Milestone Calgary Stampede for animals: No deaths or serious injuries at chucks or rodeo
Posted July 19, 2016 6:47 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Calgary Stampede was wet and rainy most days and even with cheap or free entry, attendance was down significantly. But the event still had its successes.
One of the positives coming from the 10 days was the safety surrounding the animals during the chuckwagons and rodeo.
All of the four-legged creatures left with a clean bill of health, with not a single death or serious injury this year. This is the first time this has happened since 2003.
Kristina Barnes with the Calgary Stampede says there are a few reasons for this feat.
“The weather wasn’t great, but we really worked hard on getting our track in good shape prior to the Stampede, and that did help [given] the heavy rain. Since 2013, we’ve had trouble with the inner edge of the track after it was washed out by the flood. We did work really hard on building up the interior of the track,” says Barnes.
“One of the other big changes — I don’t know if the fans would have seen it — but changing the barrel positions. Giving the drivers a little bit of extra room, one the drivers compared it to having that extra room while you are driving down Deerfoot Trail. You have a little bit of room on the shoulder. Most of the time, you don’t need it. But when you do, it is there.”
She says on top of that, the animals in the rodeo were all safe and sound as well.
“I think anyone watching the finals yesterday could see there were no slips, a couple of the barrel horses with little ones, but the bucking stock did well as well. It was a success despite the rain, and the fans hung in there as well,” Barnes explains.
