Stellar racing leads Bensmiller to Strathmore Stampede show title

By Laurence Heinen Times Contributor

Kurt Bensmiller knows what it takes to win, but up until the Strathmore Stampede, the 39-year-old reinsman from Dewberry, Alta., had yet to experience victory on the World Professional Chuckwagon Association circuit this season.

“It’s been a long summer for me, for sure,” said Bensmiller, who guided his Versatile Energy Services Ltd. outfit to first-place showings in his heat four days in a row from Friday to Monday. “It’s nice to be on top for at least one show.”

Thanks to his stellar showings in Strathmore, Bensmiller was crowned the Strathmore Stampede champion for the fourth time, to go with the titles he previously won in 2012, 2018 and 2019.

“I love coming to Strathmore,” said Bensmiller, whose dad Buddy won the show in 1992, while his younger brother Chance prevailed one year ago in 2021. “This is a great event, it’s always been good. I remember coming here as a young kid and the way the crowd responded to dad all the time and now it’s to us, too … It just makes you feel pretty good coming out here, so it’s always exciting put on a good show. It’s always a really involved and engaged crowd. It makes life for us as drivers a lot more fun.”

By virtue of his quick trips around the Strathmore rodeo grounds track, Bensmiller posted the best four-day aggregate time of 5:04.41 to give him an impressive 3.01-second margin of victory over current WPCA points leader Layne MacGillivray (League Projects). 

“It’s nice, especially after four days, to be able to win by that much,” said Bensmiller, who made some changes to the way he managed his barn after finishing third at the Calgary Stampede’s Cowboys Rangeland Derby behind Kris Molle and MacGillivray. “The horses ran good. Coming out of Calgary we changed some stuff up for High River and then they started clicking now … Getting back to four wagons (per heat) – how wagon racing’s supposed to be – it makes it a lot easier and we can actually have a little bit of strategy. This is what we grew up doing, so we know how to do it with four wagons.” 

Bensmiller also commended his outriders Rory Gervais and Hayden Motowylo for helping him achieve victory in Strathmore.

“They’ve been just amazing,” said Bensmiller of the talented pair of riders. “I’ve been a bit lucky to have them guys all the way through. I never have to look back. The odds of them screwing up are pretty slim, so it’s nice to know that you’ve got those two guys riding in your corner.”

Chanse Vigen ended up in the third spot after the four-day show, Bensmiller’s brother-in-law Vern Nolin was fourth, while Codey McCurrach rounded out the top-five finishers.

Off barrel No. 4 in the fourth heat aboard his Tomco Group of Companies wagon, McCurrach posted Monday afternoon’s fastest time of 1:15.39 and won day money by 52/100ths of a second over Wade Salmond (Burnra Welding Ltd.). 

After a one-week break, the WPCA tour will resume with the Battle of the North in Dawson Creek, B.C., from Aug. 10-14. 

Following the Battle of the Rockies in Rocky Mountain House, Alta., from Aug. 18-21, the top 12 drivers in the WPCA standings will have a chance to vie for bragging rights at the Century Downs World Finals from Aug. 24-28 at Century Downs Racetrack and Casino just north of Calgary.

“When we left Calgary, the plan (was) to try and be running (in the top 12) when we hit Century Downs, because that’s the one that matters the most, said Bensmiller. “Every one of these shows is great to win, but that’s the one that’s got the big money left. So hopefully, we have a good showing in Dawson Creek and we continue with the success that we had here and it carries over right into the Century Downs finals.”