Canadian Cowboy Country - Dec 18/Jan 19

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The Last Wild West Outlaw Gang in Canada

Coyote Christmas

The Year the ol’ Bronc Came Home PM# 40070720

DECEMBER 18/JANUARY 19 • $5.95

Slick & Simple Call It ‘Cowboy Pride’

D FR OA N R E TH

CFR45 !

Homes of the West Cowboy Paradise

TO

Last-Minute Cowboy Gift Guide

Ian Tyson The Charlie Russell of Cowboy Music

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from all of us here to all of you out there in Cowboy Country Kristine Wickheim

Zuzana Benesova

Terri Mason editor Carmen D. Hrynchuk

art director

copy editor

graphic designer

Rob Tanner publisher

Scott Dutton

Erin Murphy

Cheryl Lindquist

Catherine Staszkiewicz

graphic designer

traffic coordinator

accounting administrator

Marie Tanner

PHOTOS BY COLOURES-PIC / ADOBE STOCK

sales manager

subscription/circulation

35 PRO RODEO CANADA INSIDER

THE 2018 CANADIAN PRO RODEO CHAMPIONS What a year the champion Bareback horse, F13 Virgil is having! The big grey of C5 Rodeo was chosen as the Bareback Horse of the CFR for the third straight year, the Canadian Bareback Horse of the Year for the second time and the PRCA Bareback Horse of the Year once again! How good is he? So far, at every rodeo that featured the big grey, the rider has either won the event — or hit the dirt. In this photo, Jake Vold and Virgil just set a new CFR record at 90.25 points.

Photo by Billie-Jean Duff

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Canadian Cowboy Country December 2018/January 2019

DECEMBER 2018/JANUARY 2019 | VOLUME 22, NO. 4

On the Cover

18 TRAILBLAZERS

John Clapperton, Laird of the Nicola

The legendary Ian Tyson, photographed by multi-award-winning photographer, Bill Borgwardt

The rough-and-tumble career and his shining moment — the capture of the McLean Gang

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HOMES OF THE WEST

Rolling Hills Home The gorgeous Western home of ranchers Dale and Lacey Pfahl

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SLICK & SIMPLE

Handy Halter Tip John Tilley demonstrates a slick way to remove a halter off a bridled horse

26 28

Coyote Christmas The touching saga of one bronc’s grand homecoming COVER STORY

Ian Tyson: The Charlie Russell of Cowboy Music A unique look at the influence of Ian Tyson on some of the nation’s top musicians

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Pro Rodeo Canada Insider The photos, the Champions, the story of CFR45

DEPARTMENTS 7 My Point of View 9 In the Corral 13 Western Art Review 14 Spirit of the West 15 Wheel to Wheel 16 Reflections 46 Clownin’ Around 50 Cowboy Poetry 5

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December 2018/January 2019 Vol. 22, No. 4 Editor Terri Mason terri@cowboycountrymagazine.com Copy Editor Carmen D. Hrynchuk carmen@cowboycountrymagazine.com Art Director Zuzana Benesova zuzana@cowboycountrymagazine.com Graphic Designers Scott Dutton, scott@cowboycountrymagazine.com Erin Murphy, ads@cowboycountrymagazine.com Publisher Rob Tanner rob@cowboycountrymagazine.com Sales Manager Kristine Wickheim kristine@cowboycountrymagazine.com Traffic Coordinator Cheryl Lindquist traffic@cowboycountrymagazine.com Subscription/Circulation Marie Tanner circ@tanneryoung.com Accounting Administrator Catherine Staszkiewicz admin@tanneryoung.com Customer Relations Manager Marie Tanner marie@tanneryoung.com Columnists Tim Ellis, Hugh McLennan, Billy Melville, Bryn Thiessen Contributors Tim Ellis, Ken Favrholdt, Dorothy Lethbridge, Barb Poulsen, Tom Reardon, John Tilley Contributing Artists/Photographers Bill Borgwardt, Mike Copeman, Billie-Jean Duff, Paul and Carol Easton, Dorothy Lethbridge, Jamie Tilley Tanner Young Publishing Group #1, 9301–50 Street, Edmonton AB T6B 2L5 Tel: 780-465-3362 Fax 780-448-0424 Toll Free: 1-800-943-7336 Website: cowboycountrymagazine.com E-mail: askus @ cowboycountrymagazine.com

SUBSCRIPTIONS: Call Marie at 1-800-943-7336 1 Year: $21.43 + tax | 2 Years: $35.71 + tax | 3 Years: $46.45 + tax Canadian Cowboy Country magazine is published six times per year by Tanner Young Publishing Group PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40070720 ISSN 1701-1132 Please return undeliverable addresses to: Canadian Cowboy Country magazine #1, 9301–50 Street, Edmonton AB T6B 2L5 FREELANCE POLICY Canadian Cowboy Country welcomes freelance contributions, but will not be held responsible for unsolicited text or photographs.

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For our complete privacy policy go to tanneryoung.com/ privacy.html or call us at 1-800-943-7336 Canadian Cowboy Country makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information it publishes, but cannot be held responsible for any consequences arising from errors or omissions.

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“This project is funded [in part] by the Government of Canada.”

«Ce projet est financé [en partie] par le gouvernement du Canada.»

6

MY POINT OF VIEW

LE Stevens, a fine artist and caricaturist who lives on the outskirts of cosmopolitan Delta, Ohio, sent me this “fantasy sketch.” Two reasons you can tell it’s a fantasy — the “wasp” waist and the tidy desk.

Get 'er All Down…

W

ILLUSTRATION BY LE STEVENS

hat an issue! We’ve got the legendary Ian Tyson on the cover, and writer Bill Borgwardt has crafted a “take on Tyson” that he gleaned from interviews with many of the men and women who have shared the stage and studio with the master.

From the celebrated singer to the celebrated rodeo competitors and livestock that found a new home in Red Deer, Alta., we’ve got the exciting results, some “behind the chutes” stories and some fantastic photography.

Our Trailblazer is a gentleman who enjoyed a moment of notoriety as the man who captured some of B.C.’s last outlaws, and we also bring you the joyous and very true Christmas story of an outlaw bucking horse — guaranteed to renew your faith in mankind.

We thank the ranching Pfahls for inviting us into their art-packed Western ranch house near Rolling Hills, and our horse-training series author, John Tilley, sent in a Slick & Simple article that shows pure cowboy pride.

I would like to abjectly apologize for calling Brian Lovig by the name "Terry."

In the last issue, we featured the fantastic and private Western "town" built by Brian Lovig and for some reason, I called Brian "Terry" throughout the article. I admit to a certain fondness for the name, but how I never caught that through all the proofing is an embarrassing mystery, and I sincerely apologize. So, go back and have another look, it's a fantastic place.

I want to thank each of you for supporting us for over two decades now in our quest to tell the stories that need to be told before they are lost to the throwaway world of pop culture. Or as Ol' Eon says, "get 'er all down, before she goes."

And with that, my friends, enjoy our Christmas season, make some new friends, visit with some old ones, bless your family and kick back and listen to some Ian Tyson music, the soundtrack to our life — here in Canadian Cowboy Country.

Subscriber Tip Your mailing label on the magazine will tell you when your subscription expires. Right above your name is an issue date, which is the final issue of your subscription.

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Just in time for the Holidays!

— Terri Mason, Editor

XXX XXXXXX JUN/JUL’19 JOE SMITH RR 1 EDMONTON, AB T6B 2L5

@CowboyCntryMag

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7

CONTRIBUTORS

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Ellie Lewis’ Goose Egg 1

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4

3

5

1 John Tilley Slick & Simple, page 24 John and Jamie, along with their two daughters, own and operate Tilley’s Custom Colts and Horsemanship near LeRoy, Sask. John wrote the six-part series, Starting Ranch Horses, in Canadian Cowboy Country. tilleyscustomcolts.ca

2 Ken Favrholdt Trailblazers John Clapperton, page 18 Kenneth Favrholdt has an academic background in historical geography with interests in early ranching, Indigenous peoples, and trails in the Canadian West.

Besides research and writing, he has also been a museum curator and teacher for many years. Ken lives with his wife, Linda, and dog, Duncan, in Claresholm, Alta.

3 Bill Borgwardt Feature Ian Tyson, page 28 Photographer and writer Bill Borgwardt has covered the Canadian country music scene for decades, with his articles and photographs published across North America. He is famed for spotting “new talent” on the music scene.

4 Tom Reardon Coyote Christmas, page 26 Tom Reardon is a retired pasture manager, having been with Sask. Ag. for 25 years. He lives at Maple Creek and day rides for several ranches. He calls himself a “professional saddle tramp with fascinating friends.”

5 Dorothy Lethbridge Homes of the West, page 20 Dorothy Lethbridge is a photographer, journalist, and promoter including for her husband, Victor’s, TatankaWorkshops.com. They enjoy their southern Alberta prairie farm with its small herd of cows and their scenic river landscapes.

I enjoyed reading, “Goose Egg” by Bud McKague in your cowboy poetry section. As odd as it may sound, I was visiting with Bud one morning at a rodeo in Alberta shortly after this happened and saw Bud pen the last few lines of that poem.

Also would like to mention that while waiting my turn to ride at a rodeo at Hand Hills Lake a year or two later, I saw Ellie Lewis forget to put his spurs on, and he received a goose egg in the bareback riding.

Sorry to hear about Ted Vayro and send my condolences to his family.

He was a good cowboy. My wife and I enjoy your paper very much, and I enclose a cheque to renew for three more years.

— Don Kozlinski, Provost, Alta.

Hi Don, Thanks for your letter; Bud McKague was a pretty good friend of mine and I always enjoy hearing tales about those old cowboys.

Because being curious is my job, I tracked your rodeo trail a bit and I pulled up the July 4, 1957 edition of the Hanna Herald. You were sure rodeoing with some legends — Winston Bruce, Lawrence Hutchinson, Bill Collins, Fred Gladstone and I even saw Jack Daines listed in Novice “Bronk” — love the old-timey spelling.

Thanks for sharing your memories, Don, and I’m glad you folks enjoy the magazine.

— Terri

Bob Carry Dear Terri, In the Oct/Nov 2018 issue you have an article about my grandfather, Bob Carry. The picture you have on page 37 is one that our family does not have; my mom is not sure where it came from. We are hoping we can get a digital copy of it from you? I know it would mean a lot to both my mom and aunt to have, as well as all of us grandkids.

Sincerely, — Shandel Thomson, Lundbreck, Alta.

