Your Edmonton Journal

Chuckwagons trailing blood
CanWest News Service
Published: 1:51 am

The deaths of three more horses at the Calgary Stampede and serious injuries to a chuckwagon driver over the weekend is a reminder that not nearly enough has been done to improve the safety at the event, especially in the marquee races.

The chuckwagons are coming to Edmonton next weekend as part of Capital Ex and The Journal is a sponsor. The event, when well run and fairly contested, can be a wonderful spectacle. But when it ends in the terrifying manner -- a multi-team pileup, three dead horses and a badly injured driver all in front of the crowd that included thousands of children -- it is time for everyone to give their heads a shake and ask themselves how this keeps happening year after year.

The number of horses killed this year match the death toll in 2006. In 2005, nine horses died when they stampeded off a bridge in a freak accident. And though none died in the chuckwagon event that year, the competition does deserve its bloody reputation. In 2002, six horses were killed, and at least nine horses died between 1986 and 1995 in two incidents.

The races haven't been so gentle on drivers either. Tyler Helmig's broken limbs on Saturday are just the latest of countless injuries and at least four driver deaths at the chuckwagon races, two in the past 11 years.

The Stampede's defenders suggest it has simply been a string of bad luck.

It's no such thing. It's hard-headedness in the guise of tradition and it must change.

The NFL brought in measures to protect their star quarterbacks because too many of them were having their careers shortened by hits to their heads. The NBA developed the flagrant foul rule to reduce the risk of players getting hit when they are up in the air and most exposed. The NHL has begun punishing hits from behind. These horses, the star athletes of the chuckwagon races, need and deserve protection.

At this juncture, fingers are being pointed at veteran driver Kelly Sutherland, who was banned from the final day of competition for having driven too aggressively and causing the pileup. Even if that is the case -- though he denies it -- it is too simple an answer. These kinds of incidents happen too frequently, and too often end in tragedy.

It is time the associations that govern this sport take a long, hard look at what they can do to improve the safety of the races. This could mean reducing the number of wagons per heat. It might mean staggering the starting and finish lines. But it definitely must include meting out meaningful penalties and suspensions for dangerous driving.

The chuckwagon race and Stampede organizers can no longer bury these horrors under the heading of "accidents." They know the causes and are the only people in a position to prescribe remedies. If they don't, the police and Crown may do it for them.

© The Edmonton Journal 2007