Canadian Cowboy Country February/March 2023

COWBOY CANADIAN

COUNTRY

NASHVILLE HIT TING ALL THE NOTES

PM# 40070720

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2023 • $6.95

MICHAEL PERKS LEGENDARY SCULPTURES

HORSE VACATIONS PICK YOUR EQUINE ADVENTURE

CONTENTS FEBRUARY/MARCH 2023 | VOLUME 26, NO.5

FEATURES

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17 A RTS & CULTURE

The legendary-sized sculptures of artisan Michael Perks

22 T RAILBLAZER

She was once named Queen of the Cowgirls, and this ranch gal earned the title

28 VACATION: CHURCH OF THE ROCKIES

Never been? Wanna go? Use this guide and follow your heart

31 VACATION: EQUINE OPTIONS

Pick an equine adventure that suits you!

44 W HAT WORKS FOR US

Sires or steers — how the Gowans pick their upcoming bulls

46 L IFE BEHIND THE LENS

Bill Borgwardt is still shooting stars

DEPARTMENTS

ON THE COVER: PG 24 Nashville!

The glowing neon lights and the storied dream maker town of Nashville Photo by Bill Borgwardt

@cowboycountrymag cowboycountrymagazine.com

@CowboyCntryMag

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MY POINT OF VIEW IN THE CORRAL BOOK REVIEW GIDDY UP SPIRIT OF THE WEST WHEEL TO WHEEL REFLECTIONS IN STYLE HOMEGROWN PRO RODEO CANADA INSIDER ROAD TO THE CFR CLOWNIN’ AROUND WHAT’S COOKING? COWBOY POETRY

@CanadianCowboyCountry 3

February/March 2023 Vol. 26, No.5

Proud Member of the Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame Publisher Rob Tanner rob@cowboycountrymagazine.com Editor Terri Mason terri@cowboycountrymagazine.com Field Editor Craig Coulliard craig@cowboycountrymagazine.com Art Director Shannon Swanson shannon@cowboycountrymagazine.com Sales Manager Kristine Wickheim kristine@cowboycountrymagazine.com Subscription/Circulation Marie Tanner circ @cowboycountrymagazine.com Accounting/Administrator Marie Tanner admin@cowboycountrymagazine Columnists Dylan Biggs, Tim Ellis, Hugh McLennan, Billy Melville, Greg Shannon, Bryn Thiessen Contributors Bill Borgwardt, CrAsh Cooper, Deanfield Ranch, Andrew Exelby, Tim Lasiuta, Barb & Dave Poulsen, Mike Puhallo.

Tanner Young Publishing Group Box 13, 22106 South Cooking Lake Road Cooking Lake, AB T8E 1J1 Tel: 780-465-3362 | Toll Free: 1-800-943-7336 Website: cowboycountrymagazine.com E-mail: askus @cowboycountrymagazine.com

SUBSCRIPTIONS: Call Marie at 1-800-943-7336 1 Year: $29.00 incl. tax | 2 Years: $46.00 incl. tax Single Copy: $6.95 + tax Canadian Cowboy Country magazine is published six times per year

by Tanner Young Publishing Group

Listen to

THE SPIRIT OF THE WEST

“Radio Program”

Ride through the Rangeland of the West every week

with Hugh McLennan

Celebrating over 30 YEARS

PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40070720 ISSN 1701-1132 Please return undeliverable addresses to: Canadian Cowboy Country Magazine c/o Tanner Young Publishing Group Administration Office Box 13, 22106 South Cooking Lake Road Cooking Lake, AB T8E 1J1 FREELANCE POLICY Canadian Cowboy Country welcomes freelance contributions but will not be held responsible for unsolicited text or photographs.

Direct all freelance enquiries to: freelance@cowboycountrymagazine.com PRIVACY POLICY At Tanner Young Publishing Group, we value your privacy. 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.

This magazine is a proud member of the Alberta Magazine Publishers Association, and Magazines Canada, abiding by the standards of the Canadian Society of Magazine Editors.

Visit albertamagazines.com

of Stories Great Western Music Horse Training Advice And much more

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

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

Hear it on your favourite radio station or on demand at Hugh-McLennan.com Check out the new Spirit of the West Facebook page too!

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MY POINT OF VIEW

Time Travelling

T

ime travel is real. It’s almost Christmas Eve as I write this, but in the magazine it’s almost Valentine’s Day. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in interviews and the like that I miss my own birthday.

Another world that’s on a different timeline is the ranching world. They’re already thinking calving and branding time. I enjoyed an interesting interview with Bob Gowans about his purebred Horned Hereford operation, and asked him the one question that has always fascinated me: how do you know which calf will make a great bull?

As an aside, Bob and his wife Colleen and I have a shared experience; many moons ago (2012) we all sailed across the Pacific from Los Angeles to Hawaii on a Spirit of the West cruise. Turns out, my friend Fern and I are both natural sailors — the ship hit a gale that created 28-foot waves for days on end, and ol’ Fern and I were still the first ones in the buffet line — didn’t bother us one bit; didn’t bother a lot of the Spirit of the West crew. No idea why — perhaps because we’ve experienced many ups and downs stumbling through life’s badger holes and riding, ahem, “spirited” horses.

It might seem like a long time ago now that the Maple Leaf Circuit Finals at Agribition and the National Finals Rodeo were on, but the results of both will be felt for a long time. We’ve got some great photos and all the facts, plus a new record.

We bring the stunning, often legendarysized art of Michael Perks and even more art — the raison d'etre of Nashville — country music (and neon!)

Our Trailblazer is the very accomplished ranching cowgirl, Leona Loosmore. She was named Queen of the Cowgirls by the Star Weekly long before the Calgary Stampede ever named any rodeo royalty, and she did a fine job leading the way for all the rodeo queens since.

We have also featured the man behind the iconic country music photographs, the art of cooking with cast iron and, because

cowboycountrymagazine.com

Fern Leavens-Kornelson and myself onboard the Spirit of the West cruise in 2012

it’ll soon be Valentine’s day — some of the most Western custom jewelry created in Canada.

So enjoy the time travel and cherish your ups and downs because smooth water lies ahead, here in Canadian Cowboy Country.

— Terri Mason, Editor

CONTRIBUTORS

TIM LASIUTA

BILL BORGWARDT

ANDREW EXELBY, B.A.Sc.

Born with a boundless curiosity, Tim Lasiuta has written articles for newspapers, magazines, comic book publishers and even Mad Magazine.

His work for Canadian Cowboy Country has covered western history, trailblazers and entertainment icons.

Multi-award-winning photographer and feature writer Bill Borgwardt has been involved with the media and employed in the photographic industry since 1966, including the motion picture and television industry.

Andrew Exelby is the Parks and Open Spaces Consultant with Saskatchewan Parks and Recreation Association and coordinates the province’s Communities in Bloom program.

Andrew lives north of Craven, SK on the family farm with his wife and children.

Trailblazers, page 22

Nashville, page 24

Home Grown, page 34

Whether you’re managing a herd of broodmares and studs or are competing at the highest level, HorsLic® supplements are proven to support your horse’s performance.

Vet Tested & Approved Dr. Gregg Veneklasen

Timber Creek Veterinary Hospital, Canyon, TX

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Check with your local HorsLic® dealership for availability and more details.