Hi Shandel, It was our honour to tell his story as our way to commemorate Remembrance Day. The photo of your grandfather, plus many others of him, were found in the Glenbow Museum Archives in Calgary. I originally saw it in the book, All About Nothing by Bert Sheppard.

I truly wish I could send you the photo – but in order to publish any photos from the Glenbow we sign a photography agreement to not share the image. However, the Image number is PA-1599-477-30 and you can view it and order it right from the Glenbow Archives website.

— Terri Editor’s Note: I thought your name sounded familiar… Shandel earned the CPRA 2002 Ladies Barrel Racing Rookie of the Year title.

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Canadian Cowboy Country December 2018/January 2019

IN THE CORRAL NEWS, VIEWS & HAPPENINGS FROM ACROSS THE CANADIAN WEST

PHOTO COURTESY CALGARY STAMPEDE

Calgary Stampede Poster Hats off to Calgary and its growing support of youth who compete in novice rodeo and now the highly competitive art world, too.

For the first time in the history of the Calgary Stampede, the annual poster, seen by millions worldwide, was created by an amateur—not only that, but a young amateur.

And it’s gorgeous.

This was the first year that Alberta’s youth had a shot at designing the Calgary Stampede poster. More than 100 youths, aged 15 to 24, applied their best work for their shot at the big time.

Rebecca Shuttleworth of Balzac, Alta., had the winning design — a chalk pastel image of a woman in Western gear riding a horse, a salute to women in Western culture.

“The whole experience of being involved in the poster competition was surreal,” said Shuttleworth in a prepared release.

“As a fifth-generation farmer, I know how hard women work on the farm, and that’s something that motivates me every day to do my best. It’s what I wanted to show.”

Incoming Stampede chairman and president Dana Peers said the competition was a really exciting way to align the iconic poster with the strategic goal of enabling youth achievement.

“We wanted to provide an opportunity for youth to showcase their talent on a world stage,” said Peers in a prepared release. “We discovered how the next generation views the Calgary Stampede and the Western way of life.”

The Calgary Stampede poster competition distributed $20,000 in scholarships to eight finalists.

Part of the experience was a hands-on learning and development experience with local Western artists and mentors — including Shannon Lawlor, who was the first repeat Stampede poster artist, first in 2017 and again in 2018.

Rebecca Shuttleworth’s winning design — a chalk pastel image of a woman in Western gear riding a horse

9

IN THE CORRAL

West Block Roundup Centennial Congratulations to all of the ranchers and descendants of the originals who continue to protect native grass — the fastest disappearing ecosystem in North America — growing high in the West Block of the Cypress Hills.

The Cypress Hills Stockman’s Association is a consortium of area ranchers. For 100 years, the members have maintained (among other things) a low-stress load on the grass by limiting the cattle in the Hills. They also maintain that all of the cattle on the West Block are trailed in and out with horses.

It has been the adherence to this cowboy rule that has helped to not only preserve the range but also ensure that this unique high country bio-network does not suffer the devastating destruction and irreversible damage caused by motorized vehicles on ultra-sensitive, high altitude terrain.

CCA Champions The city of Swift Current hosted the Canadian Cowboys Assoc., Finals Rodeo Oct 17–20. The Finals also included a Novice and Junior Rodeo in the afternoon, a trade show plus a cabaret on Saturday night. The evening Finals also included two junior events — junior barrel racing and junior bull riding.

In 2017, Swift Current signed a multi-year contract as the home of the CCA Finals.

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2018 Canadian Cowboys Association Champions. From left: Bull Riding Champion, Chanse Switzer; Junior Steer Riding Champion, James Perrin; Bareback Champion, Monty Koopman; Saddle Bronc Champion, Coleman Watt; Ladies Barrel Racing Champion, Jordan Fitzhenry; Junior Girls Barrel Racing Champion, Logan Resch; Steer Wrestling Champion, Scott Sigfusson; Tie-Down Roping Champion, Kevin Dunham; Team Roping Header, Ian Box and Team Roping Heeler, Connor Box.

Canadian Cowboy Country December 2018/January 2019

PHOTOS COURTESY TOM REARDON AND WILDWOOD IMAGERY/CHANTELLE BOWMAN

“The best view in the world is framed by a horse’s ears,” so says Tom Reardon (and every rider I know), who was one of many cowboys working in the Cypress Hills at the 100th West Block Roundup. Those are Poncho’s ears loosely framing the ancient route to the Four Mile sorting grounds.

Adams Lake is in the background.

EMPTY SADDLES

First Run!

Darrell was a friend to and known by everyone connected to amateur and professional rodeo, from contestants to contractors, fans to trick riders, rodeo entertainers to announcers. Social media was flooded with tributes pouring in from some of the country’s biggest rodeos.

ntego Ba Mo

Where in the World is Canadian Cowboy?

maica

At the time of the accident, Darrell was heading home from the Foothills Cowboy Association (FCA) Finals.

Ja y,

A few of his innovations in the sport included asking his driver (Orville Strandquist) and outriders to wear protective helmets with the Calgary Brewing and Malting wagon beginning in 1961. Donald changed the face of chuckwagon racing forever when he introduced collapsible cardboard barrels, replacing the old steel drums that had plagued chuckwagon safety for many years.

1972–2018

–

The Canadian rodeo world was saddened by the loss of Darrell Paulovich, rodeo’s biggest fan. He passed away after a three-vehicle collision near Ponoka.

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Brewery executive, hotelier, longtime director and past president of the Calgary Exhibition & Stampede, past president of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce and the Ranchman’s Club, Donald Cross was an active supporter of chuckwagon racing.

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Darrell Paulovich

1932–2018

–

Donald Cross

Congratulations to Fern Leavens-Kornelson, who this past summer took up the sport of barrel racing.

Late in October, the horsewoman entered her first barrel racing jackpot (3D) at Raecer Arena near Sundre, Alta. She rode Corona, her 14hh bay gelding that she bought as a “project” horse to train in 2015.

Barrel racing winner, The duo made a Fern Leavens-Kornelson “money” run and won and Corona a blanket, a fancy hoof pick and $40.

“That horse of mine is the best one in the universe,” enthused Kornelson. “He didn’t know anything when I got him; he didn’t know how to neck rein, how to stop or even how to lope under a rider. But he was little, and he was a bay, so I bought him.”

In 2018, Corona turned 14 and Kornelson recently celebrated her 76th birthday.

PHOTOS COURTESY GEORGIA RYAN, FERN LEAVENS-KORNELSON, THE REMPEL FAMILY

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Judy Fleetwood

Johnny Rempel

The matriarch of Fleetwood Farm, a pre-eminent Quarter Horse breeding ranch near Champion, Alta., Judy was well-known for having a keen eye for a good horse.

Johnny was a lifelong cowboy, and after 41 years on the job, he was the longest-serving pasture manager of the massive Matador Community Pasture.

Judy travelled extensively, was heavily involved with the Champion Roping and Riding Club in Champion, led the 4-H Horse Club for many years and was involved in various community clubs and associations.

He was also a rodeo man; a bronc rider, roper and pick up man.

In 2011, he received a Working Cowboy Award at Agribition Rodeo and was awarded the first Builders of Rodeo Award by the Canadian Cowboys Association.

1946–2018

cowboycountrymagazine.com

1924–2018

Montego Bay, the capital of Saint James Parish on Jamaica’s north coast, is a major cruise ship port with many beach resorts and golf courses outside its commercial core.

White sand beaches, snorkelling and diving at coral reefs in the protected waters Simone Ca of Montego Bay rriere on the beac Marine Park are h at Montego B popular. The city ay is also home to a thriving call-centre industry, which caters to many Fortune 500 companies, such as Delta, Amazon, Netflix and many others.

Last year, Montego Bay saw nearly five million visitors, including Simone Carriere of Sundre, Alta.

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IN THE CORRAL

Astokomii is 19 years old, a Fancy Shawl dancer and is from the Siksika First Nation. She recently graduated from Siksika Outreach and received the Governor General’s Award for Highest Academics and is currently the Indigenous Liaison for the Town of Strathmore.

Astokomii’s name (which is in Blackfoot) translates to “Calling Thunder” and “Voice of Thunder.” Astokomii is also the first to bear the re-imagined title of First Nations Princess.

The Calgary Stampede is pleased to introduce Astokomii Smith, the 2019 Calgary Stampede First Nations Princess

Ranch Country Horse Sale

The high-selling saddle horse was Lot 67 All Reddy A Dot Onya, a 2009 sorrel gelding consigned by Amos Abrahamson (receiving the $2,000 High-Selling Saddle Horse bonus cheque from Lou Parsonage).

The gelding sold for $18,750 to the Jackpot Ranch near Elkwater, Alta.

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The 42nd Annual Cypress Hills Registered Horse Breeders Association hosts Canada’s longest-running production sale.

The September 15th sale attracted near-record numbers of bidders.

Fifty horses were sold — weanlings, yearlings and trained horses, and the preview was well-attended in the High Chaparral Arena of Maple Creek. Horses were shown working cattle, roping and strutting their stuff under saddle.

At the sale, Neil Darroch announced the high-end pedigrees and under the gavel of Darren Shaw, bidding was fast paced and enthusiastic.

Fifty horses in total were sold that day, consisting of 15 foals, 29 riding horses, a few broodmares and a couple of yearlings. The top 5 average was $12,200; top 10 average was $11,300 and overall average on 50 head was $5,406.50.

The high-selling foal was Lot 12, consigned by 1 Y Quarter Horses, William & Donna Beierbach, a black stallion sired by Ninety Nine Goldmine and out of the Sugars Plain Remedy mare; Shaunas Remedy. The foal sold for $6,700 and will make his new home in Minnesota with CS Performance Horses.

The high-selling riding horse of the day was Lot 58, Docz Cashn In, a classy sorrel who sold for $13,000. The gelding was consigned by Brad Osadczuk.

The 14th Annual Ranch Country Production Sale was held September 10th in Maple Creek, Sask. The previews were held in the High Chaparral Arena under smoke-filled skies and featured everything from the expected well-trained moves, to towing kids in a calf sled, to working cattle and lots and lots of roping.

There were 69 horses in all consigned to the auction — weanlings, yearlings and

trained horses. With pedigrees read by Ryan Smith of Fleetwood Farms and under the gavel of auctioneer Darren Shaw of Southern Alberta Livestock Exchange, the bidding was brisk and forthright.

The top 5 saddle horses averaged $12,950; the 21 consigned horses averaged $7,976; the foals (30 of them) averaged $902.

