History of Chuckwagon Racing

Photo Courtesy of Calgary Stampede

The history of Chuckwagon racing in Alberta is of great interest to me as I have been a big fan of the truly “made in Alberta” sport for almost 50 years, back to when I was a 12 year old boy and part of the Calgary Stampede Grandstand Show with the Young Canadians. I would watch the Chuckwagon races every night from the rail, which was located just behind the big stage we performed on shortly after the exciting races finished.

In regards to the history of the sport and its introduction into “The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth” in 1923. The races were the idea of Guy Weadick, the cowboy who created the first Calgary Stampede in 1912. That said, 11 years before Chuckwagon races made their Stampede debut, there was Stagecoach Racing at the very first Calgary Stampede, in which Colonel Felix Warren from the USA won the top prize money of $250.00.

Apart from the 1912 Stagecoach Racing inspiring Guy to create the idea of the chuckwagon races, there are 2 prevailing stories as to the sport’s origin. First of all Guy was keen to feature events at his Calgary Stampede that were based on authentic cowboy experiences and he knew all to well about the informal friendly racing of the mobile kitchens (chuckwagons) during roundups on the range. The second story revolves around Guy organizing a large barbeque meal at the grandstand during the 1919 Victory Stampede. After the two cooks served the meals from the back of their two chuckwagons then hitched the horses up and raced their wagons to the Grandstand exit, inspiring the event.

The sport was introduced at the 1923 Calgary Stampede as the “Cowboy’s Chuck-Wagon Race” and Guy Weadick recruited six ranches to participate with competitive Cowboys including Clem Gardner, one of the finest Canadian cowboys at the first Stampede and “Wildhorse” Jack Morton who was famous for doing double duty, setting up downtown to serve pancake breakfasts in the morning then racing in the evening.

The rules for the first race included the teams cutting a figure eight around two barrels then galloping around the track to the finish line, followed by the unhitching of their horses from their wagons and then making a fire. The team creating the first smoke decided the winner! The first champion was none other than Bill Sommers, a 70-year-old stagecoach driver from the Yukon. Bill’s record time was two minutes and 50 seconds and for the win he received $25.00 and a new cowboy hat, which is a far cry from the $100,000 that Logan Gorst won at the GMC Rangeland Derby in 2019.

Next, there have been many changes made over the years to make the sport safer, starting back in 1925 when lighting fires were not required to declare a winner of a race. Other changes include; the wooden barrels have been replaced with lightweight collapsible ones, the number of outriders have been reduced from 4 down to 2 and in the next Calgary Stampede, the number of chuckwagons competing in each race shall be reduced from four per race, also called heats, down to three.

In regards to the finest Chuckwagon driver in the history of the sport, Dick Cosgrave held the all time record of 11 Calgary Stampede Rangeland Derby Championship titles for 65 years. This honour however transferred to Kelly Sutherland, also known as “The King”, when he won his 12th championship in 2011. Kelly raced for a remarkable 50 years and chances are he would have raced at many more if it hadn’t been for the Stampede’s mandatory retirement age of 65. Kelly got his start racing ‘chucks’ as an outrider when he was only 15 years old boy in 1967, a year later he started driving his own team. Four years later at 22 he won his first Calgary Stampede title and there was no turning back. That said, the legend remembers that he had, “watched drivers compete for decades and never win the Stampede. I simply felt blessed and could not believe I had won.”

Finally, forty years ago, in 1981, it was a thrill for me to cheer on one particular chuckwagon at the Calgary Stampede, the one that was sponsored by Lennard Corporation and outfitted with a white and black Lennard Corporation tarp. Each night when I heard the famous announcer Joe Carbury shout “And they’re off....” it sent my heart rate racing faster than a seasoned outrider racing around the dusty track towards the finish line!

By: Rob Lennard