HorsLic® is a registered trademark of Animal Feed Supplements, Inc. DBA New Generation Supplements. ©2023.

Print Ad - Canadian Cowboy Magazine - Feb/March 2023 - Half Page SIZE: 7.125” x 4.875” with 1/8” bleeds - 4 color

Canadian Cowboy Country February/March 2023

IN THE CORRAL //// EVENTS & HAPPENINGS ACROSS THE WEST ////

Congratulations to Calgarian Brooklyn Payne, whose artwork featuring Calgary’s famous Showriders was chosen for the 2023 poster.

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FEATURED EVENT

BORDER CITY TO HOST

EVERYTHING EQUINE

Lloydminster’s red provincial border markers EVERYTHING EQUINE ON the Border is back for it’s second year at the Lloydminster Agricultural Exhibition Association, April 14-16, 2023 and will again include the popular threeday Trainer’s Challenge.

A trainer once told me my job was to help my horse understand what I expect from him in the easiest way possible. Attending a trainer’s challenge is a good way to pick up helpful tips, whether you’re a seasoned ranch hand or a weekend trail rider.

Kade Mills will be back to defend his title along with Braden Bernier from Red Deer.

Organizers are excited to be announcing the third guest trainer very soon. We will post the announcement on Canadian Cowboy Country magazine website, and it will also be posted on lloydex.com/ everything-equine.

Everything Equine on the Border will also offer clinics and information sessions hosted by different clinicians and experts on a variety of subjects and disciplines.

The tradeshow will showcase a wide array of businesses such as clothing, equine health, agricultural equipment and much more.

Back by popular demand is the fashion show hosted by local western stores. Kids can try their luck at the roping dummy competition.

Horses, fashion, information, and guest

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Trainer’s Challenge

Amberley Snyder speaker Amberley Snyder. Everything Equine on the Border is a terrific opportunity for families to visit Canada’s only border city and discover a vibrant modern community.

Schedules and tickets (including a VIP package) available at lloydex.com/everythingequine.

GUEST SPEAKER – AMBERLEY SNYDER If you only see one guest speaker this year, Amberley Snyder is well-worth the drive to Lloydminster. A world-renowned paraplegic

barrel racer, she will be speaking at the April 15th banquet to share her story of tragedy to triumph.

In 2010, Amberley was in an accident that broke her back and lost all feeling in her legs.

Through all the challenges and adversity Amberley has had to face, it has not stopped her from achieving many of her goals.

Be sure to attend the banquet to witness this remarkable woman’s presentation and hear her tell of her amazing and inspiring comeback journey.

Canadian Cowboy Country February/March 2023

IN THE CORRAL

STOCK DOG TRIAL

From left: In fifth place was Alicia Adamson of Makwa, Sask., and her stock dog, Grace, fourth place winner was Russell Roome from Weyburn, Sask., and Jill, third place went to Chris Jobe of Cypress County, Alta., and Becca, second place went to Barry Breemersch from Deloraine, Man., and his dog, Yogi, and first place winner Peter Gonnet from Outlook, Sask., and his stock dog, Bob, accepted the championship buckle from judge Jack Regier. The Stock Dog Trials were sponsored by Canadian Cowboy Country magazine.

FORTY-FIVE OF the happiest working dogs in Canada converged on the Brandt Centre in Regina during Agribition for the International Stock Dog Championship.

There were two runs; the first went in the order they registered, and the second run went in the order of slowest to fastest dog from the first trial.

Most of the handlers brought two working dogs, making it a good showing of 45 dogs, impressive stockmanship and superb dog handling.

Congratulations to Peter Gonnet, who won the International Championship with his dog, Bob. The International Stock Dog Trial attracted competitors from across the West and was sponsored by Canadian Cowboy Country magazine.

PHOTO BY RANDY LEWIS; IMAGE BY PIXABAY/BRIGITTE WERNER

ALBERTA’S OFFICIAL SPORT? HOCKEY IS THE official winter sport of Canada, and lacrosse is the official summer sport, but it seems that no one asked Alberta.

Once again, select politicians are wanting to get rodeo and chuckwagon racing recognized and in December, Camrose MLA Jackie Lovely tabled Bill 205, the Official Sport of Alberta Act, which, if passed, would recognize rodeo and chuckwagon racing as Alberta’s official sport.

“Rodeo is near and dear to the hearts of Albertans. It brings families and communities together and celebrates our Western heritage,” Lovely said. “Rodeo also welcomes newcomers with open arms, is a major attraction for tourists, and is low-cost fun for people of all ages.”

Lovely said rodeo has a long and storied history across the province, including in her riding.

“I believe including chuckwagon races is essential for rodeo, and chuckwagon races are quality family entertainment,” Lovely said.

“These activities are wholesome, familyoriented, and an important pillar of our cultural foundation in rural Alberta.”

In December 2020, Calgary-North MLA Muhammad Yaseen introduced a similar private member’s bill, and a committee report recommended it proceed to next steps to become law.

We’ll keep you posted on the outcome.

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IN THE CORRAL EMPTY SADDLES

Louis Schmidt 1937–2022

Louis Schmidt farmed near Bow Island and was the Bow Island Grazing Reserve supervisor for 25 years. Louis loved to rope in branding pens or team roping in Arizona. Louis was instrumental in putting on the Bow Island Rodeo for many years.

CANADIANS TOP BUCKING HORSE SALE IT WAS A grand day for two Canadian bucking horse breeders as Jason Wheeler and Ash Cooper (Cooper Clan) topped the sale at Benny Binion’s NFR Bucking Horse Sale as their horses each fetched $60,000.

On top of that thrill, Ash’s Cooper Clan also won the “triple crown” of the futurity bucking horse world, namely the top-selling UBHA colt, top selling of the Permit Challenge and top selling of the Stace Smith Futurity.

He also won the World in the two-year-old (see photo) and the three-year-old division, as well as Contractor of the Year in the UBHA. Ash was thrilled, and, as he said, “And Rubels (Cooper Clan-raised) winning “Rank Horse” of the first night of the NFR was the cherry on top!”

Congratulations to all of the Canadian contractors and bucking horse breeders who proved once again that Canada is the home of the best broncs and the best bronc riders.

Robert ‘Bob’ Leggette Innisfail, Alta.

1936-2022

Bob Leggette was a well-rounded horseman who turned his hand at racing, from ponies to Thoroughbreds. After moving from Ontario to Alberta, he continued his interests. He judged rodeo, he trained English and Western, and took up driving.

He competed at Spruce Meadows’ Battle of the Breeds on Team Arab and was hired on movie sets with his mule, Jessie.

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TIED THE KNOT CONGRATULATIONS TO professional saddle bronc rider Layton Green and his fiancée Brooke Bornau, who were married Oct 2 at their new home in Millarville, Alta.

The wedding party included best man Tyler Thomson, maid of honour Morgan Bornau, groomsmen Zeke Thurston, Garrett Green, Devan Fredrickson, and bridesmaids Brieze Statters, Reagan Klevyer, and Kennedy Lacey.

As a professional power engineer, Brooke has occasionally joined Layton on the rodeo road when her job allows. Layton is (so far) the 2017 Canadian Saddle Bronc Champion and (so far) a three-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier.

