Calgary Stampede | Don’t Miss This
Showdown Sunday
The Stampede Rodeo features the world’s best competitors and animals. Every afternoon at 1:30 p.m., cowboys and cowgirls face off in a furious display of skill and grit, with every win building towards Showdown Sunday, at the World’s Largest Outdoor Rodeo. Don’t miss the final day of action. Find more information here.
Drag Brunch
Sashay Down the Midway to the second Annual Calgary Stampede Drag Bruch. Join The Eleganza Extravaganza in Nashville North, brought to you by Mott’s Clamato Caesar and WCD, on Sunday, July 16. Must be 18+ to attend. Hosted by local queen, Karla Marx, headlined by Drag Superstar Scarlett Bobo, and performances by the legendary Miss Fiercalicious, Toddy, Ella Lamoureux and more! Find more information here.
Bar Nineteen Twelve
Bar Nineteen Twelve brings a welcoming change to Stampede Park. Tucked inside The Big Four Roadhouse, this space offers an intimate experience with a curated cocktail-inspired menu. Immediately, when you walk into Bar Nineteen Twelve, you will be greeted by elegance and western hospitality. From the rich, plush décor and accents, to the dimly lit, intimate atmosphere, Bar Nineteen Twelve is a unique, hidden gem. Learn more here.
Agriculture & Western Events
Get your final fix of Agriculture & Western Events at the Nutrien Western Event Centre. Today’s events include the Canadian National Miniature Horse Show at 11 a.m., the Junior Steer Classic & Youth Supreme at 11:30 a.m., Heavy Horse Pull at 7 p.m. and the Canadian National Miniature Horse Show again at 7 p.m. See the schedule here.
Mariya Stokes – 4-5:45 p.m.
Tristan Horncastle – 6-7:45 p.m.
Tenille Arts – 9-10:15 p.m.
Drew Gregory – 10:45-11:45 p.m.
Five Roses – 12:30-1:15 p.m.
Jake Vaadeland & The Sturgeon River Boys – 1:45-2:30 p.m.
DAX – 7-7:30 p.m.
The Blue Stones – 8-9 p.m.
Mother Mother – 9:30-11 p.m.
Cypress Hill – 10-11:30 p.m.
Jory Kinjo – 4:45-8 p.m.
Rodeo
The Calgary Stampede can be a blast if you’re winning, but not so much, if you’re not. Kade Sonnier finally got to see the bright side of the Stampede Saturday, just in the nick of time. In a bareback section where a mere three points separated top from bottom, the Louisiana cowboy found his name at the top with an 86-point ride on Calgary Stampede’s Unfortunate Carma.
His first Calgary payday of $7,000 for first place was enough to give him the edge in a three-way tie-breaker for Pool C qualifiers, allowing him to advance to Sunday’s finals.
“Today was kind of like a ‘do or die’ situation,” Sonnier said. “You come in here, and don’t have the best luck. I felt like I’d been riding pretty good. Made a couple mistakes here and there that I didn’t think would cost me as much as it did. It kind of ruins your confidence a little bit.”
Read about all of day nine’s Rodeo action here, before Showdown Sunday, and see yesterday’s full results here.
Cowboys Rangeland Derby
After a wild night of weather, the field is set for the Cowboys Rangeland Derby Championship heat!
Kurt Bensmiller, Layne MacGillivray and Ross Knight will face off in the final heat of Stampede 2023, racing for the Stampede Championship, $50,000 and a brand-new GMC truck.
Driver Dallas Dyck earned the fastest time of the night – a 1:12:23 – before the rain started to fall. Check out the full results here.
Agriculture & Western Events
Saturday morning kicked off with some of the fastest speakers in the west competing in the International Livestock Auctioneer Competition. The Top 10 auctioneers came to Stampede Park to showcase their skills after the preliminary competition held off-Park on Friday. The auctioneers are judged on rhythm, clarity, voice control, livestock knowledge and their ability to conduct a sale. The winner was Sixto Paiz from Portailes, New Mexico.
The second evening of the Heavy Horse Pull competition was full of excitement, as the Middle Weight division of horses competed to see who could pull the most weight the distance of 14 feet. The team of horses, Rex and Tony, owned by Randy Dodge and Soderglen Ranches were named the Middle Weight Heavy Horse Pull Champions with a pull of 11,500 pounds.