Next year’s Ranch Country Horse Sale goes Sat, Sep 7, 2019.

When it came to the weanlings, it was a tie for top price between Lot 35, a 2018 bay filly (held by Ken Perrin) that sold for $1,750 to the McDan Ranch near High River, and Lot 11, a dun stallion (held by Lou Parsonage) that also sold for $1,750 to Twyla Tondevold of Moose Jaw, Sask.

Canadian Cowboy Country December 2018/January 2019

PHOTOS COURTESY CALGARY STAMPEDE, CHRHB AND SHELLEY DREVER

A New Tradition for an Ancient Culture

Cypress Hills Horse Sale

WESTERN ART REVIEW | TERRI MASON PORCH READS

Trails of the West

Pow Wow Princess in the Process of Acculturation, David Bradley, 1990 Acrylic on canvas, 36" x 48"

Indian Country: The Art of David Bradley

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE C.M. RUSSELL MUSEUM AND GREG BOS PHOTOGRAPHY

David Bradley (b. 1954), Minnesota Chippewa. Bradley’s artworks are saturated with a powerful Native American voice and evocative visual descriptions of Indigenous experiences, which depict historical, social, and political truths, personal narrative, and cultural critique. In Bradley’s narratives of Indian Country, Native American people take centre stage in world art and history.

Indian Country: The Art of David Bradley contains approximately 25 paintings, six sculptures, and several personal items pertinent to his work. A 35th Annual National fully illustrated, four-color companion pubCowboy Poetry Gathering lication with 77 color images is available.

Jan 28–Feb 2, 2019 This exhibition has been organized by Poetry, music, art and all things cowboy. Alberta’s the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture / Sid Marty is a featured performer.

Laboratory of Anthropology, Santa Fe, Western Folklife Center NM and circulated through GuestCurator 501 Railroad Street Traveling Exhibitions.

Elko, Nevada C.M. Russell Museum, 400 13th St N, Great Falls, MT 59401, (406) 727-8787, cmrussell.org

There is something magical about the life of a cowboy that draws in photographers from many walks of life. Greg Bos is no different. A former Reuters staff photographer and photo editor who lives in London, England, Greg travelled the North American West during various periods from 1984 to 2017, amassing a unique archive of images of working and rodeo cowboys.

With a fascinating foreword about the origins of the cowboy, written by O’Keefe Ranch historian Ken Mather, the pages are a working cowboy time capsule with photos of the late Jake Coutlee, a young Terry Milliken, and Bud Maynard at the OH in 1995, right up to photos from 2017 of Mark Elliott and family and other Douglas Lake folks.

What I appreciate is that Bos named everyone in his photos and included a map of the ranches he visited and photographed over the past 33 years.

He included a few photos that I’ll bet the cowboys themselves wish they could have pulled from the book, but they’re raw and real — and sometimes, it’s not always pretty on the range.

That aside, it’s entertaining to browse through this book and see so many of the people that we’ve been writing about for years. Regardless of those who insist that the West is disappearing, it’s good to see that cowboys from Nevada, B.C., New Mexico, Alberta, Oregon, Arizona, Wyoming and Montana are all still out there — you just can’t see them from the road.

Order this limited-edition book directly from the author at gregbos@hotmail.com, or connect via gregbosphotography.com, Facebook, LinkedIn or Instagram. $35 CAD.

UPCOMING GALLERY SHOWS Cowgirl Up! Mar 29–May 12, 2019 Desert Caballeros Western Museum 21 North Frontier Street Wickenburg, AZ Cowgirl Up! turns the spotlight squarely on women’s voices and perspectives, serving up a new, deeper understanding of the American West. westernmuseum.org

Power Lines: The Work of Norval Morrisseau Oct 2018–Jan 2019 Wanuskewin Heritage Park RR #4, Penner Road Saskatoon, Sask.

Norval Morrisseau (1931– 2007) is considered a most influential Indigenous artist. A member of the Indian Group of Seven and the grandfather of the Woodland Art School, he influenced generations of Indigenous artists. wanuskewin.com

cowboycountrymagazine.com

Robert Archambeau — A Conversation in Clay Nov 17–Spring 2019 Winnipeg Art Gallery 300 Memorial Boulevard Winnipeg, Man. This exhibition presents over 40 ceramic pieces by Archambeau. Celebrating the 50th anniversary of Archambeau’s tenure as an instructor—now professor emeritus—at the University of Manitoba School of Art. It is an extraordinary legacy of studio excellence. wag.ca

Trails of the West; Images of the North American Cowboy; 176 pages/softcover; Photographs by Greg Bos; Foreword by Ken Mather

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SPIRIT OF THE WEST | HUGH MCLENNAN

Hugh interviewing Josh Ould. The young cowboy now makes most of his own gear, including his armitas and cuffs. His wife, Beth, (in the background) made his vest.

Josh & Beth Ould

J

osh Ould is one of today’s good, young, working cowboys.

I’ve often said that those who choose a life meeting the job description of “working cowboy” are most often individuals who could be successful in any field.

As the old hands ease into retirement, the reins are passed to enthusiastic, talented young men and women embracing the profession with pride and respect. Josh Ould and his wife, Beth, ride the wide-open short grass country around Manyberries, Alta.

Like a lot of young cowboys, Josh rides quite a few outside horses and shows them the real world of putting in a long day’s work.

Fellow Cowboy Country columnist, Bryn Thiessen, invited us to the Cowboy Trail Church Ugly Ranch Horse Competition, and Josh was there riding a nice young roan gelding. Bryn had sent the colt to Josh after he managed to put the cowboy preacher on the ground after a pretty wild ride. Thirty rides 14

later with some branding and pasture roping experience, Josh brought the colt back to the competition. After Josh swung into the saddle, the roan showed a desire to pitch, but with savvy timing and balance he lined out into a lope. When their turn came, the colt did everything he was asked — including rating, roping and holding a salty cow.

Josh’s career began at B.C.’s Douglas Lake Ranch in 2011. He credits Steve Brewer and B.C. Cowboy Hall of Famer, Jake Coutlee, with teaching him many of the skills he uses today.

Earlier this year, Josh spent two months in Mongolia working with a couple of missionary families. While there he worked in

Cattle rancher and horse trainer Hugh McLennan and his wife, Billie, run their cattle in the beautiful rangeland outside of Kamloops, B.C. Hugh is the host of the multi-award-winning weekly radio program, Spirit of the West, heard across Canada and the U.S.

Canadian Cowboy Country December 2018/January 2019

PHOTO BY BILLIE MCLENNAN

Next Generation

a feedlot about eight miles from the capitol city of Ulaanbaatar.

The horse culture still plays a large role in the lives of the nomadic people of the country, but Josh said the only time cattle were moved by horseback was when they were taken from the feedlot to the packing facility, and that was about a two-mile trip. Most of the nomadic people don’t own vehicles, says Josh, but nearly all of them have a solar-powered satellite dish and a TV set and not much else — but they do have some awareness of cowboys and horses from the programs they’ve watched. What impressed the people most about the Canadian cowboy was his hat, custom made by Vern Elliott. Hats hold important significance in Mongolian culture, says Josh, so they were shocked when they found out the price he paid.

With folks like Josh and Beth and so many others of their generation, it appears the future of this Western way of life is in good hands. C

WHEEL TO WHEEL | BILLY MELVILLE

Wendy Daniels from the Ranchman’s Cookhouse & Dancehall presents the WPCA Special Tribute Award to Neal Walgenbach

Neal Walgenbach The Stuff of Dreams

PHOTO BY PAUL AND CAROL EASTON

T

here are many stories about people whose inspiring lives prove it’s never too late to achieve your dreams. One of those people is former chuckwagon driver, Neal Walgenbach.

His father, Hally Walgenbach, was one of the greats of the game, and Ian Tyson sings about him in his iconic song, “Half a Mile of Hell.” Hally retired from the sport before Neal was able to start, but he did watch his childhood friend, the late Richard Cosgrave, burst onto the chuckwagon scene and knew it was only a matter of time before he joined his close friend in the sport. cowboycountrymagazine.com

It took 15 years, but in 1987, at 32, Neal finally drove his first race at Hobbema, but was not able to complete the race and recorded a no-time. With nowhere to go but up, the rest of the year went pretty well, and by season’s end, Neal was named the World Professional Chuckwagon Association’s Top Rookie Driver. His next taste of success would take another eight years, when

Neal finally qualified for his first GMC Rangeland Derby and received the Orville Strandquist Award as the Top Rookie Driver at the 1995 Calgary Stampede.

He enjoyed some modest success over the next few seasons, but it wasn’t until 1999 that Neal, at 42, finally won with a victory at the Medicine Hat Stampede.

Little did anyone know at the time, but that win would kick-start one of the greatest careers the sport of chuckwagon racing would ever see.

Over the next decade, Neal established himself among chuckwagon racing’s elite.

He set a new track record at the Calgary Stampede, which would never be broken.

Major victories included a championship win at the Ponoka Stampede, three wins at the Grande Prairie Stompede and two wins at the WPCA Pro Tour Championship.

He also made three consecutive trips to the GMC Rangeland Derby Championship Final, not to mention many other victories.

Neal left the WPCA Pro Tour in 2008 to compete on the Canadian Professional Chuckwagon Association (CPCA) circuit.

There he won the CPCA Championship and was the CPCA’s High Point Driver among many other successes. Following the 2009 chuckwagon season, Neal and Lorna decided to retire. He would cap his stellar career by winning the 2010 Richard Cosgrave Memorial Trophy, named in honour of his lifelong friend and symbolic of the Calgary Stampede Aggregate Champion.

Neal Walgenbach finished his career on top.

Each year at the Awards Gala, the WPCA honours a past member of the association in recognition of their outstanding achievements, dedication and contributions related to the WPCA and chuckwagon racing with their Special Tribute Award.

This year, the well-deserved honour was bestowed upon Neal Walgenbach — a truly inspirational story. C Billy Melville is an author, noted historian and chuckwagon colour commentator on Rural Radio (SiriusXM Ch 147) and CBC Sports. He is the grandson of Orville Strandquist.

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PHOTO BY DAVID KATZ/ADOBE STOCK

REFLECTIONS | BRYN THIESSEN

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Canadian Cowboy Country December 2018/January 2019

The Long Road Home There’s a mountain melody that comes a drifting, down the breeze, As I ride my pony homeward, towards my cabin in the pines Where as in those days of old, the fire’s warm, as nights are cold And there a peaceful stillness I will find.