Canadian Cowboy Country February/March 2023

PHOTO BY HANNAH GRACIE PHOTOGRAPHY; PHOTO BY CASEY ST BLANC, MONTANA

EMPTY SADDLES

IN THE CORRAL EMPTY SADDLES

EMPTY SADDLES

Dr. John Michael (Mike) Person

Harry (Soddie) Forbes

F.G. “Tim” Burton

Born in Colorado, Mike graduated from Colorado State University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in 1964 and immediately immigrated to Alberta.

He rode everything from rough stock to cutting and reining horses to packing into the Willmore Wilderness. He was an alpine skier, beekeeper, blacksmith (founder of the Western Canadian Blacksmith Guild), falconer (co-founder of the Alberta Falconry Association), past president of Alberta Veterinarian Medical Association, hunter, fisherman, and pilot of airplanes and helicopters.

Harry was a WWII veteran, rancher, writer and a noted teamster. In 1939 he and his friend, Victor, drove a team from Maple Creek to Maidstone. Fifty years later, in 1989, Harry and Victor harnessed their team and made the 400 km return trip.

Harry loved to dance, and in his mid-90s, he had both knees replaced so he could still polka.

A noted local author, Harry wrote seven books, including co-authoring with Tony Hoszouski on “What Price Freedom” about their experiences in WWII.

Tim was raised on the family ranch southwest of Claresholm in the Porcupine Hills.

He studied Mechanics at SAIT, then came back to the ranch where he worked with his father.

Tim was well known for his affection for fast cars, like his 1964 Pontiac GTO, and he also loved his cruising cars, 1946-48 Chrysler Town & Country. Tim and his wife, Rita, retired from ranching, did some travelling and continued to help out at the home place.

EMPTY SADDLES

CALAHOO, ALTA. 1939-2022

Maple Creek, SK 1918–2022 (104 years)

1935–2022

Specializing in Rodeo, Ranch & Humourous Fine Artworks!

“

It is not what we have in life, but who we have in our life that matters.”

Check our Facebook page to see where Ash will be next: Follow Ash Cooper Art and Ranch Gallery

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r u a ry / Feb

rch 2023

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Ma

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IN THE CORRAL

Mackenzie Skeels was crowned Nov 4 at the Canadian Finals Rodeo

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WHERE IN THE WORLD IS CANADIAN COWBOY

Lake Laberge, Yukon

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2023 MISS RODEO CANADA CROWNED CONGRATULATIONS TO MACKENZIE Skeels, who was recently crowned as the 54th Miss Rodeo Canada.

Mackenzie is the fourth generation on her family’s ranch, Anchor D Simmentals, near Rimbey, Alta.

Throughout her 12 years of 4-H and the Young Canadian Simmental Association (YCSA), she has built up a small herd of her own and, along the way, discovered her love for promoting Western heritage.

Mackenzie was honoured to win five National Aggregates with the YCSA and represented Canada twice at the American Junior Simmental shows. Some of her 4-H highlights include competing at Regional Public Speaking and being selected to attend the 4-H Canadian Citizenship Congress.

With her Media Studies and Professional Communications Diploma, her previous titles of 2017 Rimbey Rodeo Queen, 2019/2020 Sundre Rodeo Queen, and Miss Ponoka Stampede 2022, Mackenzie is extremely honoured to represent Canadian Professional Rodeo on a National and International level as Miss Rodeo Canada 2023.

Canadian Cowboy Country February/March 2023

PHOTO COURTESY MISS RODEO CANADA COMMITTEE

LAKE LABERGE ISN’T a lake at all but simply a large widening of the Yukon River north of Whitehorse, Yukon in northern Canada. It is 50 kilometres long and ranges from two to five kilometres wide. Its water is always very cold, and its weather is often harsh.

The local Southern Tutchone called it Tàa'an Män, Tagish knew it as Kluk-tas-si and the Tlingit as Tahini-wud. Its English name comes from 1870, commemorating Michel LaBerge (1836–1909). Born in Chateauguay, Quebec, he was the first French-Canadian to explore the Yukon in 1866.

It was well known to prospectors during the Klondike Gold Rush of the 1890s, as they would pass Lake Laberge on their way down the Yukon River to Dawson City.

Lake Laberge is referred to in Jack London's “Grit of Women” (1900) and “The Call of the Wild” (1903). But it was Robert W. Service's poem “The Cremation of Sam McGee” (1907) (although Service altered the spelling from Laberge to "Lebarge" to rhyme with "marge") is when the name became famous, attracting adventurous spirits like photographer Kim Taylor of Alberta and rancher Sue Elliott of Saskatchewan.

GIDDY UP WITH GREG SHANNON

DR. GREENING IS IN THE HOUSE

SUMMER OF THE HORSE

JACKIE RAE GREENING PHOTO CREDIT: JACKIE RAE GREENING; GREG SHANNON PHOTO CREDIT: JEN RUSH

REVIEWED BY TERRI MASON

There’s a famous line from the movie, Jerry McGuire; “You had me at hello.”

Donna’s book had me early as she described life in the outfitter’s camp, a life so far removed from me now that my memory is only nudged when I trace old scars from years of packing and guiding. Do I miss it? Nope, because I’ve got the memories. But because I was never in northern B.C., her accounts of trips in that region are stirring up old memories of my “past” life.

This book is not a travelogue, it’s part confession, part life stories and all about navigating a new life that skip neatly between the paragraphs of pack trips in wild country. While not a horsewoman, Donna is obviously a poet who splashes words onto paper with abandon. Her writing style is well suited to this book as I suspect that the majority of readers haven’t packed a horse or topped a ridge, so her sometimes over-description puts people not only in the moment, but in the saddle.

This is a book for people who’ve been down a few trails, and are hoping for more adventure, and this is one for the packbox.

Summer of the Horse by Donna Kane | Colour photos and maps | 208 pages | Paperback | HarbourPublishing.com

cowboycountrymagazine.com

CFCW’S MULTI-FACETED Jackie Rae Greening is a woman of influence. Her achievements are vast and include multiple curling trophies and Canadian Country Music Association awards — including Humanitarian of the Year.

Her unwavering passion for curling and country music has led to opportunities to travel across Canada and around the world.

She has been inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame and Alberta Sports Hall of Fame.

“It all began with a membership to the St. Albert Curling Club at 12,” said Jackie. “I was told by Mom that I had to volunteer; I had to give back, and that was where that seed was first planted, and look where it brought me. Whenever you volunteer, it feels great that you’re giving back. I look at all the people I volunteered with and the close friends I’ve made out of it. I’ve built a heck of a village and a village where we have a lot of fun.”

‘JR’ as she’s known to her friends and fans, has played an integral role in many wildly successful country music and sporting events over the past four decades.

“In 2005, I remember being asked to emcee at the legislature with Alberta’s 100th — that was a huge honour. But even bigger was the fact that that was the record-setting Brier I volunteered for; over 280,000 people came to watch Team Ferby win!”

The fun is never too far away when Jackie Rae is involved. But how does a country music-loving curler in her 60s become a doctor?

In 2022, MacEwan University in Edmonton bestowed Jackie Rae Greening with the honourary title of Doctor. This title recognizes her extensive credentials as a community builder and driving force in the creation of the Distinguished Visiting Artists in Residence program, giving music students direct access to mentorship from professional musicians and producers.