New Canadians take life-changing oath at a citizenship ceremony
Yesterday, 12 new Calgarians from three families took an oath at the beautiful Fort Calgary, officially becoming Canadian citizens. Family and friends of the new Canadians filled the room with smiles, applause and tears of joy for their loved ones on this memorable day.
The Calgary Stampede was honoured to be a part of the citizenship ceremony presided over by Citizenship Judge Hardish Chaliwal and Clerk of Ceremony Frishta Karami, with Will Osler, President & Chair of the Board, invited to congratulate the families on this incredible milestone on behalf of the Calgary Stampede. As the ceremony concluded, everyone was fitted with a white hat, an iconic symbol of community spirit in Calgary. Many felt the Stampede Spirit, even exclaiming “Yahoo!” as cameras snapped photos of the group.
There is no better way to celebrate this momentous day than a singing O’ Canada together – and that’s exactly what these new families did – at GMC Stadium! The families were invited on stage to sing the national anthem at the Evening Show.
The Calgary Stampede is a gathering place for the community, and yesterday, our community grew even bigger. Congratulations to all the new Canadians!
Pulling for Heart
Thirteen thousand, four-hundred pounds. We’re not talking about the average weight of an elephant. We’re talking about the heaviest weight ever pulled by a team of two heavy horses at the Calgary Stampede.
The ultimate in equine strength competitions, the heavyweight division (combined weight of more than 3,901 lbs.) of the Heavy Horse Pull is queued up for the final 2023 Calgary Stampede show, where a group of eight teams consisting of two Belgian horses will pull upwards of five times their body weight a distance of 14 feet.
The Stampede’s competition is set up as a “tight-tug” pull, meaning the horses can’t take a running start, but must rather pull from a stationary position upon the command of their teamster. And if the team is unsuccessful in pulling the full 14 feet the first go around, they’re able to steady their horses, bring them back to a standstill and give it another go.
Of the eight teamsters competing in tonight’s event, more than half hail from the Land of the Living Skies – Saskatchewan. One such teamster, Wayne Nagy of Melville, Saskatchewan and the Qu’appelle Valley Pull Club, has been bringing his team of beautiful Belgian horses, Fred and Barney, to the Stampede for the past decade.
“I love seeing what my horses can do,” says Nagy. “I can’t make them pull for me. They completely pull out of heart and the love of doing it.”
To get them to this point, he trained the team of two for four years before they were competition ready, but he says the training is still ongoing. “You’re continuously learning and tweaking what they can do to do it better next time,” says Nagy.
While the teamsters are all here to win the grand prize, they’re also all here to have a good pull and help everyone perform their best. So, make sure to cheer them on in the Nutrien Western Events Centre tonight at 7:15 p.m.!
Enjoyed reading the Agriculture & Western Event stories in Daily Yahoo News? Thank you to the Agriculture & Western Events Media Committee for sharing a story every day of The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth!
An UNBELIVABLE! Family Affair
Father and son duo, Doo Doo The Clown and Aaron Matthews Magic, are brought the family circus to the Calgary Stampede! This pair of entertainers are both thrilled to be a part of The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth on their own, but what makes it even more special is they get to be here together. Doo Doo said his wife, Aaron’s mother, Serena Mathews, was in tears of joy when she found out this entertaining duo would be together at the Stampede.
Aaron explained that this opportunity is truly a full circle for him and his family. Growing up he was inspired by his father to become a performer and he says with every show he strives to inspire the next generation of young kids the same way his father did. When Aaron was young, his dad would perform in the Caribbean every winter and Aaron would get up on stage, in a tuxedo and force his brother to be his magical assistant. He says watching how much his brother loved the magic is what made him fall in love with performing.
Although they haven’t been performing together, when Doo Doo isn’t out clowning around the Stampede Midway, he has made sure to stop by and watch a few of his son’s shows. Doo Doo has been clowning at the Stampede for 27 years and says he has made some great life-long friends here throughout the years. They are both hopeful and excited to keep this family tradition going!
When you pair great flavour with bang for your buck, you get The Best New Food on the Midway competition’s Best Value winner!
Taking home the title was the Chickpeas Curry with Basmati Rice from Curry n Hurry.
Experience a whirlwind of flavours and delicious chickpeas, all piled high on a mountain of basmati rice.