Named 'The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth' the Calgary Stampede sure is quite an experience! It was held July 9 -18 and had it all!! Not only to most city businesses shut down for the 10 days of the Stampede, but there are free Stampede Breakfasts and BBQ's everyday, country music blares from every restaurant and cafe and its difficult to spot someone who's not wearing a plaid shirt or cowboy hat.
So after a visit to the mall to find some country shirts I spent a few days at the Stampede with friends and had an awesome time. It reminded me a little of the Melbourne show with the rides, game booths and agricultural sheds and livestock showings however they go all out and also have an circus shows including and acrodunk show, freestyle extreme motor cross, an acrobatic ice show, circus comedy, a high dive show, big name live music acts and I'm sure there was more. The thing that sets the Stampede apart is the Rodeo and Chuck Wagon Racing events. During the week are the heats and I was lucky enough to get a ticket with friends for the rodeo finals on Sunday. The main events included, Tie-Down Roping, Steer Wresting, Bareback, Saddle Broc Riding, Barrel Racing and Bull Riding. Each winner took home $100.000. It was great to have a better understanding of the rules and and scoring process. The riders were extremely skilled, it's much more than just hanging on!
The other event the Stampede is known for the the Chuck Wagon Races. It's not quite as simple as racing four horses attached to a wagon as each wagon and driver also has four out-riders who have to set poles, a tent and a stove, get around a barrel and get over the finish line with the wagon all without incurring any number of time penalties. The race was even more exciting as one of guys started taking two-dollar bets. We betted purely on the wagon colour not knowing anything about the skill of the driver. It certainly made things interesting. Kind of reminded me of the Melbourne Cup and happy to say I came out on top!
Every night after the Chuck Wagon Races is an amazing Grandstand Show with singing, dancing, motorcross jumping, amazing circus acts, and an amazing fireworks display.
People come from all over the world for Stampede however some only come for the partying. Every night of the week the clubs are packed. With names like, Stockmans, Ranchmans and Nashville North, you can guess that they only pump the country music and are crowded with wannabe cowboys and cow girls. Its like a week long dress up party! I can stay that some country music songs have gown on me, who would have thought that I'd enjoy dancing and singing along to country music! I did attempt to two-step and line dance but was far from getting it right! (I've put a few songs on the IPOD to the right).
All in all a busy but super fun week! There are more photos on my facebook page but here are some photos from the Stampede that I love taken by professional photographers.
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| Photo: Bill Marsh |
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| Photo: Bill Marsh |
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| Photo: Bill Marsh |
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| Photo: Bill Marsh |
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| Photo: Bill Marsh |
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| Photo: Chris Bolin |
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| Photo: Mike Ridewood |
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| Photo: Mike Ridewood |
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| Photo: Mike Ridewood |
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