The Calgary Stampede

We took the LRT CTrain from nearby Crowfoot Station to the Stampede just after 10 a.m., along with Dennis and Cheryl and Mike and Judy. At first sight the Stampede grounds looked like a big state fair, with a colorful midway dominated by thrill rides. We decided to go first to the Western Art display in the BMO building, but we had to thread our way through the giant vendor area first ("Official Calgary Stampede Souvenirs Here!).

The art exhibit included all you would expect, plus some unexpected items. For example, an entry in the "Sugar Icing and Cake" category looked like a stack of Stampede food, including a burger and hot dog. One wall of the giant exhibit hall was dominated by an assemblage of squares forming a large mosaic type picture of a horse. Each of the individual tiles was created by a different artist, with the theme of honoring the horse.

Unusual art.

Over 100 artists contributed to the mosaic.

We had lunch at "The Range" (basically a food court) with Dennis and Cheryl, and then went to the grandstands for the rodeo. Everyone in our group had seats in the same area (Gold Section, Level 5, right in the center (thanks, Wes!), so we saw all of the group there, including John and Margie. Fortunately our seats were under cover, since it was raining on and off all day.

The rodeo was colorful and featured the usual events, including bull riding, bronc riding, barrel racing, and calf roping (now called "tie-down roping" to avoid offending the sensibilities of the audience). One unusual event involved teams of three kids trying to catch and ride little wild ponies (mostly unsuccessfully). The spectacle was entertaining, and we were really surprised by the amount of money at stake in the various events.

One of the successful bronc riders.

One of the barrel racers who didn't fall.

Rodeo really isn't mostly to my taste. Although frequent references were made to "animal athletes," it seemed to me that most of the animals were frightened or in pain at least part of the time. The barrel racing involved actual horsemanship and graceful horses and riders, but even that event led to two horses and riders falling because of the wet condition of the arena.

After the rodeo we tried to watch a cutting horse demo, but all the seats were full, so we went on to look at animals in the ag building. The miniature horses were quite a contrast with the Budweiser Clydesdales and the Percherons.