I wrote this poem/song about 30 years ago.

There is a musical accompaniment that goes with it, and it ends with the chorus of the old hymn, Lord, I’m Coming Home. In the course of the poem, you realize the canvas these pictures are painted on are in the mind of the writer, and it ends with the words, but I can still dream.

Of a mountain melody that comes a drifting down, down the breeze As I saddle up my pony, for one last earthly ride And way down there below, where the earthly shadows grow I can see the life I left behind.

Now there are two thoughts taken from the poem that I’d like to dab a loop on and take for a ride.

The first is the idea of travelling home.

Back here on the Helmer, there has always been two major points of access. Crossing the Red Deer River (from 1948 to the flood of 2014 there was a hand-propelled cable car) or using a trail that winds in from Bergen.

The trail was a combination of old logging roads and cutlines. Add to this three creek crossings and at least eight barbed wire gates.

It took some effort to leave or come home. The condition of the trail meant we didn’t drive on it until later in the fall — sometimes not until after freeze-up. Over the years, rocks have been spread on the trail, gates were replaced

with cattle guards and the creeks received culverts. The trail is now a highway from what it was, but it’s about as smooth as a politician’s popularity. It still takes effort to get home.

For the first 35 years I was back here and unless I had to go to town or beyond, I rode to work. From 1975–’90 it was all within 10–15 miles of home. Around ’05 I started day-working farther out. Since I couldn’t ride to work, my trucks got more miles than my horses, but I still had to come home. The last six years I’ve been riding some Forestry leases on the Trunk Road, and the quickest way to work is to ride across the river — then it’s only about a 45-minute drive. If I drive from home it adds 40 miles and two hours, one way. Riding takes three to four hours.

This winter a neighbour asked me, “How long are you going to keep driving this road and living the way you do?” My reply was, it didn’t bother me, but ever since it seems just a bit more annoying. But the reward is still worth the long road home.

The other thought I cut out of the poem was the writer’s final journey. He was looking back at the life he’d left behind. This season, we celebrate the greatest journey of leaving behind. Christ left his heavenly home, so He could dwell among us. He didn’t come to earth with a flash and bang, He came on the long road of being formed and born just like us.

Philippians 2:6-8 — “Even though Christ was fully God and equal with God, He didn’t hang on to that but took the long road and became one of us. He still listened and followed God to the point that He hung and died on the cross.” (My words.)

Christ’s birth is not just the story of where He came from, it’s also about making passable the road we need to travel to reach home. It might seem rough, but the rewards are worth it. c

Bryn Thiessen is a rancher, poet, cowboy and preacher at Cowboy Trail Church in Cochrane. Bryn and his wife Bonny market grass-fattened beef from their Helmer Creek Ranch southwest of Sundre, Alta.

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PEOPLE WHO SHAPED THE WEST

John Clapperton Laird of the Nicola

By KENNETH FAVRHOLDT

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J

ohn Thomas Wilson Clapperton was one of British Columbia’s more colourful pioneers. Born in Marlborough, Ireland in 1835 of Scottish parents, he boarded a ship from Southampton, England to Victoria in 1862 alongside many adventurous argonauts, who were heading to the Fraser River and onward to the Cariboo goldfields. After four years, he didn’t find gold and, like many others, decided to look for another way of making a living. Clapperton, thirty-three years old, chose to raise stock in the Nicola Valley.

Beginning with the gold rush, the Nicola Valley had been used as a grazing area by cattle and pack train drivers. It was a fertile setting for newcomers to the province like Clapperton. His brother George soon followed him.

Shortly after settling in the Nicola Valley in 1868, Clapperton took up sheep ranching and also became a government agent. The first post office in the Nicola Valley opened in 1872 at John Clapperton’s home near

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Nicola Lake. Over the years, Clapperton held many government titles, including Collector of Voters and Coroner in 1874 and Collector of Road and Land Taxes. He became known as “Laird of the Nicola.”

One of the most legendary tales of the Nicola Valley involving Clapperton is the story of the McLean gang and their exploits.

Archie, Charley and Allen, the oldest sons of former HBC fur trader Donald McLean, along with their friend Alex Hare, gained

notoriety in the Kamloops area where they stole horses and spent time in jail.

Their troubles came to a climax in December 1879 when the McLeans killed rancher and constable John Tannatt Ussher, who was tracking them south of Kamloops. The boys then murdered a shepherd named James Kelly, who had formerly worked for Clapperton.

The gang proceeded to Douglas Lake with the horses and guns they stole along the way and then holed up in a cabin belonging to the tribe of Chillihitza, the chief of the local Okanagan band.

Clapperton got the news on December 10 and called for assistance.

Clapperton organized the men from Kamloops and Nicola and placed watches surrounding the cabin. In his report of the incident, dated December 15, 1879, to the Attorney General of B.C., G. A. Walkem, Clapperton wrote: “I had an idea that the desperadoes had committed suicide or escaped, as from the time I got to Douglas Lake till noon the next day I could not (with the aid of a good glass) see a sign of life in the house. … before anything was done by way of burning or storming the fortress, I determined to first be sure the party we wanted were inside.

To effect this, I asked Chief Chillihitza’s son … if he would take a white flag in his hand, and a message from me to McLean Bros. in case they were still in the house and felt like talking. I at once wrote: ‘McLean Brothers and Alex Hare will you surrender quietly? If so send in your arms, and I guarantee you personal safety.

No surrender and we burn the house over your heads.

Jno. Clapperton J.P.’” Clapperton received this answer: “Mr Clapperton Sir The boys say they will not surrender, and so you can burn the house a thousand times over.

Alexr J. Hare.”

The posse decided to try to burn the house by rolling together large bundles of hay saturated with coal oil. But the hay was too wet, and it was snowing, so the scheme was abandoned.

Finally, another attempt was made to ask the gang to surrender — and they did. The boys came outside and surrendered their

Canadian Cowboy Country December 2018/January 2019

PHOTOS COURTESY NICOLA VALLEY MUSEUM AND ARCHIVES

TRAILBLAZERS

LEFT: Standing, far right, is George McLean, father of the infamous outlaw brothers. The other three men in this photo are no relation.

ABOVE: Alexander Hare in shackles at the penitentiary in New Westminster, ca. 1879

firearms, consisting of six heavy revolvers, four single-shot guns, two double shotguns and one unloaded rifle. John Edwards, the J.P. from Kamloops, handcuffed them, and they were conveyed by Edwards and 40 men to Kamloops.

This concluded Clapperton’s role in the affair, except for his thanks to the people involved in the arrest, including Chief Chillihitza and his son, Saliesta, who delivered the first message; the Douglas Lake ladies, who provided food for the crowd of people, as did the Chinese restaurant

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(probably the first recorded “take-out” in B.C.); and the settlers of Nicola.

The government decided to reimburse those who assisted with a total of $1,000, the amount of the reward for the capture of the gang. As for the McLean boys and Hare, they were sent to the penitentiary in New Westminster, tried (twice) and then hanged on January 31, 1881.

Clapperton went on to become “one of the most popular men on the mainland and his wife a well-known and highly respected young lady.” John and Rose were married

in October 1883 at St. Mary’s Church in Sapperton (now New Westminster). They had no children. In 1903, Clapperton leased his land at Nicola, and the couple moved to Victoria.

While enjoying a visit to the area in 1913, the “Laird of the Nicola” passed away in Merritt. He is buried alongside his wife, Rose, in a small cemetery at the foot of Nicola Lake. c

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HOMES OF THE WEST

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Canadian Cowboy Country December 2018/January 2019

rolling hills

HOME dale & lacey pfahl Story and Photos by DOROTHY LETHBRIDGE

The wide veranda and sprawling wooden walkway stairs with their horseshoe-hung pole railings welcome visitors to Dale and Lacey Pfahl’s home in Rolling Hills, Alta.

It’s obvious that these ranchers are lovers of horses and Western art. Their home is not only a museum of original art and antiques, it is also reflected in the Western clothing they wear.

Dale is a silversmith of exceptional talent; he made their horse bits and saddle conchos with silver touches on the tack of their long line of breeding horses.

These horses carry the heritage of the past, as they are grandsons to the bloodline of Uncle Ivan Pfahl through his faithful stud, Yo Paragon, whose photo is displayed above the antique saddle in the front entry. c

The Pfahl home is a treasure trove of Western Canadian art and craftsmanship. Over the fireplace mantel is Calgary artist Jennifer Mack’s oil of a red horse, entitled, Song. On the mantel is Medicine Hat, Alta., sculptor Jim Hauser’s bronze, On The Receiving End. Ensconced on the couch is the unique watercolour artwork-turned-pillow of Medicine Hat’s Gena LaCoste, and the leather pillow was crafted by Rolling Hills artist, Susan Gutfriend, who also participated in the tiling of the floors. The horsehair hitched bridle hanging on the side of the fireplace was a gift from Uncle Ivan Pfahl.

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HOMES OF THE WEST 1

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Canadian Cowboy Country December 2018/January 2019

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1. Beneath the decorated vintage rifle hangs the oil painting The Henry, by James Reynolds, which was a gift from Treva Olson for teaching her son. On the far left above the closet doors is an oil by the late Penny Volk, Alberta Signatory artist from Rolling Hills called Calgary Stampede Horses.

2. Gail Sapergia from Hays, Alta., painted the Aboriginal depictions on both the lamp shade and the plate above the kitchen cupboard; hanging above the square-skirted saddle is a photo of the family’s long-time breeding stud, Yo Paragon.

3. Dale’s hat was made by Vern Elliott of Nanton’s Gold Spring Custom Hats; his saddle was made by Scott Sapergia from Hays, Alta.

Dale made the centre silver concho on the bridle. Lacey’s brown and turquoise twisted fringe chaps were made by Chance Pollock of Maple Creek, Sask., and her horse’s bridle was made by Ted Nakamura of Coaldale, Alta.

4. Distressed nightstand and pine bedroom set 5. Gifts from their Uncle Ivan Pfahl include the bronze statue, and the horsehair bridle on the fireplace — visible on page 20.

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COWBOY WAY Here we have bridled the horse with the halter on. As you can see, we have a hold of the horse’s head to help keep control in case he wants to take his head away.

SLICK & SIMPLE

Looking Good Handy Halter Tip

By JOHN TILLEY

Sometimes the best way to help a young horse or an older horse that is difficult to bridle is to leave the halter on while you bridle the horse. Leaving the halter on allows you to keep better control of the horse’s head by being able to hold onto the side of the halter. When you have a hold of the side of the halter, you can tip the horse’s nose and head back towards yourself when the horse is trying to take its head away.

