The painted Cree teepees are up in preparation for the 2023 Heritage Gather at Dunmore Equestrian Centre. Events begin with sheep riding today at 4:30 p.m.--NEWS PHOTO SAMANTHA JOHNSON
reporter@medicinehatnews.com
The 2023 Heritage Gather at Dunmore Equestrian, an inclusive event showcasing Indigenous culture and western heritage begins today and runs until Sunday.
At 5:15 p.m. on Saturday and noon on Sunday, Dallas Arcand, a three-time world hoop dancing champion and motivational speaker, will be performing.
“We definitely have a world-class hoop dancer and I can’t wait to see his show, it will be fantastic for sure,” said president Kelly Creasy.
Director Cathy Schnell added, “Search him on You Tube, you will be so amazed. I can hardly wait to meet him.”
Joel Lybbert, who was a great hit last year, is returning with his buffalo, Indy, to perform during intermission on both Saturday and Sunday. Lybbert rescued Indy as an orphan bison and there is link to a video on the Dunmore Equestrian Facebook page about their journey together.
“The kids just followed him around. One of my most inspirational stories about him is these little kids that came back later with their souvenir ropes and were so happy,” said Schnell.
Back again this year is the big hitch demonstration, taking place at 5 p.m. on Friday and 4:45 p.m. on Saturday. The demonstration celebrates the draft horse, which early agricultural development and transportation in Western Canada are indebted to.
There will be nine horses, Clydesdales and Percherons – weighing between 1,500 and 2,200 pounds each – that have a pulling capacity of nine to 18 tonnes, depending on the terrain and condition of the horse.
The wagons the horses will be pulling can carry up to 260 bushels of wheat, which weighs, including the wagon, 17,000 pounds. Early wagons were utilitarian and used for freight. Before elevators, grain was stored in bags when hauled to the railway, then loaded into box cars for shipment east.
With the advent of grain elevators, located every 10 to 15 miles, flare box wagons became more popular to hold grain. A trip to the elevator would be an all day event, starting with an early departure. Once the elevator was reached, it was usually time for visiting or a game of snooker at the local tavern while waiting to unload the grain.
The rodeo will begin at 6 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday, and will be followed by live entertainment at 9 p.m. Phoenix will be playing on Friday night and Mahoney on Saturday.
