Vigen claims first Strathmore Stampede title

By Laurence Heinen Times Contributor

Chanse Vigen finished off the Strathmore Stampede the same way he started it – on a winning note.

In the process, he added yet another chuckwagon racing title to his impressive collection.

Fresh off winning the Battle of the Foothills title in High River the previous Sunday, Vigen started off the four-day Strathmore show by posting the top time of the night on both Friday and Saturday aboard his Blackstone Drilling Fluids Ltd. chuckwagon.

“It’s fun to come here and I’m excited to come back,” said Vigen, who went on to win both the aggregate title on Sunday as well as Monday afternoon’s $25,000 championship final heat. “I’m glad they got a dash for cash here now. It ups things for the fans here and the competitors and the sponsors and everybody involved.”

Although he finished second behind Rae Croteau Jr. on Sunday, Vigen’s three-day combined time of 3:39.13 was good enough to earn him the aggregate title. Meanwhile, Croteau finished second overall – 3.94 seconds behind Vigen – while Jamie Laboucane and four-time Strathmore Stampede champion Kurt Bensmiller finished in third and fourth place respectively to also earn spots in Monday’s championship dash.

Vigen had first pick of which barrel he wanted to line up next to on Monday and he chose No. 2.

“It’s a weighted draw and I got first pick and I elected to take the No. 2 barrel,” said Vigen, whose outfit of Greyson and Junior on the lead and Sacramento and Laser on the back end have had success on that No. 2 barrel – including a day-money win on Saturday. 

That success continued as Vigen rounded the track in Monday’s quickest clocking of 1:11.66 and crossed the finish line just 55/100ths of a second ahead of Croteau to claim his first-ever Strathmore Stampede title. Laboucane finished third, while Bensmiller had to settle for a fourth-place showing.

“I’ve had a lot of good memories here in Strathmore,” said the 40-year-old reinsman, who hails from Grande Prairie but now calls Calgary home. “This is probably at the top of the list. Great race, great weekend. This show’s been kind to us. Strathmore’s a bit of a chuckwagon mecca. They always get a good crowd and we saw that. That was illustrated again this weekend.”

Vigen praised his outriders Rory Armstrong, who rode Emmett on Monday, and Ethan Motowylo, who hopped atop Coco, for their exceptional work throughout the entire World Professional Chuckwagon Association season so far.

“Rory Armstrong has been with me for a number of years. He’s first call on stove and he’s been clean – knock on wood – all summer,” said Vigen, who further commended Armstrong and Motowylo for helping him win his first WPCA world title last season. “Ethan Motowylo’s probably the best lead man on the grounds in my opinion. I’ve been pumping his tires all season. 

“My horses aren’t really easy to handle. They’re very finicky, so him and I have got to work together to try to get set properly some nights. He’s done a good job. He’s been very receptive and I couldn’t ask for a better team of outriders.”

A 10-year veteran as an outrider, Armstrong has been “chasing after Chanse” for four years now and he’s loved every minute of it.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Armstrong said. “You’ve got to be on your ‘A’ game and in the zone to chase after him. He’s got really nice horses to ride and fast ones.

“We won a world title and we won Medicine Hat this year and we just got back from High River winning and we’re keeping the streak going.”

After a quick one-day break, the WPCA Pro Tour will resume with the Battle of the North in Dawson Creek, B.C., from Wednesday to Sunday.

Looking to win his second world title in as many years, Vigen is sitting atop the driver standings with 961.5 points, which is just 11.5 ahead of Croteau.

Heading into Dawson Creek, Laboucane is in third spot with 911.5 points, while 2024 Cowboys Rangeland Derby champ Jason Glass (905.5) and Chad Fike (861.5) round out the top five.

“I don’t feel like we’re on a roll because the point standings are still extremely tight,” Vigen said. “It’s nice to pick up a couple wins, but at the same time there’s still half a dozen guys within striking reach and we’ve seen a lot of lead changes this year, so there’s not really any room for error every night. 

“There’s a number of guys with a lot of pressure on them to run fast but run clean at the same time. We’ve got to keep our foot on the gas. There’s three important shows left and we’ll try to keep everything going the way it’s been.”