In this helpful hint, we will show you how to take the halter off your horse once your bridle is on. In doing this, you can use the halter to help you get bridled, but you don’t have to ride with your halter under your headstall. In cowboy circles, riding with your halter underneath your headstall is not common practise — it just doesn’t look right! c 24

Canadian Cowboy Country December 2018/January 2019

TOP: Here we have taken the halter off the horse’s nose and have begun to take it off by going through his mouth and over the bit.

BOTTOM LEFT: Here we are helping guide the noseband of the halter over top and around the snaffle bit.

BOTTOM CENTER: Once you have helped the halter go over the bit, then you come out under the bit as we have demonstrated here.

We are careful that the bit doesn’t hang up on the ring on the off side.

PHOTOS COURTESY JAMIE TILLEY

BOTTOM RIGHT: Here the halter is slipping out of the horse’s mouth. If you needed to put the halter back on to unbridle your horse, you would follow these steps in reverse order. This is just a helpful way to support a horse that might be a little unsure with the bridling process.

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— Coyote, Bob and Dixie —

Coyote Christmas hall of famer’s ranch retirement

By TOM REARDON

B

ob and Dixie Black used to run a band of bucking horse mares on their ranch in the Cypress Hills near Maple Creek, Sask. Their best-known colt was born in 1978. He was sold as a three-year-old to Bar T Rodeo Company of McCord, Sask., and owned by the late Jerry Myers along with Don and Brenda Peterson.

They called him Coyote.

In 1984, Steve Dunham won the $50,000 prize at the Calgary Stampede with Coyote as his dance partner. In 1985, the top bareback riders in the country voted him Canadian Champion Bareback Horse.

As he grew bigger and stronger, the bay gelding was moved to the saddle bronc herd. He was always an honest, consistent, money horse and was chosen several times to buck at the Canadian Finals Rodeo in Edmonton, Alta., and the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas.

Nothing changes faster than rodeo, and in 1995, Coyote was included in a package of broncs that were sold to Mike Cervi of Sterling, Colorado.

Enter CFR bronc rider Dan Black, son of Bob and Dixie. After some rodeos down south, he told his dad that he had seen Coyote down there. Bob casually mentioned it would be nice if the old boy could retire and come back to the hills.

Dan remembered that sentiment, and the next winter he inquired about buying the old horse when his rodeo days were done. He was told he could have him in a year or two.

Later, Dan heard that Coyote had died and told his folks just that. When he found out the rumour was false, he never updated them.

Time marches on, and like people, horses get old. Dan got the call that Coyote’s rodeo career was over, and he started the ball rolling, while being careful to keep his secret from his folks.

He phoned then Calgary Stampede manager and four-time Canadian Champion Bareback Rider, Robin Burwash. Dan knew they would be taking stock to Las Vegas for the NFR and asked if he could get a ride back for the old veteran.

“You bet that good old horse can have a ride,” Robin replied. “He was mighty nice to me throughout my career.”

Dan then phoned Colorado and made arrangements to have the old campaigner brought to the City of Lights, not to be bucked — but to be trucked — back to Canada.

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Canadian Cowboy Country December 2018/January 2019

The Stampede’s trucker and flank-man, Ken “Goose” Rehill, delivered the retiree to the Stampede Ranch near Hanna, Alta., on December 23, 2002.

The same day, not wanting to tip his hand by leaving home pulling a trailer, Dan told his folks he had some last-minute shopping to do, but instead hooked ’er for Hanna with a borrowed trailer. On the return trip, he stopped at a neighbour’s and unloaded the old outlaw so he could hide out until the big day.

Christmas Day, Dan brought his gift home. He unloaded his four-legged present in the barn and went to the house to tell Bob and Dixie they had to come and see what Santa had brought for them.

Later, Dan heard that Coyote had died and told his folks just that.

As they arrived at the corral, Dan said, “Here’s your present; I hope you like it,” and slid the door open. As quick as the old bronc was outside, Bob recognized him and bellered, “I thought he was dead, you told me he was dead!”

“For goodness sakes, it’s Coyote,” Dixie chimed in.

“I thought he was dead,” Bob repeated. Fighting back the tears he continued, “What a wonderful present.”

Dixie’s cheeks were moist as she said, “Dan always wanted to draw him, but this is even better.” After Bob put some oats out, everyone went to the house and told and retold Coyote stories over Christmas dinner.

Later that evening on the way to his house, Dan detoured by the corral and threw Coyote a few more forkfuls of fresh hay. “They don’t ask for much,” he said.

After 22 years on the rodeo trail, helping cowboys win thousands of dollars and with countless miles behind him, Coyote had come full circle — but his story doesn’t end there.

The next day, to everyone’s surprise, when the Blacks opened the gate, the bay boiled out and ran right past the saddle horses and never stopped until he found a herd of cows. He stayed with them all winter, and when calving season rolled around, he went to babysitting. Dixie tells of the old bronc with a bunch of calves around him, sometimes just lying there soaking up the sun and other times running and bucking with joy. If a newborn came bunting around Coyote’s legs, he would gently nudge them aside with his leg.

The Blacks volunteered to bring the old campaigner to town for the annual Cowtown Rodeo at the end of May. It was billed as “Coyote’s Retirement Party,” so the honoree had to be cleaned up for the occasion. Dan and Bob put the old boy in the calving chute and combed the burrs from his mane and tail. The Petersons brought their memorabilia, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the crowd as the fat and sassy old bronc pranced around the arena with his head held high and his tail arched. Dan said, “Every spring I’d put him in that chute to worm him, and when I turned him out, he’d hit that same gait. He was a proud old horse.” In 2004, Coyote was inducted into the Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame.

With affection Bob recalls, “I lost track of how many times I cussed him, because every time we moved cows he’d be running interference for the beef. Come branding time, we’d have to chase him out of the gate, so the cows could come in.”

By the fall of 2010 the bronc-turned-babysitter was showing his age. Bob had a contractor with a backhoe come to clean some cattleguards. Before he left, Bob asked him to dig a horsesized grave beside the big boulder at the top of the hill.

Two days later, while Bob was helping a neighbour, Dixie found Coyote. After a Hall of Fame rodeo career and a glorious retirement, he’d cashed in at 32 years of age. Dixie didn’t want scavengers dining on the pet she’d never touched, so ranch wife that she is, she buried him. The boulder was in place when Bob got home.

That boulder sits high on a windswept hill, overlooking the ranch buildings and the sweeping vista of the Battle Creek Valley. Its weathered surface is a memorial to one of Canada’s greatest broncs, and to a ranch family that changed Christmas to “the day Coyote came home.” c

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“All those really big American songwriters, like Guy Clark, Jerry Jeff Walker and all of them from that era, know who Ian is, and they put him up really high on a songwriting pedestal and also a vocal pedestal for how well he could sing.”

— Tim and Jeff Bradshaw

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Canadian Cowboy Country December 2018/January 2019

Ian Tyson The Charlie Russell of Cowboy Music

By BILL BORGWARDT

T

PHOTOS COURTESY STONY PLAIN RECORDS

here are lots of articles written about Ian Tyson, the man and his life, but little has been said about the influence he has had on those he worked with, the music industry and the cowboy culture.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, Montana artist Charlie Russell took a palette of vivid paint colours and used them to present captivating images of a vanishing Western lifestyle. Ian Tyson uses a palette of words and musical chords to create a vision of the history and rapidly changing lives of the modern-day cowboy.

In early 2018, the Association of Country Music in Alberta inducted Ian Tyson into the Alberta Country Music Hall of Fame.

During his induction speech Tyson said, “Country music has been a long and arduous, but fun, journey. I think the first country song I heard was Roy Acuff singing “Wreck On The Highway.” It was real spooky. I think I was five years old. There cowboycountrymagazine.com

was blood and twisted metal… all good things in the old country vein. I could really respond to it; it was great.”

The imagery of the song left an impression so lasting that he was able to recall it 80 years later. Perhaps that’s why he writes and records songs that draw the listener in to the point where they can visualize what he is singing about. This is something he has done consistently at the highest level for six decades, and he is still writing.

Ian Tyson has always been known and respected as a hard-working professional, who gives his all in everything that he does — be it writing amazing songs, giving spellbinding concerts or living the cowboy life.

For those who share that work ethic and who were lucky enough to become a member of his band, it has yielded a lifelong career in the music business. Having Ian Tyson’s name on your resume is one of the highest honours a musician can have.

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Holger Petersen

What musicians say about working with Ian Tyson…

Gord Matthews Guitar player Gord Matthews was originally hired by Tyson to play five or six dates. This led to 10 years playing with him on the road, first as part of a full band and later as a trio consisting of Ian, Gord Maxwell and himself.

“Over that 10-year period, especially when there were just the three of us on the road, I have a wealth of memories. We usually travelled in a van with me driving, Maxwell in the navigator’s seat, and Tyson in the back seat. As we travelled, especially in the southwestern U.S., Ian would regale us with stories of the colourful characters who had lived there and the history of the early Spanish missions and other sites that we passed by. It was like being in a living documentary with Ian narrating. Time would just fly by. Ian is an avid scholar of Western and cowboy history and has a large collection of rare books on the subject, which he often refers to when writing the history-based cowboy songs that he is famous for. One night when we stopped at a small ’60s style motel on the way to Phoenix, Ian and Gord were strumming guitars when I looked out the window to see a hillside of cactus with vultures flying in a circle above. I thought, ‘You can’t get any more Western than this.’ I just loved it and can still see it. I like a lot of different types of music, but it’s not too often you get to play music of that quality in any genre, and Ian’s was of the highest quality.”

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Holger Petersen of Stony Plain Records has been involved professionally with Ian Tyson since 1985.

“Ian asked me if I’d be interested in releasing a final album for him, one just for his cowboy audience. He wanted to call that album Cowboyography. The album hit right at the time of the cowboy renaissance and became a huge hit, reaching platinum sales status and solidifying Ian as the greatest cowboy musical artist ever. The success of Stony Plain Records is largely due to Ian Tyson. He put my label solidly on the map, and I learned so much about the industry from him. It certainly didn’t turn out to be his last album, and all his subsequent 12 albums have been on our label.

No matter where I travel I find that everyone knows Ian Tyson. Once in Australia, I was invited by an Australian record executive to a barbecue at his working cowboy ranch. When he introduced me to his cowhands as ‘the man who worked with Ian Tyson,’ all the cowboys were excited to ask questions, and I learned that every one of them were huge fans of his work.”

