Calgary Stampede

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Rider at the Stampede Rodeo

Statue at Stampede Grounds, with the Calgary Tower in the background

Stampede grounds

The Calgary Stampede, which bills itself as The Greatest Outdoor show on Earth, is a large, non-profit festival, exhibition, and rodeo held in Calgary, Alberta for 10 days in the second week of every July. It is one of Canada's largest annual events, and the world's largest outdoor rodeo. It features an internationally recognized rodeo competition, a midway, stage shows, concerts, agricultural competitions, chuckwagon races, First Nations exhibitions, and pancake breakfasts around the city, among other attractions. In 2006, record-breaking attendance at the 10-day rodeo and exhibition totalled 1,262,518. The Stampede Parade which occurs on opening day, is one of the festival's oldest and largest traditions. It is led by the Calgary Stampede Showband and follows a 4.5 km route in downtown Calgary. Attendance at the parade is usually about 350,000. The parade is also televised and has a viewing audience of over 2 million. During Stampede Week, the city is flooded with tourists who join locals in the spirited atmosphere by dressing in western attire. A large number of businesses decorate their stores and offices in western style.

The Calgary Stampede takes place at the Stampede Grounds, which are located on the southeast fringe of downtown Calgary in the Beltline District. The park is easily accessed via Calgary Transit's light rail system, the C-Train. Permanent structures at the site include the Pengrowth Saddledome (hockey arena), the Round-Up Centre (a convention and exhibition facility), the Stampede Casino, the grandstand/racetrack, the agriculture building, and a number of smaller buildings. A major expansion and upgrading of the grounds is currently underway. It will likely include a new hotel, a new casino, a new "main street" retail and market area, a new agriculture building, underground parking, and an extensive re-landscaping of the outdoor areas.

1 History
- 1.1 General Overview
- 1.2 Historical Timeline
2 Controversy
3 Facts and figures
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

[edit] General Overview

The Calgary Exhibition was first held in 1886 soon after the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway in the city. The Calgary Stampede (a separate event) was inaugurated in 1912 by Guy Weadick, an American trick roper. Weadick wanted to put on a world-class rodeo event and Wild West show that would bring the best cowboys from across the continent. The first Stampede was the richest rodeo competition in North America with prize money totalling $20,000. It drew more than 100,000 spectators. In 1923, the Stampede was combined with the Calgary Exhibition and the event has taken place every year since.

The Midway is run by North American Midway Entertainment, who also operate the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto.

[edit] Historical Timeline

The early years as separate events^[1]:

1884 Agricultural Society formed
1886 First Calgary Exhibition held
1889 Stampede Park was purchased from the Government of Canada
1908 Dominion Exhibition held (Canada was then known as a Dominion of the United Kingdom)
1912 Guy Weadick arrived in Calgary. He envisaged a Wild West Extravaganza, arranged financing from the "Big 4" (Lane, McLean, Burns and Cross) for $100,000 and in September 1912, the first Calgary Stampede was held - it was a success
1922 Calgary Industrial Exhibition held
1923 The Stampede hosted the first competitive Chuckwagon Races
1925 The American silent film, titled The Calgary Stampede was released throughout North America. It was a Western about love, murder, and the rodeo. It included substantial footage of the actual rodeo competition at the Calgary Stampede. It helped make the Stampede known throughout North America^[2].

History of the combined Calgary Exhibition and Stampede^[3]:

