders horses are also thoroughbreds but they are from 9 to 12 years of age. When the whistle is blown, two of the outriders throw a barrel and some sticks in the back of the wagon while the other outrider stands by waiting for the wagon to get on its way. The outriders must mount their horses and be within 150 ft. of the wagon when it crosses the finish line. The wagon owners are kind of like celebrities in this area. Usually their fathers and grandfathers have been Chuck Wagon racers. Chucks have been racing since the 1920s. The sad part about the Chuck Wagon races is that horses die each year. This year six horses died, some from heart attacks and some from injuries.