Calgary Stampede | Don’t Miss This
Chuckwagon Driver Meet & Greet
Meet the stars of the Cowboys Rangeland Derby, up close and personal in the Brandt Agriculture Zonw in the Agriculture Building, from 11-11:45 a.m. Learn more here.
Western Oasis
This feature destination showcases multiple mediums of arts and culture. Meet artists from throughout North America and purchase original artwork and photographs. Take a break from the Midway in this relaxing oasis where you’ll discover local music, a fine display of western arts, crafts, food and wine. Find more information here.
Miniature Horse Show
The popular Canadian National Miniature Horse Show is back and better than ever at Stampede 2023, celebrating its 42nd anniversary showing this year! Guests will see the very best beautiful miniature horses in action as they compete in a wide array of classes including halter, driving, jumping and obstacle competitions. Catch the show in the Northern Lights Arena today from 11 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Learn more here.
Agriculture & Western Events
Another day of Stampede 2023, more Agriculture & Western Events fun! Here’s what’s happening today in the Nutrien Western Event Centre: catch the Working Cow Horse Spectacular at 11 a.m., and the Heavy Horse Pull at 7 p.m.! Find the schedule here.
Mariya Stokes – 4-5:45 p.m.
Tristan Horncastle – 6-7:45 p.m.
Sacha – 9:30-10:15 p.m.
Eli Young Band – 10:45-11:59 p.m.
Drew Gregory – 11:59 p.m.-2:15 a.m.
Le Ren – 12:30-1:15 p.m.
Shred Kelly – 1:45-2:30 p.m.
Talk – 8-8:45 p.m.
Mt. Joy – 9:15-10:30 p.m.
Jory Kinjo – 4:45-8 p.m.
DJ Pauly D – 10:30-11:45 p.m.
Rodeo
Oh, to be ‘young’ and fearless! Creek Young started off his 2023 Calgary Stampede Thursday on Outlawbuckers Rodeo’s Afraid to Nod.
As last man out, he defied the bovine’s challenging name and rode the hard spinner to an 88-point trip, for first in the round, and $7,000.
It’s the second Stampede for the Missouri cowboy, a two-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier, and he’s got a reputation to uphold.
“Actually, I won the first two rounds last year, so I’ve got a little bit to live up to Friday,” chuckled Young, 22. “But it’s off to a good start this year.”
Keep up with all of yesterday’s rodeo action here, and find results for all events, here.
Cowboys Rangeland Derby
Chanse Vigen raced to the front of the pack again tonight on Day 7 of the Cowboys Rangeland Derby, with Mark Sutherland hot on his heels.
Vigen was just four one-hundredths of a second faster than Sutherland to take the fastest time of the night. Vigen now sits in third place overall behind Layne MacGillivray, with Kurt Bensmiller holding onto the top spot.
With nine heats of action, see all the night’s results here.
Agriculture & Western Events
Thursday’s schedule in the Nutrien Western Event Centre was full of some of the most talented horses and riders you’re likely to ever come across!
The Finals for the Cowboy Up Challenge were held, which is the highest viewed and highest paying Extreme Cowboy Race in the world. The competition is a crowd favourite, as horse and rider maneuver through a series of obstacles while trying to clock the fastest time. Although competitors came from all over the world to participate, it was Nicole Hirsekorn from Leduc, Alberta, who took this year’s title with her horse, Miss N My Lucky, showcasing their amazing horsemanship skills. See the full results here.
Thursday also showcased the athletic horses and riders of the Cutting Horse Competition, which for the first year was part of the Way Out West Cutting Series. During the competition, horse and rider pairs have to ‘cut’ a single cow from the herd; then it is left to the horse’s highly trained strength and agility to keep the cow from rejoining the herd while mimicking the cow’s motions. There were five different classes and winners are listed below by horse and rider:
50K Amateur: A Shoot N Star / Brad Karl
Unlimited Amateur: Reynin Cats / Pat Rorison
Non-Pro: Metallic Kit / Mia Webster
Open: Peeptos Cat / Mike Wood
Youth: Dualing Merada / Teresa Lukacs
Follow the links to see the results from each class.
A celebration of culture, community and extraordinary competition at the Calgary Stampede Powwow!
Yesterday wrapped up the final day of extraordinary competition at the Calgary Stampede Powwow. On July 12 and 13, dancers from across North America gathered from noon to 6 p.m., showcasing the diversity of First Nations cultures.
This free-with-admission event welcomed everyone to join for a celebration of cultures and community. Audiences were dazzled by world-class competitors. Dancers from each category were scored by a group of judges on their performance. The scores were measured on how well the dancer was responding to the music, executing footwork and their movements.