She revealed her prescription for a successful and happy life in her acceptance address. “Work hard, play hard and be kind.”

Dr. Greening is still making house calls at the St. Albert Curling rink every Monday night and talks to her patient listeners Monday to Friday on 840 CFCW’s midday show.

Greg Shannon 840 CFCW Morning Show Co-Host Hear Greg Shannon & Co-Host Stella Stevens weekday mornings on 840 CFCW! Email Greg with column suggestions: greg@cfcw.com

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SPIRIT OF THE WEST

Don Edwards Last of the Troubadours

BY HUGH MCLENNAN songs, he had the huge audience in the palm of his hand. After a standing ovation, Don and Kathy remained in the venue two hours later until everyone wanting his autograph had left the building. This was no surprise, as we had seen Don do this many times.

We first met Don at the Western Music Association Festival in Tucson. It was 1994, and The Spirit of the West was in

“Redford had been a fan of Don for years...”

Hugh with Don Edwards Tucson, 1994

T

he anticipation was high. The inaugural Kamloops Cowboy Festival was in the late stages of planning, and we had secured a powerful lineup of performers that included the Sons of the San Joaquin, Waddie Mitchell and the great Don Edwards.

About six weeks before the festival, Don called and said that he'd been nominated for a Wrangler Award at the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City. His manager said it was important for him to be there. He told us that if we insisted, he would still come to Kamloops, but if we released him from his contract, he would come back when he could for half his normal fee. Of course, we released him from his contract.

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As fate would have it, The B.C. Cattlemen's AGM was scheduled for that summer. Billie and I were on the planning committee, and Don Edwards was the obvious choice for Friday evening entertainment. Most members had no idea who he was, but we pushed hard and booked Don for half his normal performing fee.

Now we wondered... Ranching folks came from miles around, and they all wanted to visit. The bar had been open for several hours. Would anyone even pay attention to one cowboy singer and his guitar? I got the crowd more or less quiet enough to hear my introduction.

Don stepped to the mic, and without saying a word, he started to sing. After two

its third year. His first set was in a small room with no sound system, and the room was packed. His voice, guitar and stories were stellar. Later I had a chance to meet him, and we did our first of many interviews for the show. We had an instant connection and became lifelong friends.

Don told me that one of the highlights of his musical career was when he recorded an album with his hero, the late Rex Allen Sr., and how moving it was to be in the studio with the last of the Silver Screen cowboys. After the show aired, he sent me a long, handwritten letter that was a treasured item.

When Robert Redford was working on “The Horse Whisperer" movie, based on a novel by Nicholas Evans, he had a role as a cowboy singer who had to be ‘The Real Deal.’ Redford had been a fan of Don for years, and he cast him as the character Smoky. Don said the best part of the project was riding up in the hills each morning before shooting started with wranglers Buck Brannaman and Curt Pate.

A fine horseman as well as a great man, Don rode across the Great Divide on October 23. He was 86. c

Canadian Cowboy Country February/March 2023

WHEEL TO WHEEL

Talent Search Covering The Map

BY BILLY MELVILLE

Doug Irvine racing in High River, Alta in 2021.

PHOTO BY CAROL AND PAUL EASTON

W

hen you look at the WPCA Pro Tour competitors, drivers and outriders come from an extremely large geographical area in Western Canada. From Paddle Prairie, down to High River, Alberta, to Hudson Bay, Saskatchewan and many places in between.

But one thing that is often overlooked is the horses and where they came from to eventually find themselves competing on the chuckwagon tracks of the WPCA Pro Tour.

Once upon a time, chuckwagon drivers limited themselves to the Thoroughbred racing circuits of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba to find their horses, with the odd horse coming from outside that area. And for that reason, many “A” tracks, such as Hastings Park, Century Mile, and Assiniboia Downs, were being “tapped out” by chuckwagon drivers making their fall horse shopping trips.

So, many of today’s chuckwagon drivers

cowboycountrymagazine.com

started looking outside the box and are making trips to all corners of the continent to find the next group of chuckwagon racing stars.

One of the farthest trips any driver makes consistently is to Mountaineer Racetrack in New Cumberland, West Virginia,

“... today’s chuckwagon drivers started looking outside the box...” and driver Doug Irvine makes that trip.

Irvine has been making annual trips there since 2011, which has really paid off.

“When I won the Battle of the Rockies in 2015, all four horses were ones I picked up in West Virginia,” explains Irvine.

With just ten stops on the WPCA Pro Tour, a single win adds up to 10 percent of the shows, so winning a single show is a

big deal and a tough task. Since winning in Rocky Mountain House — his first since winning the Ponoka Stampede back in 2008 — Irvine has won additional shows in Medicine Hat and High River, and this past season, he won another major event at the Grande Prairie Stompede. Notably, two of his West Virginia horses — Gage Park and Night Out — have each received a WPCA Equine Outfit of Excellence Award as Champion Left Leader and Champion Outriding Horse, respectively.

“When I first decided to go, I did some research and found that the type of horses I was interested in seemed to filter through to Mountaineer Racetrack,” says Irvine.

“Even though it was a long trip, I decided to go. I didn’t have to compete with other wagon drivers and got the first pick of horses I liked at a good price. It’s worked out well for me.”

It’s a lengthy trip from Bonnyville, Alta, to West Virginia, and for Doug Irvine, success has been a long road. c

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REFLECTIONS

Do I Have To Do Everything For You?

BY BRYN THIESSEN

to the trailer and, if necessary, put a rope on and drag her in. It started off well, but as we approached the trailer and I pulled my rope down, my horse suddenly remembered getting jerked down and was doing all he could to avoid the situation. (Much like a politician keeping a promise.) This, combined with the fact that on this day, I couldn’t “catch my butt with both hands.”

In other words, I wasn’t much help. Andy punched a hole in his loop and threw a backhand on the heifer’s head, committing his horse to the job. We managed to ease the critter near the trailer; my horse was still in another dimension, and Andy got her looking into the trailer. He worked around the side, snuck his rope through the trailer and held her until she jumped in. I managed to get up to the door and slammed it shut. I looked at him and said, “Do I have to do everything for you?”

If we travel back to today, we can look back at the last year. We can see times when we had some wrecks and worries and wondered if we’ve been in the fray alone. We might be tempted to look around and say, ‘’Am I in this alone? Do I have to do everything?’’

If we look in Scripture, we find the answer. In Genesis 2:15, we learn that we were placed in the garden to take care of it (work). In 1 Corinthians, Paul teaches us that we have free and open access to God through Jesus.1:4 (The Message) and in Matthew 28:20b, Jesus said, “I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

My hope is as this new year unfolds, you can look back and ahead to those you journey with and that you’ll see the One who can say, ‘’ I can do everything for you if you’ll let me.’’ 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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Canadian Cowboy Country February/March 2023

ADOBE STOCK/ CANICULA

You’re reading these words as the new year has begun, and although I can’t see where you’re at, I can look back to where I’ve been.

Coming on 20 years ago, I rode some for an outfit just out of Red Deer. They had a 5,000-head feedlot and about 1,000 mother cows. I started there when a friend of mine (Andy) had a few of us come help castrate some yearling bulls. The owner asked if I wanted to ride parttime with Andy. This led to a season of adventures and stories — some making sermon illustrations — involving cattle, horses, dogs and often, a rope.

