In 1990, the Canadian Rodeo Historical Association (C.R.H.A.) and the Stockmen’s Memorial Foundation organized a fundraising cattle drive for the Western Heritage Centre to be built in Cochrane. The event is remembered in a video and book.
In 2020, the original VHS tape and a DVD copy was donated to the Cochrane Historical & Archival Preservation Society. (C.H.A.P.S) CHAPS is the umbrella organization that runs the Cochrane Historical Museum.
CHAPS goal is to educate the public about the town and area’s rich history.
Consequently, we thought the video would be a wonderful, very popular addition to our YouTube site. You can see the video by clicking below or by visiting our YouTube channel.
Please like and subscribe to our channel to see this and many other memories of Cochrane and Area.
Malcolm Mackenzie, a local artist and rancher donated stock, developed the event logo and created a bronze for fundraising.
He is also the creator of the Man of Vision statue that stands in Cochrane Ranche.
Preparation for the massive event took 50 volunteers over 6 months. The day of the event over 200 volunteers, 100 media people, 53 wagons, and 1200 horses and riders took part. 2000 people were at the nightly camp.
I’m struck by the wonderful images of the horses, cattle and wagons strung out along the foothills.
Participants and cattle came from the 3 western provinces, Quebec, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and 10 U.S. states.
Not all the wagons were the stereotypical chuck; not all the riders were cowboys.
Ivan Daines wrote a song for the drive and performed at one of the nightly stops.
Bert Sheppard, one of the last 3 surviving cowboys from the Bar U participated and was recognized at a closing event. He joined the Bar U in 1922.
Can you imagine the stories?
Ten thousand people greeted the Drive on the streets of Cochrane.
Ernie Isley, Minister of Agriculture and Phil Gaglardi, Mayor of Kamloops and Reg Kesler, Cowboy and stock contractor spoke very highly of the event at closing ceremonies.
I think what you people pulled off is tremendous.
Hooves of History closed with a livestock auction, cowboy church, invitational rodeo, beer gardens, and car show.
A second Hooves of History fund raiser was held in 2001. Read more about it here.
Acknowledgements
- Canadian Rodeo Historical Association
- Stockmen’s Memorial Foundation
- Eunice Reeve for a Christmas gift in 1990 of the Hooves of History Cattle Drive VHS tape
- Chris Konanz, of Blue Pixel Media for the creation of the digital copy, colourizing the video, correcting the audio and sharpening the video.
- All the images in this blog are from Hooves of History video
- I read Hooves of History 1990 Cattle Drive by Dorothy Willows as a reference.
