Stampede Events

Okay, okay, HRH, keep yer fur on! Here's a few of the events we saw at the Stampede. First of all, barrel racing. Look at the lean on that horse!

Bull riders must be a special kind of crazy, I think. It's so dangerous -- talk about an extreme sport!

Lots of the bronc riders stayed on for the full 8 seconds. Not this poor bastard though.

I'm including this photo for all you straight women and gay men out there who might appreciate seeing some cute cowboy ass.

The track for the chuckwagon races was sloppy and muddy the evening we attended. Didn't seem to slow things down though.

It all reminded me of that old Ian Tyson song about Calgary's legendary chuckwagon racers --

Feel the horses getting crazy,

Feel the burning in their soul,

When the sun goes down in Calgary

And the wagons start to roll.

Hear the thunder of the hoofbeats,

It's a sound they know so well

As they cast their fate to the figure eight

And the half a mile of hell.

I'm sure you've figured out by now that I didn't take these photos myself -- no, they're the professional work of Calgary Herald photographers Lorraine Hjalte, Gavin Young, Dean Bicknell and Leah Hennel.