Learn from the Best Spring Rodeo Schools
What Works For Us: Calving on the Nicola Ranch
Historic Tidewater Ranching
GETAWAYS! Epic Adventures & Serene Beauty
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LURE OF ALBERTA FISHING TRIPS
HOME GROWN SPRING IS SPRUNG
IN THE CORRAL NEWS, VIEWS & HAPPENINGS FROM ACROSS THE CANADIAN WEST
Alberta Sports Hall of Fame The Alberta Sports Hall of Fame is an interactive, hands-on celebration of Alberta's sporting history. Over 7,000 square feet of exhibit space includes a multisport area with virtual sports, a 200-meter wheelchair challenge, a climbing wall, a theatre, the Hall of Fame Gallery, and more. The museum hosts over 16,000 artefacts of Alberta sports history. The Hall, located in Red Deer, Alta., announced the induction of four more deserving Albertans. The Class of ‘22 welcomes Guy Weadick & Flores LaDue Weadick, posthumously honoured with the Pioneer Award, Jackie Rae Greening (of CFCW Radio fame) in the Builder category with the sport of Curling, and "The King" himself, multi-award-winning chuckwagon championships winner, Kelly Sutherland. These latest stars in the ever-growing galaxy join the likes of many previously inducted legends, ranging from steer wrestlers Tom, Vernon "Bud" and Brian Butterfield, broadcaster and writer Dianne Finstad, World Champion saddle bronc rider Winston Bruce, chuckwagon driver Dick Cosgrave, World Champion tie-down roper Jim Gladstone, barrel racer Jerri Duce to broadcaster Russ Peake. Tracey Kinsella, Executive Director of the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame, introduced these and other athletes, builders, and award winners who will join the Hall of Fame officially on October 21, 2022, during the Induction Ceremony at the Red Deer Polytechnic Main Theatre “We are proud to welcome these new Honoured Members into the Hall,” said Kinsella. “Their contributions to sport in our province are incredible and humbling. They have truly earned the right to have their names added to our Hall.”
Kelly Sutherland — Athlete (Inducted in 2020) Kelly is the winningest professional chuckwagon driver of all time. By his retirement in 2017 “The King” had racked up an impressive list of championships and awards, including the 2012 Calgary Stampede Guy Weadick Award, 12 Calgary Stampede Championships, 12 World Championships, was the seven-time Calgary Stampede Aggregate Winner, raced in 77 Champion final heats on World Professional Chuckwagon Association Circuit, 25 Victories in Championship heats on the World Professional Chuckwagon Association Circuit and topped the tarp sale with $300,000 registered as highest bid for his chuckwagon canvas, sold at Calgary Stampede Canvas Auction (2012).
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Jackie Rae Greening — Curling Builder Jackie has played major roles in Provincial, National, and World Championships curling events including the 2005 Tim Hortons Brier, 2007 Ford Worlds Men’s Curling Championships, 2009 Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings, and the 2017 Alberta Provincial Ladies Scott Tournament of Hearts. She continues promoting and building the sport with her broadcasting experience such as doing the commentating for the 2017 Junior World Curling Championship held in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Canadian Cowboy Country April/May 2022
PHOTO COURTESY CALGARY STAMPEDE ARCHIVES
IN THE CORRAL
Guy & Flores LaDue — Pioneer Award In 1912, Guy Weadick & Flores LaDue founded the Calgary Stampede, Canada’s first and most significant celebrations of western sport and heritage through rodeo and western competition. When Guy and Flores arrived in Calgary with the idea of hosting a “Frontier Day Celebration and Cowboy Contest” which would honour the history of the West through the sport of rodeo. In 1923 Weadick created the sport of chuckwagon racing. The Calgary Stampede remains one of the premier stops on the North America rodeo circuit.
