Drivers start a heat during chuckwagon racing action at the Calgary Stampede in Calgary, Alta., Saturday, July 8, 2023. A horse has been euthanized at the Calgary Stampede after suffering an injury during a chuckwagon race. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
CALGARY – A horse has been euthanized at the Calgary Stampede after suffering an injury during a chuckwagon race.
The Calgary Stampede says in an emailed statement that a horse on Kris Molle’s team sustained an injury during the seventh heat of the chuckwagon races on Friday.
The statement says that medical care was immediately provided and following an assessment, the veterinarian made the humane decision to euthanize the horse.
Jozef Mihaly, a spectator who was in the grandstand and witnessed the incident, says the horse appeared to fall after the chuckwagon had crossed the finish line.
Last year, the Stampede said it brought in new safety measures for horses, which include reducing the number of wagons to three from four on the track for each heat.
Six horses died in 2019, which led animal rights groups to raise concerns about horses that suffer fractured legs, broken backs and heart attacks.
“Once they were past the finish line, they were slowing down in a process, and that’s where the horse fell. They were pretty much stopped at that point,” said Mihaly, who lives in Red Deer, Alta., and was visiting the Stampede with friends on Friday.
“The horse didn’t get dragged or anything. It just collapsed.”
Mihaly said a crew of people swooped in and covered the area from view with tarps. A carrier was brought in, he said, and the animal was moved off the track, all while still under the cover of tarps.
A horse also died during a chuckwagon race at last year’s Calgary Stampede. There were no chuckwagon races in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chuckwagon races are a nightly spectacle during the 10-day Stampede, which ends Sunday. Crowds watch each evening as horse-drawn wagons thunder around a dirt track accompanied by outriders.
According to an entry on the World Professional Chuckwagon Association website, Molle, who lives in Chauvin, Alta., spent nine years on the Canadian Professional Chuckwagon Association circuit before moving to the WPCA Pro Tour in 2021.
The entry notes he is a certified farrier and equine dentist, and started driving pony chariots at the age of 14.
Mihaly said he and his companions had a discussion about the merits of chuckwagon races on their way back to Red Deer on Friday night, and he said he’ll never attend one again.
“I don’t understand what the gain from it at this point is, just for pure entertainment,” Mihaly said.
“It definitely put a mark on my Stampede experience.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 15, 2023.