Some of the most memorable were when roping bulls. One day, I’d roped a back foot on a red bull and somehow managed to get my reins (it was raining, and I was riding a bosal with a horsehair mecate) caught in my dallies. My horse kept stepping over the rope as I trotted after the bull. Andy kept asking, “Are you winning?’’ He finally said, ‘’You may as well step off; you’re not doing any good.’’ I did, just as everything came tight, my horse was jerked down, and the bull was dragging him by the saddle horn. Andy tried to head the bull, but his rope would slide off like he was roping a hog. Finally, he roped the other back foot and held the bull, and I got my horse free and roped a front foot and got the bull treated. There were many more bull stories, but this column was inspired by the day we roped a yearling heifer.

It was about two weeks after we’d treated the red bull, and we’d gone to get a heifer that had strayed into a neighbour’s pasture.

There wasn’t a corral close, and Andy was riding a green horse. The plan was to bring her

ARTS & CULTURE

PORTRAIT

Meet Michael Perks EXTREME SCULPTURES

BY CRAIG COUILLARD Sanctuary 6 foot diameter

cowboycountrymagazine.com

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ARTS & CULTURE

PORTRAIT

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have always admired people with artistic talents — musicians, writers, sculptors, songwriters, and actors. Each has a unique back story as individual as their works of art. But I have to say, Michael Perks story is as varied as it is interesting.

Even at an early age, Michael was always interested in art. “But oil and acrylics never seemed to work for me, so after high school, I pursued other careers,” said Michael.

That led him to the ski industry, where he has spent 32 years, the last 20 overseeing snowmaking and grooming at the Lake Louise Ski Resort. “Each year, I spend the first two months of the season getting the hill ready to open and concluding with the World Cup event held each year in early December.”

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Top: Mechanical Bull 7' 8" long x 2' 6" wide x 3' tall (2.34M x .76M x .91M) Inset: Tree Of The Dead 13' long x 8' tall (3.9M x 2.4M) artist Michael Perks

Michael eventually became a millwright and welder. Those skills reignited his artistic desire. “I would make small sculptures for my friends in my spare time. I made my girlfriend a 100-lb

functional Valentine’s Day card, complete with engravings.”

It must have worked because Claire Thompson became Claire Perks. “I welded up a box for her engagement ring with three locks that she had to crack. Surprisingly, she opened them sooner than I thought,” he said with a chuckle.

Many artists are plagued with insecurities when they first start putting their work in front of the public. Michael was no exception. “In the early days, I spent over 70 hours making an abstract metal horse.

I didn’t know if anybody would like it as I was basically revealing a bit of myself.

But when it sold, it wasn’t so much about the money but about the affirmation that

Canadian Cowboy Country February/March 2023

ARTS & CULTURE

PORTRAIT

“

“I love to make art that makes people think.”

I might be able to make a living as an artist. But even now, 10 years later, I still get the butterflies before I open at the Calgary Stampede, wondering how people will react to what I’ve created.”

Since then, this award-winning artist’s career has skyrocketed. He is a much-indemand artist with both commissioned work plus the pieces he creates for his annual show at the Calgary Stampede. He explains, “I love to make art that makes people think.”

His work is so unique that he was commissioned by a bar in St. Louis, Missouri, to create the 14’ x 8’ Tree of the Dead sculpture comprised of 5,000 pieces of metal to look like human bones that hold nine

cowboycountrymagazine.com

Top: The Blue Bells approx 20' long x 12' tall (6M x 3.6M) Inset Get Lost 48" diameter (1.2M)

bottles of tequila. His display of a 1976 swather called The Fragility of Farming was the centrepiece at the Calgary Stampede in 2021.

Michael is quick to credit his wife, Claire. “She encouraged me to take the

plunge full-time and even supported me financially while I honed my craft and built up some inventory that first year.

We’re not only business partners; we’re best friends.”

Located just outside of Okotoks, Alta, Claire manages their other company, Little Monkey Metal Works, which produces smaller pieces like fire pits, gate signs and custom stair railings. “We want to create art that is affordable in all price ranges.

That’s why we’re not in galleries. We like to get to know our customers and sell direct,” explained Michael.

To see more of his unique sculptures, check out their websites, MichaelPerks.com and LittleMonkeyMetal.com c

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IN STYLE JEWELRY

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Gold Dust Jewellery Custom 14k gold ring featuring a tiny arrowhead that was found on the plains. $400 and up.

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Find out more at cowboycountrymagazine.com 21

TRAILBLAZERS

Leona Armstrong Loosmore Queen of Canada’s Cowgirls

She was called the Queen of Canada’s Cowgirls by the Toronto Star Weekly in June of 1945, but Leona May Armstrong-Loosmore was so much more.

Born on November 18, 1919, to Rose (nee Treend) and Clarence Armstrong, Leona joined two brothers, Ralph and Jack, on the ranch north of Hussar. Like all ranch families in the area, in the early 1900s, rodeo, horses, and farming were part of the DNA, and the Armstrong clan was no exception.

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Canadian Cowboy Country February/March 2023

ARCHIVAL PHOTGRAPHS COURTESY STAR WEEKLY

BY TIM LASIUTA

PEOPLE WHO SHAPED THE WEST

Her mother, Rose, was a superb horsewoman, and Leona also became one in addition to learning the skill of feeding large ranch crews from her mother.

On July 28, 1937, her mother ran down the lane chasing a runaway team and suffered a fatal heart attack, leaving an 18-year-old Leona to take over her mother’s role.

In 1939, Leona attended Olds College and Henderson School of Business, where she met her future husband, Ralph Loosmore. She started working as a bookkeeper, and after her marriage to Loosmore on August 7, 1943, the couple moved to Twining, south of Three Hills on the creek, founding the L O Half Diamond Ranch, which is still in the family today.

She was a regular contestant at the Calgary Stampede from the mid-1930s to the 1940s. While it was not in the traditional Stampede venues of roping, racing or wrangling, she was a highly-respected riding cowgirl and was awarded “the best dressed” in the parade event three times, 1939, 1940 and 1941.

Her father, Clarence, also won the men’s event during those same years.

The Calgary Herald newspaper published her picture, and a 1939 Calgary Stampede video briefly shows Leona in her beaded buckskin outfit and her father riding in the prestigious event. She was a regular participant in the cowgirl event for many years leading to her being called “The Queen of Canada’s Cowgirls” by the Toronto Star Weekly in June of 1945. Later that same year, the title was changed to Rodeo Princess, and official record-keeping began for the Calgary Stampede organization.

It has also been suggested that she may have competed in rodeo events, but this cannot be verified due to a lack of records from the time period.

cowboycountrymagazine.com

In real life, Leona’s life was more difficult. Her grandmother, father and herself were born with congenital hearing loss.

They all learned to read lips, and in the 1960s, Leona and Clarence received surgical implants, which greatly improved the quality of their lives.

According to a lifelong friend Betty Kilgour, Leona once told her, “You know, I have never heard the rain or the sound of a creek running.”