cowboycountrymagazine.com
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Love of
FISH NG By LISA ROPER
The deep hull of my boat cuts through the lake as the early morning sun’s rays dance on the water. Near me, a pelican glides just above the top of the water, looking for its next meal. The fog lifts, and with the smell of dew in the air, it’s time to fish. My adrenaline begins to build as the first cast of the day whistles through the air. My Five of Diamonds lure pierces the water and disappears, taking with it plenty of line. As it sinks, I let go of all the unfinished work, piles of paper, and phone calls needing my attention. I become absorbed in the journey I am on with the fish. I reel with short, quick jerks, followed by a very slow retrieve. A few casts in, and with 26
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“My adrenaline begins to build...” an aggressive strike, I am hooked into the first fish of the morning. It doesn’t matter whether you are a beginner or a seasoned angler; having a fish take your bait brings a flood of excitement. One of my favourite fish to target is walleye. A strong predator fish that can be aggressive, feisty, and finicky, meeting the challenge of catching them has become a lifelong pursuit. In my experience, underwater structures like shelves, deep basins, sunken trees and weed beds provide security to the fish and an opportunity for me to land one. I use several techniques like jigging, casting, and trolling,
depending on water conditions and the season. I find the best time to target walleye is early morning or dusk when light is low. But don’t discount midday if the wind is blowing and the water is turbulent and murky. Being successful on the lake goes far beyond landing a fish. My love for fishing has taught me lifelong skills. I have gained a more profound respect for nature and learned a great deal about patience and hope. Casting a line is about traditions, relationships, adventures, and the ability to try again tomorrow when I came up short today. Sometimes it’s an opportunity to inspire and encourage others to appreciate and respect the outdoors. Other times, it’s when the world stands still, and I feel a grounding connection to the water that I cannot find anywhere else. It’s all this and more that keeps me going back to the lake. c Canadian Cowboy Country April/May 2022
HOME GROWN
SPRING IS SPRUNG!
PHOTOS HAVE BEEN SUPPLIED BY COMMUNITIES IN BLOOM VOLUNTEERS ACROSS WESTERN CANADA.
Brought to you by COMMUNITIES IN BLOOM/ANDREW EXELBY
Planting, pollinators, and raised beds are hot topics for gardeners, and these topics are as intertwined as tree roots. Birds & the Bees
The birds, insects and other animals that pollinate plants are key to the health of both our horticultural, natural and agricultural environments. While many grasses are pollinated with help from the wind, many other plants, including most of our ornamental flowers, garden fruits and vegetables, and crops like alfalfa and flax, depend on actual pollinators.
cowboycountrymagazine.com
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RANCHING IN THE WEST The Kingcome river near the logging camp; about a mile from the Halliday farmhouse
Tidewater
Ranchers
How far west can you ranch in Canada? ... all the way to the tidewater’s edge! Part 1 of 2 By DARYL DREW, PHD | HISTORIC PHOTOS COURTESY DARYL DREW
B.C.’s west coast is an unlikely place to build a cattle ranch. The beautiful green and greytoned pristine scenery belies that it is home to intense storms, very heavy rainfall and rip tide overflows. The mercurial weather creating dense fog banks that roll in from the Pacific Ocean has resulted in nearly 500 shipwrecks along its craggy rock-strewn shoreline over the years. Mariners call this coast the Graveyard of the Pacific, and the West Coast Trail, now a favourite of hikers, was built for shipwrecked survivors to find safety by escaping the ocean waters. The unique climate produced the storms that also produced the massive first growth trees, and beginning in the mid-1800s, loggers dreamed about turning them into lumber. That dream helped foster the era of the tidewater ranchers. 32
PHOTO: VICKI SWANSON
Part 1: Inner Passage Islands
RANCHING IN THE WEST 1
2
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While the trees were abundant, the logistics of supplying very isolated logging camps with fresh beef and produce in the days before refrigeration was a nightmare. Before chainsaws, it took two men with axes and crosscut saws several days to fall just one giant first growth tree. Hand logging operations needed many men requiring many calories per day. Once felled, the giant trees had to be cut to length and skidded over corduroy trails to the water’s edge, formed up into log booms and cowboycountrymagazine.com
1. Open deck shipping of live cattle off the coast of B.C. 2. The Ernest Halliday family 3. The first Halliday cabin; Kingcome Inlet, B.C.
floated to a mill. In the days before steam donkeys and heavy haul back rigging, log skidding was done by teams of draft horses and oxen. Added to the need for a steady supply of meat and produce, the logging operations required oxen, horses, hay and a
wintering ground for draft animals when logging was shut down for the storm season. Complicating the supply problem was the fact that raising livestock and the hay to feed them is not viable in a temperate rainforest. However, some unique climatic variations made the development of small ranches close to logging camp markets a practical solution to the loggers’ supply problems. These ranches ranged from a few dozen hectares of cleared land to 405 hectares (1,000 acres) or more. 33