Calgary Stampede says chuckwagon horse has been euthanized after injury
A horse has been euthanized at the Calgary Stampede after sustaining an injury during a chuckwagon race.
The Calgary Stampede says in an emailed statement that a horse from Kris Molle’s team sustained an injury during the seventh round of the chuckwagon races on Friday.
The statement said that medical care was provided immediately and that after an assessment, the veterinarian made the humane decision to euthanize the horse.
Jozef Mihaly, a spectator who was in the stands and witnessed the incident, says the horse appeared to fall after the carriage crossed the finish line.
Last year, the Stampede said it had introduced new horse safety measures, including reducing the number of wagons to three from four on the track for each heat.
“Once they got past the finish line, they slowed down in a process, and that’s where the horse fell. They were pretty much stopped at that point,” Mihaly, who lives in Red Deer, Alta, told the Stampede with friends on Friday.
“The horse wasn’t dragged or anything. It just collapsed.”
“It definitely left a mark on my Stampede experience”
Mihaly said a crew of people swooped in and covered the area with sails. A courier was brought in, he said, and the animal was taken off the track, still under tarpaulins.
At last year’s Calgary Stampede, a horse also died during a chuckwagon race. There were no chuckwagon races in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chuckwagon races are a nighttime spectacle during the 10-day Stampede, which ends on Sunday. Crowds watch each evening as horse-drawn wagons rumble down a dirt road, accompanied by outriders.
The entry states that he is a certified farrier and equine dentist and started pony riding at the age of 14.
Mihaly said he and his companions had a discussion Friday night about the merits of chuckwagon races on the way back to Red Deer, and said he would never attend one again.
“I don’t understand what the profit is at the moment, just for pure entertainment,” said Mihaly.
“It definitely left a mark on my Stampede experience.”