When Holger Petersen and Peter North produced The Gift, A Tribute To Ian Tyson, in 2007, they found that everyone they asked was honoured and eager to cover a Tyson song. The result was a 15-song album of different artists putting their spin on an Ian Tyson classic.

“Ian has had a great influence on the Texas music scene too,” continues Petersen.

“Songwriters like Townes Van Zandt and Warren Zevon were great fans of his. When he went to Nashville he influenced a lot of people there. Did you know that Ian was responsible for the success of Gordon Lightfoot? Ian advocated for him to his New York management, Albert Grossman, and a deal was struck. Ian shared many experiences with Bob Dylan in Greenwich Village, New York, in his early folk days, and Dylan has recorded a couple of Ian’s songs on his boxset album...” The stories go on and on. “Ian is one of the hardest working professionals I know, and his standards are incredibly high.”

Corb Lund “Ian Tyson taught me that it’s OK to sing about your own region, especially if you incorporate the Rockies,” says Corb Lund. “I first met Ian when I was performing on The Gift tribute show in Calgary. Ian approached me and said he had been listening to my Five Dollar Bill album and liked what I was doing. Since then we have become good buddies. Not only has he mentored me as a writer, but he has also opened many industry doors for me, including introducing me to the cowboy culture in Elko, Nevada. He has allowed me to understand where my own background and culture came from.

Ian sang with me on my recording of “The Rodeo’s Over” and has been very publicly supportive of what I am doing. We have done many shows together both in Canada and the U.S. Ian is a legend all over the Western states. His endorsement has really helped my career. Even last night I was doing a show in Texas and someone asked for an Ian Tyson song.”

Eli Barsi “I’ve been a fan of Ian’s right back to the powerhouse duo, Ian & Sylvia,” states cowgirl singer Eli Barsi. “His writing is so vivid, and he paints pictures with every single line, so you see the story unfolding in the song. I try to base my own writing on Ian’s style. I first met Ian when I was singing “Four Strong Winds” at a Calgary Stampede event at the OH Ranch. Ian walked by and said, “Great song.” Later on, during a break he graciously invited me to join him at his picnic table and surprised me by agreeing to join me in a song. I have met him many times at various cowboy festivals all over the U.S. He is a huge draw there and has always cheered me on. Whenever I sing “Four Strong Winds” internationally, everyone knows it.”

Canadian Cowboy Country December 2018/January 2019

Myron Szott Fiddler Myron Szott reminisced, “I was working with Wayne Vold at Ranchman’s in Calgary around 1980 when I first met Ian. When Ian hosted the CFRN Edmonton television series, Sun Country, from 1982 to 1987, he asked me to play fiddle on the show. That led to working in the studio on his ground-breaking album, Cowboyography. Since I had done so much with Ian already, Ian told me I might as well be part of his travelling band, a job which lasted six or more years.” This cemented Myron’s legacy as a fiddler, and he has never been without work since.

Ivan Daines Rodeo cowboy and singer Ivan Daines first saw Ian & Sylvia perform in Ponoka when he was a young teenager. “I first met him when Marty Woods and I were riding at the Fort Worth Rodeo. I think Ian was there in a cutting horse competition at the time. I’ve listened to his music since I was very young.

He’s got a great way of writing and a great way of bringing a song around. I don’t think there’s anyone like him in the world,” Ivan stated. “In my opinion, Ian is the greatest singer and songwriter I’ve ever known.”

Editor Terri Mason summed it up well for me stating, “Ian has been able to live his art and he has always ridden his own horse.”

And he has done it all very well. Ian has constantly been able to alter his songs to meet modern tastes and a changing voice — and Ian Tyson stands alongside Charlie Russell, both revered in the cowboy world. c

Four Strong Winds There is a reason everyone knows “Four Strong Winds.”

Unbelievably, it was the first song Ian ever composed back in 1961. In 2005, CBC Radio One listeners chose this song as the greatest Canadian song of all time.

“The song has been recorded more than three dozen times by other artists,” according to Larry Delaney, Canadian country music historian and publisher of Country Music News for 36 years. “Both Bobby Bare and Neil Young had big hits with it in the U.S. and it’s become a national classic, but “Someday Soon” has had more actual chart action because it was recorded by more Nashville artists, including Suzy Boggus and Moe Bandy.” When Emmylou Harris and Steve Earle played concerts in the Calgary Saddledome in recent years, both ended their concert with “Four Strong Winds,” and the song is always performed as the finale at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival.

For the full list of Ian Tyson’s music, books and DVDs, visit his official website at iantyson.com

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HOLIDAY SEASON GIFT GUIDE

Christmas Delights The Best from the West

Yellow Horse Studio

Brown Creek Wild Rags Custom-made on the ranch near Claresholm, Alta., these 100 per cent silk wild rags look fantastic in colours ranging from vibrant to quiet, patterned to plain and vintage to modern design. browncreekwildrags.com

Artist Sue Wiberg of Sundre brought a large representation of her unique art from her Yellow Horse Studio. For the absolute in Western dÊcor, add one of these gorgeously decorated skulls — she uses a variety of skulls, including horned Hereford and Longhorn.

Facebook: Yellow Horse Studio Mi Vida Loca (My Crazy Life) Design has been burned into the bone using fine wire tipped pen tools

Silver Stetson Gallery Silver Stetson Gallery of Okotoks specializes in custom one-of-a-kind Western furniture. This original sideboard features hand-braided and hitched horsehair on the door, drawer panels and trim; handtooled leather top, cowhide side panels and carved horse-leg pillars. silverstetsongallery.com

Prairie Rose Custom Leather and Beadwork Becky creates original leatherwork and often incorporates beading with stunning results.

Hand beaded and backstitched cuff in a turquoise and bronze Southwestern inspired design.

Facebook: Prairie Rose Custom Leather and Beading

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For more great gift ideas please visit cowboycountrymagazine.com 32

Canadian Cowboy Country December 2018/January 2019

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PHOTO BY BILLIE-JEAN DUFF

WACEY SHINES ON CHROME

Wacey Finkbeiner making eight on Outlaw Buckers 69 Brahma Boots Chrome with a score of 87.75-pts at the 45th annual Canadian Finals Rodeo. The central Alberta city of Red Deer signed a multi-year deal with the CPRA to host the CFR.

RODEOCANADA.COM cowboycountrymagazine.com

CANADIAN COWBOY COUNTRY DECEMBER 2018/JANUARY 2019 35

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Canadian Cowboy Country December 2018/January 2019

C.P.R.A.

The New Maple Leaf Circuit

President's Message

PHOTO COURTESY CPRA

We just enjoyed a spectacular first edition of the CFR at Westerner Park in Red Deer, which saw $1.65-million paid out to rodeo athletes. The CPRA Board of Directors, management and staff, extend congratulations to all our 2018 Champions — both two-legged and four-legged. And special thanks to everyone who made this CFR so memorable.

CFR ’45 was characterized by innovative openings, amazing crowds and excellent production and included the first-ever Junior CFR Rising Stars youth rodeo. Included in the history that was made at the 2018 Finals, fans enjoyed seeing barrel racer Callahan Crossley establish two new earnings records. They also applauded bull rider Scott Schiffner, who extended his record in making his 18th (and final) CFR appearance; Curtis Cassidy, who competed for the 19th time in the steer wrestling — another new record — and the first-ever set of three brothers qualifying for the CFR in three different events (Tyrel in Saddle Bronc, Orin in Bareback and Kane Larsen in Bull Riding). In addition to CPRA and Westerner Park event coverage, we were excited to see significant print, electronic and digital media reporting of the Canadian Finals Rodeo.

All of us, as Canadians and CPRA members, wish the six competitors who will be representing our country at the 2018 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo a successful World Final.

Congratulations as well to Canadian stock contractors who, between them, are taking 50 horses and bulls over to the Thomas & Mack Arena in Las Vegas.

As we look back on a successful 2018, we extend a heartfelt “thank you” to our sponsors, our fans, our rodeo committees and their volunteers. All of you are valued more than you know, and we look forward to having you as part of our 2019 season.

Finally, I wish everyone a happy and rewarding year ahead. See all of you on the rodeo trail.

The PRCA and Canadian Professional Rodeo Association have partnered to create the Maple Leaf Circuit, which will join the list of existing sanctioned PRCA circuits.

“The creation of the Maple Leaf Circuit is a significant step toward our goal of unifying the sport of professional rodeo, while increasing the opportunities for our members,” said PRCA CEO, George Taylor.

CPRA rodeo competitors will be able to enter a select number of CPRA rodeos throughout the 2019 rodeo season and earn Maple Leaf Circuit points.

General Manager for the CPRA, Jeff Robson, sees the new agreement as an opportunity to strengthen Canadian rodeo in several key areas.

“Both of our organizations are committed to attracting new members and creating avenues for new and existing members to make more money. This agreement solidifies the role of the CPRA and PRCA as industry leaders in and out of the arena,” Robson noted.

The event champions and season leaders of the Maple Leaf Circuit will qualify for the RAM National Circuit Finals Rodeo in Kissimmee, Fla., starting in April 2020.

Terry Cooke, President, CPRA

cowboycountrymagazine.com

37

Pro Rodeo Canada Insider

The Short Round

By TERRI MASON

Gary Rempel riding Herbie, one of his many pick up horses at CFR45

ON THE MEND

38

Jason and Jeff Resch pulling the flank off a Duffy saddle bronc, 10 Bootilear at CFR45

PHOTOS BY BILLIE-JEAN DUFF

At the CFR in Red Deer, Gary Rempel, the most famous pick up man in the world, was seriously injured when a Calgary Stampede stud kicked out after Rempel escorted the bronc through the out gate.

The bronc’s hoof struck at the exact angle needed to cut through the heavy bull hide chaps and the shin pads to cut his skin and break his leg. Sport Medicine got Gary to the hospital where the surgeon operated on him at 4 a.m., inserting a pin into his leg.

Tyler Kraft, Calgary Stampede Ranch manager and a pick up man himself, geared up and finished the rest of the perf alongside Jason Resch.

Jason’s twin brother and fellow pick up man, Jeff, received the call from the CPRA late that night to come and fill in for Gary in the arena.

“I had turned my horses out for the winter and hadn’t ridden them for a few weeks, so they were pretty fresh,” laughs Jeff. “They did really well though.”

The twin brothers picked up for the rest of the Finals without incident. Each of the brothers has been voted in by contestants to pick up at the CFR many times before.

