Chuckwagon Racing

Chuckwagon racing most definitely has its roots in the history of the Old West, but how did it come to be one of the most popular events at the world-renowned Calgary Stampede, not to mention other famous rodeos and racing events across the West?

Racing had a lot to do with settlers travelling west and the most common form of transportation was the ‘ wagon’. After a long day on the trail, whether it be heading west or cowboys driving cattle, the wagon was ‘home’ and provided a well-deserved meal. Cowboys were motivated to be their quickest in getting their teams and wagons packed and ‘racing’ to their next stop, thus was born chuckwagon racing. A fast team and efficient packing were the name of the game.

The 1923 Calgary Stampede was the birthplace of Alberta’s first chuckwagon racing competition where racers were urged to imitate the cowboy’s breaking of camp, with all the speed and skill that is required. These races caught the fancy of Albertans who wanted to see more racing, plus all the horsemanship, techniques, excitement and action the new sport brought to rodeos. Since that time, chuckwagon races have been a crowd-pleasing event every summer.

Gladstone (Slim) Fenton, 1930’s started entering the Calgary Stampede in the Chuckwagon Races, now known as the Rangeland Derby. Partnership with Lane Berry aka “Lone Breeze”. Breezie was the skinner, Slim the outrider. Then Slim started his own outfit. His canvas trademark was longhorns until the 1950’s. In the early 1980 ‘s, there was an attempt to start Chuckwagon racing here. The races didn’t last long but the track continued to be used in various capacities until very recently. Griffin’s of course, were involved in Chuckwagon racing long before the track appeared in their area. More recently the Grant Profit outfit have been strong competitor.

As can be seen, horses have been an integral part of a variety of sporting events since the turn of the 20th century. Today there is an even wider range including penning, reining, cutting, working cow horse, roping, dressage, jumping. and polocrosse to name a few. The popularity of horseback riding, whether it be trail riding, competition ranch related or just for fun, has increased over the past decades.