The hallmark event of the Calgary Stampede for over 100 years has been the nightly chuckwagon races where teams of horses pull old fashion chuckwagons around a race track at breakneck speeds. With six horses forced to be put down after being injured during this year’s races, the event is probably on the verge of cancellation. Continual objections to the mistreatment of these animals by animal activists will in all likelihood spell the imminent end to the event. Will the Stampede be able to survive?
A fight to prevent the cancellation of the races as we know them will be unsuccessful. Using horses in these famous races will be eliminated. Anyone who believes that the unrelenting protests of animal rights activists can be overcome, hasn’t been paying attention! So, we are going to have to come up with a some variation of the current event and creative minds (mine) are working on the problem.
Perhaps it is time to combine the popularity of the chuckwagon race with the ever growing personal fitness movement. A team of six or eight athletic men or women could replace the teams of horses and still provide for an exciting race alternative. It would also be comforting to know that if any of the human runners were injured during the event, they would not be in any danger of being put down.
Some ranching and cowboy oriented fans of the event might feel that the “human-horse” loses some of the western flavour. They might support the chuckwagons being pulled by farm tractors or some super virile F250S Super truck instead.
Other groups might advocate for some different vehicles as the source of power for the races. How about a team of four or six Harley Davidson choppers pulling the wagon accompanied by the thrilling roars and throbs of the big bikes? Or perhaps a group of ATVs might provide the power. If this option caught on, the chuckwagon races could also be conducted in the winter if we were to use snowmobiles, screaming down a snow covered track. I’m getting excited already!
I have saved my best idea for last. We simply need to adopt the most up to date driving technology to address the problem. We need to develop a self driving chuckwagon, that will eliminate the possibility of harming any human or animal and let the self driving wagons compete! It would look like a giant model car race but could be enhanced with streams of smoke or tongues of fire issuing from the tailpipes of the vehicles. Carousel type horse could be attached to the front of the wagon to appear as if real horses were pulling the wagon. The possibilities are endless once you turn your mind loose!
If my brilliant idea catches on, I am sure there will be an appeal to replacing the animals in the calf roping, steer wrestling and bull riding in the near future! I will be working on that issue soon! Stay tuned.
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