“I was in the arena and didn’t see what happened,” says Jason. “I went to see Gary the next morning, and we discussed it. It was a bad luck deal.”

After the CFR perf, Ken “Goose” Rehill loaded up Gary’s horses and took them to the Calgary Stampede Ranch, where they were looked after for the rest of the week.

After the CFR was over, the “Men of the CS” rounded up a newly cast Gary from Red Deer, Gary’s horses and trailer from Hanna, his freshly repaired truck from High River (it had broken down near there on the way up), got everything squared away and delivered Gary and his outfit to his home near Fort Shaw, Montana.

“Gary is a legend,” says Jason. “It’s outstanding what he has done for picking up, and it’s quite a deal to pick up with him. I hope he’ll have a speedy recovery and be back in the saddle where he belongs.”

Canadian Cowboy Country December 2018/January 2019

C.P.R.A.

Dawson Hay

Brendan Laye

COPEMAN RETIRES I would like to thank all who reached out to me with thoughts and prayers after the notice of my illness was posted on Facebook.

I am sorry that I was not able to reply to all you well-wishers on an individual basis, and I hope you can accept my heartfelt thanks for your kind remarks and prayers in this short note. I can tell you that you all lifted my spirits, and it helped with my recovery after my final surgery.

After a tough year with illnesses in 2018, I have decided to retire from rodeo photography. It was a difficult decision to make, as rodeo and rodeo photography have been a huge part of my life for 30 years. I know I will miss being out there in the arena with all of you, but I have to accept that I am not able to continue my work.

I have been dealing with two types of skin cancer. The first cancer was

diagnosed in February and treated successfully in March/April of this year.

The second cancer was discovered in a routine doctor visit during the time I was being treated for problems with both hands, which kept me out of the arena after the Leduc rodeo. This cancer is being treated on an ongoing basis and is being managed. The prognosis looks promising and hopeful.

Thank you all for the many years of great memories and thank you for your support. Wishing you all the best in your rodeo careers and happiness in your lives.

Cheers, Mike Mike Copeman Photography

PHOTOS BY MIKE COPEMAN; PHOTO COURTESY CHRIS BOLIN PHOTOGRAPHY

HAY — LAYE EARN PRCA AWARDS The PRCA announced the Rookie of the Year Awards, and two of the winners are homegrown Canadians from well-known rodeo families.

Congratulations to Brendan Laye, who is the 2018 Steer Wrestling Rookie of the Year with $30,767. Although the 28-year-old cowboy is new to the PRCA scene, this Consort, Alta., steer wrestler competed for several years in the Great White North.

“To finally go down there and have some success is a pretty cool experience for me,” Laye said.

Congratulations also to Dawson Hay, who is the 2018 Saddle Bronc Riding Rookie of the Year. The 20-year-old Wildwood, Alta., cowboy won $39,605.

“It means a lot for sure because that was definitely my goal because my dad (Rod Hay) was the Rookie of the Year in 1989,” Hay said.

cowboycountrymagazine.com

39

Pro Rodeo Canada Insider

2019 TENTATIVE SCHEDULE NOVEMBER 2018

REGINA, SK Agribition

JANUARY 2019

RED DEER, AB * (BR)

FEBRUARY 2019

CLARESHOLM, AB * (BR)

APRIL 2019

MEDICINE HAT, AB OLDS, AB * (BR) pending TOFIELD, AB * (BR) CAMROSE, AB COLEMAN, AB

MAY 2019

DRAYTON VALLEY, AB STAVELY, AB INNISFAIL, AB * (BR) FALKLAND, BC GRANDE PRAIRIE, AB LEDUC, AB

JUNE 2019

WILDWOOD, AB * (SB) HAND HILLS, AB LEA PARK, AB ROCKY MOUNTAIN HOUSE, AB BROOKS, AB INNISFAIL, AB WAINWRIGHT, AB SUNDRE, AB HIGH RIVER, AB PONOKA, AB WILLIAMS LAKE, BC AIRDRIE, AB

NOVEMBER 21–24 JANUARY 12 FEBRUARY 23 APRIL 5–7 APRIL 12 APRIL 13 APRIL 26–28 APRIL 26–28 MAY 3–5 MAY 9–11 MAY 11 MAY 18–20 MAY 29–JUNE 2 MAY 30–JUNE 2 JUNE 1 JUNE 1–2 JUNE 7–9 JUNE 7–9 JUNE 7–8 JUNE 14–16 JUNE 20–23 JUNE 21–23 JUNE 21–23 JUNE 25–JULY 1 JUNE 28–JULY 1 JUNE 27–JULY 1

JULY 2019

BENALTO, AB CORONATION, AB TABER, AB pending TEEPEE CREEK, AB OYEN, AB * (BR) EDMONTON, AB MORRIS, MB KENNEDY, SK POLLOCKVILLE, AB * (SB) BOWDEN, AB * (BB) MEDICINE HAT, AB BONNYVILLE, AB BRUCE, AB HIGH PRAIRIE, AB

AUGUST 2019

STRATHMORE, AB GRIMSHAW, AB CAMROSE, AB * (BR) pending LA CRETE, AB DAWSON CREEK, BC JASPER, AB PINCHER CREEK, AB CRANBROOK, BC SMITHERS, BC OKOTOKS, AB ARMSTRONG, BC

SEPTEMBER 2019

ARMSTRONG, BC Finals MERRITT, BC MEDICINE LODGE, AB OLDS, AB BROOKS, AB HANNA, AB CALGARY, AB Grass Roots Final

OCTOBER 2019

RED DEER, AB Canadian Finals Rodeo

JULY 5–7 JULY 5–6 JULY 5–6 JULY 12–14 JULY 17 JULY 19–21 JULY 18–21 JULY 20–21 JULY 27 JULY 27 JULY 25–27 JULY 26–27 JULY 28 JULY 30–31 AUGUST 2–5 AUGUST 3–4 AUGUST 1–4 AUGUST 6–7 AUGUST 9–11 AUGUST 7–10 AUGUST 16–18 AUGUST 16–18 AUGUST 22 AUGUST 23–25 AUGUST 28–31 SEPTEMBER 1 AUGUST 31–SEPTEMBER 1 SEPTEMBER 7 SEPTEMBER 13–14 SEPTEMBER 20–21 SEPTEMBER 27–29 SEPTEMBER 26–27 OCTOBER 29–NOVEMBER 3

CANADIAN PRO TOUR RODEOS * REFERS TO SPECIAL EVENTS ALL DATES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE. PLEASE VISIT RODEOCANADA.COM FOR UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION.

40

Canadian Cowboy Country December 2018/January 2019

One small crack does not mean you are broken; it means you were put to the test and you did not fall apart.

– Linda Poindexter

The outpouring of care & concern shown to me by so many when I was injured at the CFR was truly humbling.

I owe special thanks to the CPRA Board, the Canadian Pro Rodeo Sports Medicine Team, the doctors & nurses at Red Deer Regional Hospital, my Calgary Stampede “family,” Bob & Maki Baird, Jim & Karry Kelts, and so many more. Jody & I are moved by your kindness, generosity, and all of the calls & messages. We are so very grateful to you. My leg is on the mend, and I look forward to getting back in the saddle soon.

Gary Rempel

Congratulations!

We extend our sincere congratulations to Westerner Park, Red Deer & District Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association on the successful and exciting 45th annual Canadian Finals Rodeo!

$1.65 Million in Prize Money Two CFR Records Set First-Ever Junior CFR See you all again Oct 29–Nov 3, 2019!

Canadian Cowboy Country

cowboycountrymagazine.com

41

Pro Rodeo Canada Insider

CFR45 DRAMATIC CHAMPIONSHIP SUNDAY

By BARB POULSEN

For Scott Guenthner, it came down to one run.

As the steer wrestler backed into the box for his final run of CFR45, he knew what he had to do. The Provost, Alta., cowboy didn’t have to win the round but needed to place to hold his spot in the aggregate and take home his first Canadian Championship.

And that’s exactly what he did.

The five-time CFR qualifier posted a 3.6-second run to split second and third place in the round for $6,480 and held on to fourth place in the average for another $7,695. His total season earnings of $69,899 left him comfortably ahead of Aggregate Champion, Stephen Culling.

“I’m riding Tyson, Curtis Cassidy’s horse; he is the Steer Wrestling Horse of the Year.

When things weren’t going well early in the week, I decided to go to the best horse in Canada... and it worked.”

42

While the win is Guenthner’s first, it’s not the first for the family. His dad, Ken, captured the title 37 years earlier in 1981.

Saddle Bronc

ABOVE: Scott Guenthner, 2018 Canadian Steer Wrestling Champion RIGHT: Shane Hanchey on Logan Bird’s great horse, TJ about to ride into the box and win the 2018 Canadian Tie-Down Championship for the third time

One of the tightest races was in the saddle bronc riding, where Nanton, Alta’s Clay Elliott was able to hold off the late charge of 2016 World Champion, Zeke Thurston, for the win. Elliott had to ride two horses, as his first mount resulted in a re-ride. The 2016 Canadian Champion climbed aboard C5 Rodeo’s High Valley, a horse he was familiar with, having ridden the seven-year-old bay

gelding to 87 points to win Edmonton’s K-Days Rodeo back in July. This time, he scored 86.25 points, giving Elliott second place in the round, as well as second in the aggregate for a $9,000 margin of victory over Thurston. This is Elliott’s second

Canadian Cowboy Country December 2018/January 2019

PHOTOS BY BILLIE-JEAN DUFF; PHOTOS BY COVY MOORE

Steer Wrestling

C.P.R.A.

LEFT: Jake Vold winning the opening round of CFR45 on Duffy Rodeo’s 14 Tweety Bird with 85.25 points.

RIGHT: Jordan Hansen and Scott Schiffner

Canadian Championship in three years, including his regular-season earnings, netted the 24-year-old $82,294 in 2018.

Barrel Racing The biggest money earner of this Canadian Finals Rodeo was Callahan Crossley of Hermiston, Oregon. Not only did the threetime CFR qualifier cruise to the title with four first-place finishes and two seconds, she also established two all-time monetary records. Riding her 20-year-old gelding, Brownie, Crossley won a record-setting $73,575 at the CFR, and her season total of $99,190 also goes into the record books.

Team Roping The 2016 World Champion Team Ropers, header Levi Simpson and heeler Jeremy Buhler, captured their second Canadian Team Roping title in a row. The amazing pair placed in all six rounds, including splitting one-two in rounds two and five and sealing the deal with a third-place, 5.2 second run in the final round. Simpson, from Ponoka, Alta., and Buhler of Arrowwood, Alta., captured both the Aggregate title and the Canadian Championship.