Kneehill Museum President Rosalie Lammle added, “She never let her disability get in the way.” Yet, she went on to work with her husband on the LO Half Diamond Ranch for 53 years, cooking for the crews, riding on the cattle drives, quilting and as a talented ceramic artist.

Due to Leona’s Stampede accomplishments and life in the saddle since the age of 4, she was featured in two photo essays. One was the previously mentioned June 25, 1945, Toronto Star Weekly feature, which highlighted her round-up skills from branding to calf catching to trail riding and a second in the Western Producer newspaper in the July 21, 1966 issue.

Three Hills-based journalist Betty Kilgour immortalized their “Prairie Cattle Drive” and described the 15th cattle drive (as of 1966) in great detail. Once familiar to many rural people, the cattle drive from Twining to Elnora and back twice a year was an essential (and a favourite) part of Ralph and Leona’s lives as the couple and a handpicked crew trailed their herd of 260-plus head to summer pasture.

While working with her husband on the ranch, Leona ensured their home was welcoming to anyone in the area. Teachers, neighbours, bachelors and friends were all members of the ‘Creek Gang.’ Kilgour wrote in the eulogy, “Of course, the ‘Creek Gang’ was always welcome at the Loosmores, as well as the bachelors and any new families in the district; everyone was always welcome.”

Ralph and Leona had one daughter, Marilyn (1944), who married Angus Park of Three Hills, with whom she has three children, Brian, Heather and Jamie.

Leona passed away in 1998 and is buried alongside her husband, Ralph, in the Three Hills Cemetery. c

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Canadian Cowboy Country February/March 2023

NASHVILLE HITTING ALL THE NOTES STORY AND PHOTOS BY BILL BORGWARDT

The City of Nashville, Tennessee, also known as Music City USA, is the fastest-growing city in America, and with all the rapid new develop-

ment, it is becoming more cosmopolitan. Many of the historic places are being torn down and replaced by condos and office towers, and the city is losing much of its rustic charm, but it is still Mecca for the country music fan, and with a bit of knowledge, you can still find much of that old traditional country magic.

If you’re planning a visit to Nashville, you’ll want to see the well-publicized venues like the Grand Ole Opry, the Ryman Auditorium, and the Country Music Hall of Fame, but there is so much more if you know where to look.

DOWNTOWN

Lower Broadway, a four-block stretch from 5th Avenue to the Cumberland River and the surrounding area, is the main strip, loaded with several dozen bars and clubs that feature continuous live music from 10 AM until 2 AM. The acts and bands change every four hours, and you can find many types of country music on over 50 different stages. As developers are taking over the city, many of the historic buildings have been replaced by new multi-story structures bearing the names of big country stars, with different bands on each level. However, some great remnants of the past still remind people what the area used to be. Among the best bars that have retained their rustic charm include Legends Corner, Layla’s, The Stage, Second Fiddle, and the iconic Robert’s Western World, where you can buy a fried bologna sandwich, chips, a beer, and a Moon Pie, all for $6, while listening to great country or rockabilly music. These original bars are all in a one-block strip on Broadway on the same side of the street.

If you’re travelling with young people (the legal age in Tennessee is 21), they are welcome in all the bars in the daytime if accompanied by an adult. The evening cut-off ranges from 6 PM to 10 PM, depending on the venue. Just ask the doorman at the entrance.

cowboycountrymagazine.com

You never know who you’ll find playing in the clubs.

Often you’ll see band members of some of the biggest acts in country music playing for tips. When they aren’t on the road, some will play the bars just because they love to play music, and it’s more fun to keep in top form playing for an audience.

One thing you should understand about Nashville is that almost every musician is working for tips. The venue may give them a token amount to pay for minor expenses, but that’s it. I suggest you keep a bundle of small bills when you head to the clubs. If you’re going to spend some time enjoying an act or band, it’s only common decency to throw a little bit in their tip jar. Of course, if you really enjoy a band and stay for a longer time, throw in $5, $10 or even $20 if you can afford it, and it would be appreciated. Some bands have four or five players, and the tip money has to be divided evenly among them. Bartenders and waitresses are also paid very minimally and rely on tips to make a living. Don’t be one of those people who come in, take up space, dance and enjoy the band for half an hour and then leave without even giving them a single dollar for the effort they put in to entertain you. If you’re that type of person, Nashville is not for you.

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NASHVILLE

Top left: Musicians Hall of Fame; top right: Patsy Cline Museum.

Bottom left: Shane Chisholm playing at the Second Fiddle; bottom right: Aaron Goodvin on stage

The nice thing about downtown Nashville is that, besides the bars, there are several other great attractions within walking distance; the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Ryman Auditorium, the Johnny Cash Museum and the Patsy Cline Museum upstairs (119 3rd Ave S) and now the new Glen Campbell Museum (111 Broadway).

Also, see the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum (401 Gay St) and the newly opened Museum of African American Music (5th & Broadway).

Originally, Nashville was a riverboat town on the Cumberland River and was built on the hillside leading to the docks, so be prepared to either be walking up or downhill and wear appropriate footwear.

If you’re driving and planning to park downtown, you’ll find most lots pricey, but there is a bargain — parking under the Music City Centre (201 Rep. John Lewis Way S), only a block from the Hall of Fame and Broadway.

OPRY AREA

Everyone who goes to Nashville wants to go to the Grand Ole Opry, and it’s a not-tobe-missed experience. Make sure you buy tickets only from the Opry online official

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site. You can also take the backstage tour there, which gives you a peek behind the scenes and some history of Nashville and the Opry. Take the daytime tour and avoid the one after the Opry ends, which costs more and is much more rushed than the daytime tour.

CANADIANS IN NASHVILLE Many of your favourite Canadian country singers live in Nashville or have spent time there. Being in that town is inspirational, and there are so many creative people to collaborate with there. It’s like any other career; if you want to succeed, you take your training in the best place possible. Like everyone else, these Canadians have to make a living. You’ll find them in the bars and at the songwriter’s showcases; some have even made it to the Opry. There is no one place to find Canadians, but if you check social media sites or ask friends in the business, you’ll likely run into at least a couple of them.

There are also great attractions in the Grand Ole Opry area for fans of more traditional country music. The Nashville Palace (2611 McGavock Pike), just north of Opryland Hotel, is one of the places you want to go, where PBR (Pabst Blue Ribbon) beer is only $2.50 all day long.

In the parking lot behind the Palace, you’ll find the newly renovated Music City Bar (2416 Music Valley Drive). Owned by a veteran country musician, the music is pretty traditional, and you never know who you might meet there. At times you may find someone who just played on the Grand Ole Opry a couple of hours previously, playing in one of these clubs for tips or just joining the band for a few songs. Music City is a place that seems to be a hangout for the old musicians who toured with Merle, Waylon and others. I never visit Nashville without dropping in there.

The newly renovated Troubadour Nashville (2416 Music Valley Drive) is in the far corner of the same parking lot. The longrunning radio show, the Midnight Jamboree, tapes there at 10 PM on Saturday nights, and it’s free to attend. The one-hour radio show has been running since 1947, and each week they feature a different legendary act. Check the venue schedule, as more events are beginning to happen there. There’s Cowboy Church on Sunday mornings and upcoming traditional acts, including the highly-rated Nashville Jubilee Country Music Comedy Show, starring Canadian artist Gil Grand and comedian Jenny Carson on Wednesday nights. Mel Tillis Jr can also sometimes be found playing there.

