Chuckwagon racing future in trouble

By Miriam Ostermann, Associate Editor

A recent decline in the number of chuckwagon racers and outriders is cause for concern among veterans and associations that fear for the future of the sport.
As the summer draws to a close, financial uncertainty over the past few years and a smaller cache of sponsorship money in an already slack economy is resulting in fewer participants and an increase in members retiring well before their time.
Chuckwagon legend Kelly Sutherland, who retired this year, has seen numbers plummet over the last 10 years. He said he remains unconvinced the sport will survive without a financial turnaround.
“We’ve lost a lot of young guys in the last decade, a tremendous amount, and we lost two of them already this year,” he said while racing in Strathmore during the Strathmore Stampede and Heritage Days. “It’s all financial, it just doesn’t make sense to do it. The sport’s in deep trouble right now as a lot of guys are not starting and a lot of young guys are quitting. That troubles me a lot because I’ve taken so much out of this sport and it’s been such a fantastic career for me that I hate to leave the sport when it’s in that much trouble.”
Another well-known name among the chuckwagon community, Rae Croteau Jr., who retired in 2016, publicly voiced his concern last year, stating new rules to the Calgary Stampede and the lack of a raise in over a decade while still collecting 20 per cent of commission – a share from the annual tarp auction – is putting chuckwagon racing in peril. He was referring to a new selective invite-only format to the Calgary Stampede Rangeland Derby that no longer focuses on the standings of the professional associations. New rules and regulations from the Calgary Stampede also included a reduction in outriders from four to two, new wagon inspections, a rebuilt inner rail of the track, and changes to the barrel placements to help in alignment and reduce collisions. The Calgary Stampede announced the changes were put in place for the safety of the riders and animals.
The World Professional Chuckwagon Association (WPCA) may also be required to introduce some modifications to keep the sport alive and relieve the financial burden and stresses on the athletes, according to WPCA historian Billy Melville.
However, he remained optimistic the void caused by those retiring and leaving the sport creates opportunities of younger athletes interested in finding success.
“I am very concerned about it, I mean we’ve had probably 25 really good years where we’ve been able to maintain 36 wagons on the tour – the other associations had some more wagons as well to supplement them overall – lots of outriders and we’re kind of maybe in a little bit of a decline,” Melville said.
“Costs have gone up significantly over the years so you have an increase in costs and decreased revenue. You know even when times are really good, you’re still walking a very thin line. Any time you have a blip in the economy it really affects these guys. I’m not really sure what the answer is but we might have to make some adjustments here moving forward.”
Melville added that changes may include reducing the number of running days to help lower the number of horses required. Within the WPCA, Jerry Bremner retired in 2015, Rae Croteau Jr. in 2016, and Colt Cosgrave, Layne Bremner, and Kelly Sutherland said goodbye to the sport in 2017. Colt Cosgrave, Layne Bremner, and Rae Croteau Jr. were all under the age of 40, and Jerry Bremner was not near the retirement age when he retired.
But for some chuckwagon aces, like Sutherland, there is only one outcome.
“I can’t do much about it, it’ll be in the hands of the committees of the events that are here,” Sutherland said. “But I don’t see much of the future of chuckwagon racing, because I think that it’ll die a slow, natural death.”