Bareback The bareback riding was no less dramatic as cowboy Richmond Champion from Dublin, Texas took home his first Canadian title. The 25-year-old, two-time Calgary Stampede Champion earned $77,448 over the season. cowboycountrymagazine.com

Tie-Down Roping Louisiana roper, Shane Hanchey, won his third Canadian Championship. Hanchey won fourth riding Logan Bird’s tremendous almost-white horse, TJ, in the final round and first in the aggregate en route to victory with total season earnings of $65,338.

Bull Riding Bull rider, Wacey Finkbeiner, survived a final round buck-off to win his first Canadian Bull Riding Championship. The Ponoka, Alta., hand had gone an impressive five-for-five prior to Sunday and that run — which included two first-place cheques and the Aggregate title — gave him the winning season total of $73,729 and a $14,000 cushion over runner-up Cody Coverchuk of Meadow Lake, Sask.

High Point & All-Around Rounding out the roster of winners at CFR45 was first-time High Point Champion, Riley Warren, who edged out tie-down roper Kyle Lucas by less than $1,300. The All-Around Champion, Jacob Gardner of Dawson Creek, B.C., had placed in steer wrestling at three rodeos during the regular season, and in the Finals, he placed in two rounds in bull riding to claim the prestigious All-Around Champion title.

Thatcher of Darbalara, New South Wales, now from Wildwood, Alta. The Boys Steer Riding Champion was earned by 14-yearold Tristen Manning from Edson, Alta.

Top Stock CFR Stock Award Winners were C5 Rodeo’s amazing bareback horse, F13 Virgil, who had already claimed back-to-back World and Canadian Championships; NorthcottMacza’s four-time Canadian Champion saddle bronc horse, 242 Get Smart, and Vold Rodeo’s bull, 621 Wicked Dreams.

Retired Rodeo athletes and fans said a big farewell to the winningest bull rider in Canadian rodeo history as Strathmore, Alta., bull rider Scott Schiffner made his final ride. He leaves the sport as a two-time Canadian Champion, two-time Calgary Stampede Champion and 18-time Canadian Finals Rodeo Qualifier — a record among bull riders.

CFR45 at Westerner Park in Red Deer, Alberta was a huge success with sold out performances and tremendous community support. Some $1.65 million was paid out to contestants over the course of the six-day event. Mark your calendars as CFR46 goes Oct 29–Nov 3, 2019. c

Novice The Novice Bareback Champion is Mason Helmeczi from Esterhazy, Sask., and the Novice Saddle Bronc Champion is Cooper 43

Pro Rodeo Canada Insider

ROAD TO THE NFR

IT’S VEGAS, BABY! CANADIANS COMPETE FOR THE WORLD

By TIM ELLIS

Orin Larsen could feel it slipping away.

The 27-year-old bareback rider was losing traction in his attempts to climb up the world standings.

“I was dropping down into that bubble area,” says Larsen, who was 13th in the PRCA standings by mid-July and just $6,000 above 16th, the so-called NFR ‘crying hole.’ “I wasn’t really worried, but I was dang sure getting concerned.”

Then along came a new month.

“There were several things that turned my season around,” contends Larsen, who 44

won nearly $21,000 over a 10-day stretch in early August. “It started in Strathmore. After my ride on C5 Rodeo’s Make Up Face in Edmonton (K-Days Rodeo), I asked my old rodeo coach, (four-time NFR qualifier) Cody DeMers to look at some video. A few days before Strathmore (Stampede), he talked with me about the position of my riggin’. He told me to go back to basics.”

Larsen was getting the same advice on the home front.

“My wife knew I wasn’t riding to my potential,” begins Larsen, who will bring a career-high regular season total of $103,655 into Las Vegas while competing at his 4th straight NFR. “She told me ‘if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.’”

“I was trying to reinvent the wheel when the wheel was perfectly fine. I was adding ‘gimmicks’ to my riding style. It’s easy to get away from the basics.”

Curtis Cassidy had a similar problem, but to a much smaller extent. After holding down the number one position in the world steer wrestling standings for much of the fall of the 2018 season, he fell to fourth by early January.

“I had won $18,000 before the winter rodeos started,” recalls the 40-year-old Cassidy, who will compete at his 6th NFR. “That was a huge start to the year.”

It took until mid-September for the Donalda, Alta., cowboy to reclaim the top spot.

“August is one of my favourite months to rodeo, but this year it wasn’t that good,” reveals Cassidy. “Then something switched, and I won a cheque at Fort Madison, Iowa, and then won $18,000 out of Puyallup (Washington State Fair Rodeo).”

It’s the second time in Cassidy’s career that he enters Las Vegas as the number one bulldogger. He also accomplished the feat in 2010, finishing second in both the world steer wrestling and all-around standings when the finals ended.

It’s the fourth straight NFR appearance for saddle bronc rider, Zeke Thurston.

“Every year I’m going for a world title,” affirms Thurston, who won the Gold Buckle in 2016. “I had a dang good chance last year at the finals but had some bad luck. Things didn’t go my way, but that’s sports, that’s competition and that’s why I love it. I thrive off that, and there’s always next year.”

Joining that trio in Las Vegas are two recently crowned Canadian champions — steer wrestler Scott Guenthner and saddle bronc rider Clay Elliott. B.C. barrel racer Carman Pozzobon will also be making her first appearance at the NFR. c

Canadian Cowboy Country December 2018/January 2019

PHOTO BY BILLIE-JEAN DUFF

Orin Larsen on Calgary Stampede’s W-32 Walleye Rocket in the first round of CFR45

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Canadian Cowboy Country December 2018/January 2019

Kamloops Cowboy Festival --- March 14th - 17th, 2019 This will be the 23rd Anniversary!! presented by

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AUCTION HIGHLIGHT Much more than a Western art exhibition and sale, The Russell is a Western art experience!

M A RC H 21‒23, 2 019 Join us at The Russell: An Exhibition and Sale to Benefit the C.M. Russell Museum. The Russell is widely recognized as one of the most prestigious and fun western art events in the world. It is set to impress once again, offering competitive bidding for significant works by highlyacclaimed historic and contemporary Western artists.

Charles M. Russell (1864‒1926), Approach of White Men, 1897, oil on canvas, 24 ⅛ x 34 ⅛ inches

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PHOTOS COURTESY ADOBE STOCK, PEXELS

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Canadian Cowboy Country December 2018/January 2019

COWBOY CHURCHES Nechako Valley Cowboy Church Last Sun. of every month, 7 p.m., Nechako Community Church Building, Hwy 16 E, Vanderhoof, B.C., 250‑567‑4960 Open Valley Cowboy Church Every Sun., 6:30 p.m., Head of the Lake Hall, past the O’Keefe Ranch on Hwy 97, Vernon, B.C., 250‑503‑0707

For information call toll free: 1-800-530-0131

Boomtown Trail Cowboy Church 2nd and last Wed. of every month, 7 p.m., Elnora Drop‑In Centre, Elnora, Alta., 403‑749‑2047 Clearwater Cowboy Church Every Thur., 7 p.m., Dovercourt Hall, Hwy 22, north of Caroline, Alta., 403-844-6641 Community Cowboy Church Every Tue., 7-8 p.m., Niton Community Hall, Main St., Niton, Alta., 780-795-2326 Cowboy Trail Church Every Tue., 7 p.m., Cochrane Ranche House, 101 Ranchehouse Rd., Cochrane, Alta., 403‑638‑4254 Heartland Cowboy Church 1st and 3rd Tue. of every month, 7 p.m., Stettler Agriplex, 4516‑52 St., Stettler, Alta., 780-877-2331 James River Cowboy Church Every Wed., 7 p.m., James River Community Hall, 2.5km S of James River store or 11.5km N of Sundre on RR 53, Alta., 403‑638‑6439

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Viking Cowboy Church Last Fri. of every month, 7:30 p.m., Viking Auction Market, junction of Hwy 26 and 36, Viking, Alta., 780‑384‑2114

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Willow Valley Cowboy Church 2nd Sun. of every month 10:00 a.m., 26016 Hwy 595, 15 km east of Red Deer, Red Deer County, Alta., 403-347-0206 Battlefords Cowboy Church 1st and 3rd Thur. of every month, 7 p.m., Legion Hall, 22 St., Battleford, Sask., 306-937-2733 Diamond C Cowboy Church Every Tue., 7:30 p.m., 208 Sidney St., Maple Creek, Sask., 306‑662‑3431 Cowboy Valley Church 4054 PR 432 Morden, Man., 204-822-9909

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49

COWBOY POETRY

Cow Country Christmas Memory

By MIKE PUHALLO

The cattle and horses got fed first That was a tradition at our place Christmas in cow country Without that hectic urban pace Each of our ponies got an apple With their morning feed of oats As we hurried through our morning chores In felt pack boots and overcoats Mom served homemade eggnog Dad passed the presents out He did it slow to torment us Of that I have no doubt From the Christmas of my childhood Many memories linger on Like snowy mittens, fresh sliced apples Feeding cattle before dawn Pop always insisted that presents wait Until the stock had all been fed He was sure surprised first time we had it done Before he got out of bed!

PHOTO BY FLOWNAKSALA/ADOBE STOCK

“Cow Country Christmas Memory” was excerpted from Rhymes & Damn Lies

by Mike Puhallo (1953–2011)

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Each issue of Canadian Cowboy Country features the best the West has to offer. We highlight ranching families who live and work using traditional cowboy skills, legendary Westerners well worth knowing and some of the most beautiful homes around, plus our Guides are the benchmark in exploration, from our Vacation Guide to our Western Art Guide, offering our readership a vast array of choice.

Canadian Cowboy Country magazine is a committed supporter of professional rodeo and is proud to be the “official voice� of the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association with dedicated and comprehensive coverage in each issue.

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Long Days Made a Little Easier We know that day. The dusk to dawn type, those that just don't go right. We also know the Western Wear that will provide you the classic comfort to wrap up that day. Trust our selection of Wrangler that'll make your day a little more predictable.

Live your own west

Calgary • Cochrane • Edmonton • Fort Saskatchewan • Spruce Grove • Red Deer • Lethbridge • Camrose • Medicine Hat

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Canadian Cowboy Country December 2018/January 2019

Lloydminster • Olds • Strathmore • West Kelowna • Kamloops • Prince Albert • Regina • Saskatoon