1932 The Calgary Exhibition joined with the Stampede to become the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede. From this point on, the term Stampede refers to the entire combined organization and related events.
1953 Guy Weadick dies
1964 The Young Canadians of the Calgary Stampede came into being
1967-1968 The Stampede stretches from 6 to 10 days; its current length.
1968 Additional land purchased to allow for Stampede Park expansion
1971 The Calgary Stampede Showband is formed
1976 Stampede attendance surpasses one million for the first time
1982 Prize money for the rodeo is raised to $500,000
1997 Completion of the $8.2 million permanent infield structure complete with 23 deluxe box suites and increased rodeo prize money announced
2000 Attendance was 1,218,851; which was the highest so far for the Stampede
2004 The rodeo prize goes from $500,000 to $1,000,000 to keep the Stampede on par with other major rodeos such as the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo.
2005 Attendance sets a new record through ten days at 1,242,928.
2006 The rodeo is no longer sanctioned by the PRCA (Pro Rodeo Cowboy Association), or the CPRA (Canadian Pro Rodeo Association), and has become an invite-only rodeo event to the top competitors from the NFR (National Finals Rodeo), CFR (Canadian Finals Rodeo), and PBR (Professional Bull Riders) - a first in rodeo. Prize money for the six rodeo events is upped to $1.6 million, while the famous chuckwagon races is $1 million.
2006 Attendance records are beat for the third year in a row at 1,262,518.

[edit] Controversy

Animal advocacy groups, including The Calgary Humane Society, have voiced concern over the Stampede and rodeos in general, citing animal cruelty and recreational abuse as reasons for their oppossition. The Stampede has always countered that they go to great lengths to protect the safety of animals, and the large majority of years go by with not a single fatality. Defenders of the Stampede argue that both the Stampede and ranchers love and protect their animals, but cannot avoid all accidents.

Despite being a large-scale sporting event (it is the world's largest outdoor annual rodeo), the Stampede rarely sees serious human casualties and typically loses fewer than ten animals per year. After every accident resulting in the death of a human or loss of an animal, the Stampede conducts a review which almost always results in safety modifications.

In 1986, 12 horses were killed during the Stampede (most were euthanized because of injuries), making that year the worst for loss of stock. As a result, major safety changes were implemented to make collisions less likely. Only one other chuckwagon race since has caused a comparable death toll.

Tragedies Involving Humans:^[4]

1948: A spectator in an area known as the Stampede infield died when he was struck by an outrider's horse.
1960: Driver Don Chapin, 34, was killed when his wagon overturned at the start of a heat.
July 14, 1971: Outrider Rod Glass, 19, was killed when some chuckwagons overturned at the first bend of the racetrack. He was tossed to his death.
July 20, 1996: Outrider Eugene Jackson, 24, died of head injuries sustained in a July 11, 1996, accident.
July 11, 1999: Driver Bill McEwen, 51, died of severe head injuries suffered in a chuckwagon crash two days before, when a pileup on the track had catapulted him into the air. He was taken off life support before he died. Larry McEwen was quoted as saying that his father died doing what he loved.

Accidents Involving Animals:

July 10, 1986: A chuckwagon collision resulted in the deaths of six horses.
1995: Three horses died in rodeo accidents.
1999: One horse died in a chuckwagon accident.
2002: A total of six horses were euthanized after they were injured during chuckwagon races.
2004: A horse was put down after it broke a hind leg in a rodeo event^[5].
2006: Two horses died during Day #1 of the Rangeland Derby (One from a heart attack, the other euthanized owing to injuries from the ensuing pileup)^[6]

The worst animal accident for a single event related to the Stampede was on July 3, 2005^[7]. Nine horses died after jumping off a bridge and into the Bow River. The accident occurred during the Trail 2005 trail ride from the Stampede's ranch to the city. The incident occurred five days before the beginning of the Stampede. Shortly after the accident, the Calgary Police cleared organisers of any criminal fault, upon finding no willful intent to cause cruelty^[8]. The Stampede's internal investigation was released in December of the same year and failed to identify the cause. It did rule that the accident was not caused by sudden noise as was speculated at the time. With its press release, the Stampede indicated they wouldn't try again unless they could ensure safety. Though no future rides were planned, the option to have one in the future was left open^[9].

[edit] Facts and figures

The annual Calgary Stampede serves two tonnes of bacon and sausage, 5,000 bottles of pancake syrup and 85,000 containers of juice. And that's just breakfast!^[10]