Also by the Palace, if you’re a fan of the Dukes of Hazzard, pop in to Cooter’s, where you can see just about every officially licensed piece of Duke’s memorabilia ever made and several of the vehicles from the show — and it’s free. If you’re a Willie Nelson fan, you can visit the small Willie Nelson & Friends museum next door.

Right south of the Opry is the huge Opry Mills Mall. You can park there for free to attend the Opry.

WESTERN SWING & HONKY TONK

If you plan on being in Nashville on a Monday night and want to experience the roots of country music played by some of the top musicians in town, don’t miss the Time Jumpers at 3rd & Lindsley (818 3rd Ave S).

Canadian Cowboy Country February/March 2023

NASHVILLE

This show always sells out, and I would advise purchasing tickets (unreserved table seating) a couple of weeks in advance. The show features the best live western swing music you’ll ever hear and includes Ranger Doug from The Riders In The Sky. One of the best-kept secrets that isn’t a secret anymore is Honky Tonk Tuesdays at the American Legion Post 82 (3204 Gallatin Pike). What started as a small gathering of musicians and dancers loving the classic country music style of the ‘50s & ‘60s era has become a popular sensation.

You’ll find bands such as The Cowpokes (one of the host bands), with special guest artists from all over the US and Canada, and sometimes some pretty major acts dressed in classic western attire and playing honky tonk music.

SONGWRITERS SESSIONS

Everyone has heard of the famous Bluebird Cafe (4104 Hillsboro Pike), but getting a seat in the tiny 90-seat venue is almost an impossible dream. It sells out in a minute when tickets go on sale, only online.

Missing the Bluebird doesn’t mean you can’t find equally good live songwriter sessions in other intimate settings. One of the largest is the Listening Room (618 4th Ave S), not far from downtown. Many of the

cowboycountrymagazine.com

“

“The show features the best live western swing music you’ll ever hear...” same songwriters perform here and at the Bluebird. Advance tickets only. The food is decent, and the songwriters are top-notch.

Backstage Nashville is a new live songwriter show which is becoming popular. It takes place on Saturdays at 12:30 PM at 3rd & Lindsley. The show is well worth it as it features top songwriters who wrote some of country music’s greatest hits.

There are lots of other live music venues around town that host songwriters nearly every night. Watch for the “Live Music Venue” signs all around the city. The best way to find intimate venues, such as Alley Taps (162 Printer’s Alley), Belcourt Taps (2117 Belcourt Ave), the Commodore Grille (2613 West End Ave), and many others, is to use the BandsInTown Nashville app. Remember that you go to songwriter sessions to hear the music, and there’s no talking while the artists perform.

If you are a country music fan, visiting Nashville should be in your plans! c

DINING With the city’s huge growth spurt, you can find all types of food services ranging from fast food to upscale fancy restaurants.

Some of my favourites for classic old-style southern cuisine: • Peg Leg Porker (903 Gleaves St) for smoked rib and chicken • Edley’s Smokehouse (908 Main St. and two other locations), smoked meats, including turkey and brisket • Hattie B’s Hot Chicken (four locations around town) • Chuy’s (1901 Broadway) or Opry Mills location for Mexican food • Assembly Food Hall (5th and Broadway) has dozens of different food kiosks • Monells At The Manor (1400 Murfreesboro Pike), south of the airport for homestyle family dining • Five Daughters Bakery (1900 Eastland Ave or their other locations), amazing donuts and other pastries Many of the downtown clubs have restaurants, and there are many fine restaurants all over Nashville.

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BY CRAIG COUILLARD

“Whether you are born into it, or it was born in you, the Western lifestyle embraces a culture of timeless authenticity.”

— Author Unknown 28

Canadian Cowboy Country February/March 2023

PHOTOS COURTESY CRAIG COUILLARD

CHURCH of the ROCKIES

This quote is why the immensely popular TV series Yellowstone is viewed by millions each week; there is something about the Western lifestyle that resonates with rural and urban audiences alike.

Trail riders tend to think they are not real cowboys or cowgirls. Did you know that the largest segment of horse owners in Western Canada is female, living on acreages or boarding their horses? They spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on their horse’s welfare, lessons, clinics, trucks, trailers, and gear. Astute advertisers and retailers know this as well.

This segment of horse owners continues to grow. Recently, Okotoks, Alta, vet Susan Scholl told me they’d seen a significant uptick in new horse owners, which she attributes to folks staying closer to home due to COVID. Myself, I don’t own cows, nor have I ever rodeoed. I’m a self-described two-bit cowboy living on a Two-Bit Ranch (ten acres) in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains southwest of Calgary, but I have been riding the Rockies for nearly three decades.

There are not many trails in Kananaskis Country that haven’t felt the hoofbeat of my horse. There is something magical, some might say spiritual, to being on horseback in the mountains. It’s been a privilege to witness many ‘first-timers’ experience this connection with nature.

People travel thousands of miles and spend thousands of dollars to ride the mountains here in our backyard. For some, trail riding in the mountains can be daunting. If you haven’t already experienced the Church of the Rockies, I encourage you to take the plunge this year. You won’t regret it.

There’s a lot of information online about trail riding, and here are some of my two-bit tips for first-timers to get you going:

FIND A FRIEND

There are a lot of social media sites administered by trail riders in your area, especially on Facebook. I often see a post where someone new to the area is looking to ride with somebody, and the response is always terrific. Even if you don’t have a horse trailer, riders will offer you and your horse a lift. Trail riders are very generous with their time.

cowboycountrymagazine.com

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1. The horses spotted something; Long Prairie Loop, Sheep River Provincial Park 2. Riding on a private ranch, near Millarville 3. Sandy McNabb area in Kananaskis 4. Junction Falls, Blue Rock Wildland, Kananaskis

FIND A HORSE

A good way to start is to try some day riding with a trail riding outfitter or at a guest ranch. Leasing a horse from a riding stable is another way to get started in horse ownership. If you have a horse but have never been to the mountains, make sure you go with somebody who has. An experienced trail rider will give you and your horse the confidence you need.

FIND A RIDE

Keep your horse healthy and exercised. I also encourage you to stay in reasonable shape, regardless of your age. Riding the mountains will require a certain amount of physicality on your part as well.

Don’t try to do too much, too soon. It’s not good for you or your horse. There are plenty of two-to-four-hour-long trails in the foothills to get you started. As you become

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Occasionally there will be organized trail rides you can join.

Your local feed store or horse boarding facility will know where to find them in your area.

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Don’t be intimidated or discouraged if you don’t have a fifth-wheel trailer with living quarters. Some of the best times I’ve had in the mountains included sleeping in a tent or the back of my truck.

Most provinces will have a provincial or regional park with overnight equestrian campgrounds and some kind of enclosure for your horse. You will meet many like-minded people in these areas who welcome new trail riders.

FIND THE GEAR

You don’t need a lot of specialized trail riding gear to get started; just a good saddle with a rear cinch, breast collar, a slicker, and saddle bags. If you are just starting, check out Kijiji or Facebook Marketplace to find used gear for sale. You don’t need to spend a bundle to get set up.

There is an ongoing debate about the merits of horseshoes.

