Foundation pays tribute to heritage of chuckwagon racing
Originally conceived as a means to carry food and equipment to cowboys out on the range, chuckwagons have come to mean much more to Alberta’s history.
Indeed, the first chuckwagon race was reportedly held outside Calgary in 1923. Since then, races have become one of the most popular events at rodeos across western Canada and the United States.
In fact, while hockey is every bit as popular in this province as in the rest of the country, many consider chuckwagon racing to be Alberta’s true sport.
Some of the sport’s biggest names who compete in the Calgary-based World Professional Chuckwagon Association were born and bred here in the Peace Country.
These racers, among them Kelly Sutherland and Hugh Sinclair, have decided to create the Grande Prairie Chuckwagon Heritage Foundation, a non-profit group of volunteers that seeks to promote the sport locally.
“It is truly an Albertan sport,” said Sutherland, 57, a native of Grande Prairie and a 10-time Calgary Stampede winner and former world champion. “For me, there’s been numerous champions to come out of the Peace Country and I think it’s very important because it’s part of Alberta’s heritage, as well as the Peace Country’s heritage, to try to promote the sport and keep it active.”
“It’s pretty recognizable around here,” said Sinclair, the reigning Calgary Stampede champion. “You go pretty much any night at the (Grande Prairie) Stompede and it’s full. They do very well with it.”
The foundation was born last year when Justin Tidd, 34, and some of his associates learned that the purse for the Dash for Cash race at the Grande Prairie Stompede was $10,000.
“I thought that was pretty cheap,” recalled Tidd, who is the fledgling foundation’s president. “You have Calgary which is $150,000, you have Edmonton which is $100,000, you have Ponoka, (which is) $100,000. And I thought that wasn’t right.”
So Tidd and his friends decided to try to bump up the purse and he said they raised $20,000 in about 10 minutes. After approaching the WPCA with the money, it was decided the funds would be dispersed among the eight heats preceding the Dash for Cash.
Tidd, a native Nova Scotian, has lived in Grande Prairie for 11 years and said in his time here he’s seen what chuckwagon racing means to the community and thought racers should be compensated accordingly.
“These guys are literally getting nothing. I mean, you get your day money, you win a little bit of money here and there,” he said.
“They put on a crazy show that… I haven’t tried it. I’m a land lover, I like the solid ground,” he said laughing.
In addition to raising money for chuckwagon races at the Grande Prairie Stompede, the foundation’s volunteers hope to make the annual event a top tourism draw, as well as promoting the sport among the area’s youth, and eventually opening its very own museum.
“For 86 years this is something that has been going on in the Peace Country, and you don’t turn your back on it. You’re carrying on a tradition that’s bigger and older than all of us,” Tidd said.
But for chuckwagon racing to thrive well into the 21st century, more money will have to be raised, as youth are shying away from the sport due to its exorbitant costs. Sutherland estimates that prospective racers need about $300,000 or $400,000 worth of horses, equipment and land just to start up.
“There’s lots of interest, but the problem is finances,” he said.
“I think that’s one thing, we’re trying to preserve the heritage and raise some money so that people can make some money doing the sport in the Grande Prairie area.”
As the saying goes, timing is everything, and Tidd and the seven volunteers realize that with the economy in the throes of a recession at the moment, starting a foundation of this kind will pose certain challenges.
“People are saving money, they’re not spending. So what we do is, we’re a pretty big network. A lot of us are oilfield-tied, so we know who’s out (there) that are perennial sponsors, the ones that every year want to do a little something,” Tidd said.
“And instead of asking for larger dollars, maybe a business can throw in $1,000 and go that way and kind of tackle it so maybe the numbers aren’t as big,” he added. “Normally, if you wanted a $50,000 dash, you’d go to five companies for $10,000 and be done with it. Well, it’s not that easy this year, so maybe we’re going to have to get 50 companies at $1,000 a piece. That’s the way we’re looking at it.”
Whatever the challenges, Sinclair and Sutherland say they’re happy to be along for the ride.
“The sport has been extremely good to me, and anything I can put back into the sport to encourage the young people,” Sutherland said.
Via http://www.dailyheraldtribune.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1502075
