Dash to Summer Fast and Furious in Vegreville

Dash to Summer Fast and Furious in Vegreville

Michelle Pinon - News Advertiser

The thunderous sound of pounding hooves returned to the Xtreme Equipment Vegreville - Kubota race track on June 4 and 5.

A total of 26 chariots and 24 wagons competed in the 3rd annual Viterra Dash to Summer two day event that was hosted by the Vegreville Agricultural Society, (VAS) at the Ag. Grounds. Vegreville Driver Dwayne Dubuc won the championship in the chariots and Saskatchewan Driver Neil Salmond won the championship in the chuckwagons.

Driver Shane Cartier from the Mannville area was pleased with how his team of horses performed in the Chuckwagon event. “This is my 38th year in racing,” said Cartier, who had two brand new horses on the wagon.

Gary Salmond, right, charges towards the finish line with Dwayne Arcand trailing behind.

(Michelle Pinon/Photo)

Cartier finished in the middle of the pack in the standings and said his goal is to hit the top 10 regularly and building towards peak performance mid-season and continuing on to next season.

Cartier said he was very grateful to VAS for allowing him to stay and train at the race track for a month prior to the event. “It was a good thing to have had a good spring training and I’m happy with the way my team worked together.”

Chariot Driver Brett Dubuc.

(Sue Mills/Submitted Photo)

During that time he also helped to prepare the track and make sure it was worked with harrows and watered thoroughly several times prior to the start of the event. Cartier said new sand was added to the track this past fall which has been very beneficial to its overall condition.

Cartier wears several hats, and one of them was chairing the Dash to Summer event committee. He also said he feels very fortunate to have such a great crew of volunteers to help put on the event. “I couldn’t have asked for better helpers,” said Cartier. He said there were around 25 people who volunteered to make the event a success.