Deadly chuckwagon races weren't how the West was won

Letter
Vancouver Sun: Monday, July 14, 2008

Re: They'rrre offff, Issues & Ideas, July 9

Barry Cooper's description of chuckwagon racing at the Calgary Stampede is typical of rodeo industry myth-making.

Like most rodeo events, chuckwagon racing has little to do with real ranching, historical or modern. As Cooper himself makes clear, today's rodeo wagons bear no resemblance to any wheeled kitchen of the old West. The design, weight, equipment and even the horse breed are completely different and are geared to speed. There is simply no "heritage" in chuckwagon racing.

Yet it is the appeal of western heritage and the nostalgia for a bygone era that are used to market rodeos to the public. We are sold the idea that this is what cowboys did in the old days as part of their ranch work. But think about it. Why would a cowboy ride a bull? Did old-time cowboys use flank-straps to make horses and bulls buck?

Rodeos have nothing to do with history. They are a collection of artificial, high-pressure events designed as low and sensational entertainment in the 20th century. The result is an inhumane spectacle.

Vincent Sy
Richmond

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Deadly chuckwagon races weren't how the West was won

Monday, July 14, 2008

More than 40 horses have died needlessly in the Calgary Stampede's chuckwagon races since 1986 because of the dangerously high speeds and close proximity of the wagons. Injuries (most of which are fatal or require euthanasia) have included broken necks, broken legs, heart attacks and head injuries. It is considered the worst rodeo event in terms of animal welfare and safety.

Now tell me: Does this sound humane?

Paul Thandi
Vancouver

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Calgary Herald
Saturday, July 12, 2008

Re: "Chuckwagon horse put down following collision,"

Herald Online, July 10.

Another year, another dead horse at the Calgary Stampede. Animals routinely pay with their lives during this event. At least 17 horses have died in the past five years. In the particularly deadly chuckwagon races, horses have suffered broken legs, heart attacks and broken backs. It is indefensible to continue an event in which animals routinely die. Learn more at www.BuckTheRodeo.com.

Jennifer O'Connor, Fort Erie, Ont.

Jennifer O'Connor is with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

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Deadly chuckwagon races weren't how the West was won

Monday, July 14, 2008

I do find the hollow excitement generated by dangerous chuckwagon races objectionable. If I am now a "prissy puritan," I am proud to stand alongside those who have successfully objected to various forms of animal cruelty until they are no longer socially acceptable -- cock fighting, dog fighting, circus animal abuse all come to mind. Barry Cooper writes of the horses being "just rarin' to run." Does he believe the horses have the foresight to know they could be running to their deaths, suffering the same fate as some 40 of their fellows at the Calgary Stampede since 1986?

It is a small consolation to learn that chuckwagon racing is hardly known outside the Canadian West and I hope it is never an export. Horse-loving friends in the U.S. do know that Alberta imports horses to its questionable slaughter houses.

Let's hope that soon "they'rrre offff' the Stampede program.

Jennifer Roman
Port Coquitlam