Dancers competed in multiple different styles of dance, including Women’s and Men’s Fancy, Women’s and Men’s Traditional, Women’s Jingle, Men’s Buckskin, Men’s Grass and Men’s Chicken Dance. Talented drummers and singers filled the Saddledome with music and the audience truly felt the beat, making for a remarkable and vibrant cultural experience.
You can find more information on all the dance styles here.
The 100 years that raced by
This July, we are thrilled to be celebrating 100 years of Chuckwagon Racing. There is no shortage of celebration this year as we invite you to join us for this exciting historic event at the 2023 Cowboys Rangeland Derby.
The world’s first Chuckwagon Race was staged in 1923 when Guy Weadick was looking for a new and exciting event to add to the Calgary Stampede. Whether he was inspired by the Chuckwagon races on the range, where cowboys raced on to the next stop hoping for the best spot; stagecoach races at earlier events, or an impromptu race on the Grandstand track in 1919, over the last 100 years, the Cowboys Rangeland Derby has captured the true spirit and throwback to the wild west. While some rules have since changed, the rush has never left.
The celebration of this anniversary begins at the Victoria Pavilion Chuckwagon exhibit, located near the Agriculture Barns. Glen Mikkelsen is a local Calgarian author who has recently released his newest book – The Rangeland Derby – 100 Years of Chuckwagon Racing at the Calgary Stampede. Every day at 5:30 p.m. Glen can be found at the Victoria Pavilion taking his audience through an exciting and educational journey of the history of Chuckwagon Racing. He even busted the myth of what the term Chuckwagon refers to – cowboys actually used the term ‘chuck’ to refer to food the Chuckwagons used to carry, including flour, beans, sourdough, and canned tomatoes – a true cowboy diet! Glen also explains that the original cowboy coffee that was carried in the Chuckwagons and consumed heavily by cowboys, Arbuckles, can still be bought online for those wanting to embrace their inner cowboy.
The 100 Years of Chuckwagons celebration continued on the Window on the West stage at the Western Oasis in the BMO Center where a 100-year Chuckwagon song contest was held on Wednesday, July 12. In celebration of the track record at the time of the competition of 1:08:75 set by Jason Glass in 2015, the song’s maximum length for the competition was two times the record time at two minutes and 18 seconds. Matt Beatty won the contest with his song titled Stampede 1923.
Yesterday was also the official 100-year anniversary of the first pancake breakfast, right down to the day! Jack Morton set up his chuckwagon and his outfit, including Cook Horace Inkster, started serving breakfast to guests. This has since become the quintessential symbol of western hospitality and community spirit.
The journey of Alberta barley to Stampede Canadian Rye Whisky
If you’ve driven on Alberta’s rural roads, chances are you’ve passed quite a few barley fields and then later enjoyed it as part of your late-night glass of whisky. On average, over four and a half million tonnes of barley is produced in Alberta annually, with close to forty per cent of that being malting barley—mainly used to flavour beer and spirits.
Caitlin Quinn, Master Distiller with Eau Claire Distillery is no stranger to the process of turning malt barley into drinkable spirits. The distillery is located in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies, with deep roots in agriculture, prohibition and liquor history.
“All of our barley is grown within about 150 kilometers of the distillery,” says Quinn. “We have a portion of our barley that we farm in traditional ways. So, we have 1920s farm equipment that’s all horse-drawn, so every year we do harvest, we bring out as many people as we can to help us manually.”
Quinn shares that the main benefit of using barley as the base of the spirits compared to other grains is the flavour. But a real differentiator of Eau Claire’s spirits is the traditional ways they grow their own barley.
“Essentially we can control the entire process. From the seeds that we choose, to the climate when we plant it, to when we harvest, we can control every step of that process. So, we can control the flavours that we get in our final product,” says Quinn.
Eau Claire Distillery has partnered with the Calgary Stampede to craft the official whisky of the event. The Stampede Canadian Rye Whisky went through eighteen months of recipe development, explains Quinn.
“It’s the perfect blend of all the different grains,” she says. It’s worth trying—just this year it won gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in the rye whisky category.
You can try the Alberta-made whisky for yourself at the 2023 Calgary Stampede, Eau Claire Distillery, from liquor stores in Alberta and at Calgary Farmers’ Market locations.
Today’s Best New Food on the Midway competition took judges on an adventure to find the Top Dog on Stampede Park.
While there were many top contenders, the award went to the Pickleback Dog from Lil Hot Dog.
The Pickleback smoke whisky-infused sauce hotdog takes indulgence to the next level by embracing the tangy notes of dill pickles. These perfectly brined delights add a refreshing zing, cutting through the richness and adding a crisp bite to each mouthful, promoting a tantalizing contrast of textures and flavours.