From my perspective, most horses can go barefoot if you’re riding in the foothills, but it depends entirely on the ground and the horse. But as you progress into the high country, I would recommend having your horse shod to handle the rockier terrain. There are also temporary hoof boots. If you’re unsure, always protect their hooves.

FIND THE SEASON

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Trail riding isn’t just a summer activity. One year my brother and I committed to riding the mountains every month of the year. Winter has become one of my favourite times to ride. If you dress appropriately, trail riding is a terrific way to spend time in any season.

FIND THE TIME

I have found I must be intentional about my riding; otherwise, the days and weeks slip by. If you’re just starting, book some time each month.

FIND THE COURAGE

Cypress Hills, Canada P: 306-662-3498 Book Online: ReesorRanch.com

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Some people get spooked about bears and cougars. In all my years in the mountains, I’ve never had a horse/bear or horse/cat encounter. Horses are heavy-footed and make lots of noise, so most critters leave the area before we get there. I have seen a few bears from afar, but they’ve either carried on with what they were doing or scooted out of the way.

Don’t be nervous. Every sport has its risks, and trail riding is no different. Once you and your horse have been out on the trail a few times, you will settle in and enjoy the rides even more. Just as in the series Yellowstone, the Western lifestyle can be generational. My kids and grandkids all enjoy riding with me.

Make 2023 your year to ride in the Church of the Rockies. If you surround yourself with the right people and horses, you might discover the cowgirl in you that you didn’t know existed. It could change your life. c

Canadian Cowboy Country February/March 2023

HORSE VACATIONS CONNECTING WITH HORSES EQUINE EXPERIENCES TO TRY

PHOTO COURTESY TOURISM SASKATCHEWAN

BY TERRI MASON

Horses are the lifeblood of many businesses that cater to the mental and physical aspects of the human relationship. From quiet, well-mannered trail horses to those used in therapy, horses are proof that God loves us. If you are currently not a horse owner, here are a few ways to connect with a good horse.

cowboycountrymagazine.com

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WAGON RIDES

When you’re travelling with a herd of multi-age relatives, a new baby, or you’re sporting a cast, a wagon ride is another horse-fuelled option. Generally offered on many guest ranches, there are now some teamster-only operations. Teamsters are a great breed of human with powerful personalities — who else can control 4,000 lbs of horses with one hand while turned around and telling you a story?

GUEST RANCH HORSE EXPERIENCE

Take a lovely trail ride, have a soak in a hot tub, a good meal, perhaps an evening wagon ride and a bonfire — what else do you need to relax? As always, guest ranch owners are focused on repeat customers, so they’ll often work with riders to improve their equine skills if requested. Often, guests can request the same horse for their rides, and it’s the start of a beautiful friendship.

Canadian Cowboy Country February/March 2023

PHOTO COURTESY HELLO BC

OLD BALDY RANCH

One thing we can all agree on is that the world is best viewed from the back of a horse. Here in Western Canada, we are blessed to be living amongst the most inspiring scenery, and the men and women who rode before us blazed the trails to the prettiest spots.

Whether you’re new to horses or an old hand, see the views in the Rockies, the rolling foothills, the otherworldly Badlands or the spectacular plains and ride trails dedicated to equines. Trust me; the views are spectacular.

Lots of new and exciting pieces coming to the website in 2023!

kellymcraesilver Kelly McRae Silver mcrae-silver.com

Who likes Grass-Fed DryAged Beef, Soy-Free Chicken, Heritage Pasture-Raised Pork & Lamb, and Free-Range Eggs & Turkey? WE DO!

GUIDE & OUTFITTER TRIPS

Roughing it nowadays means riding a nice horse into a nice camp for a nice stay and some nice meals — and finishing the day with a nice dessert. Unlike hiking, outfitters generally have an established, comfortable camp with amenities and a five-million-star review. Unplug, unwind, and get in some high country riding.

HORSE CAMPS

A select group of experienced riders and three days or longer of training with some of the West’s top horse trainers is a dream vacation for many. Don’t know of any in your area? Then host your own! Get together with a cavvy of like-minded friends and have a long weekend of great fun. It’s all about honing your skills, enjoying yourself and coming home smarter than you left.

PHOTO COURTESY HELLO BC

HEALING WITH HORSES

Working alongside horses to help folks deal with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder has garnered a lot of headlines in recent years, and the reason why is because it works. Veterans of high-stress jobs, from soldiers to police to paramedics, have received welcomed help learning how to come to terms with their often soul-shaking history. Whether it’s emotional or trust issues — everyone has issues of some sort, and horses, along with a trained facilitator, can get to the “root” of the problem and help you deal and heal. Healing retreats are popular, but even a simple half-day session can achieve remarkable insights. The horse work is done from the ground, and you do not need any horse experience — and yes, everyone should try it. c

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HOMEGROWN MINERAL TUB PLANTING Create a Self-Watering Planter

BY COMMUNITIES IN BLOOM

How do you handle the challenging growing conditions for your garden? Well, Communities in Bloom loves home-grown solutions to challenges. Rural ingenuity always results in great success. Of course, we are talking about growing our garden vegetables in mineral tubs.

7. Cut a piece of fabric (such as shade cloth) to fit above the corrugated plastic as a water wick and to keep the potting soil contained; 8. Fill with potting soil and trim any extra fabric; 9. Water and plant! Bonny’s favourite combination is three tomato plants with a tomato cage.

A supporter of Communities in Bloom, Bonny MacNab with TLC Greenhouse near Mervin, SK regularly converts mineral tubs into self-watering planters. We interviewed Bonny in order to pass on the secret on to you!

Self-watering planters certainly make life easier during our hot summers.

If you aren’t quite ready to build your own, Desert Planters in Winnipeg, Man, is a leader in self-watering planters and a proud sponsor of CiB. For more visit CommunitiesInBloom.ca/equinox.

Happy planting everyone!

Visit TLC Greenhouse’s Facebook page for a video of Bonny creating a planter.

Search “Bonny MacNab/TLC Greenhouse Facebook”.

CREATING A MINERAL TUB PLANTER 1. Pick your watertight tub. Mineral tubs work the best, but five gallon pails can also work; A homemade self-watering planter

ABOUT COMMUNITIES IN BLOOM

3. Create a water wick. Fill the center onegallon pot with potting soil, 4. Cut a piece of corrugated plastic to fit over the one-gallon pots with a center hole that fits over the centre one-gallon pot and small hole along the perimeter for a pipe; 5. Cut a piece of one- inch poly pipe and place it through the hole; 6. Just below the corrugated plastic, drill three overflow holes around the pot;

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A self-watering planter inside a larger planter

For the past 27 years, Communities in Bloom has helped participating communities develop civic pride, enhance green spaces, and increase investment opportunities and tourism.

It is a proven approach to community development!

Information and images in this article have been provided by Communities in Bloom and TLC Greenhouse. Image Credit will be provided upon request.

For more information about Communities in Bloom in your province, please visit: www.communitiesinbloom.ca/how-to-participate/provincial-editions c

Canadian Cowboy Country February/March 2023

PHOTO COURTESY COMMUNITIES IN BLOOM

2. Create the water reservoir using four or five empty one-gallon tree pots placed upright inside the perimeter of mineral tub, with one pot in the centre;

INSIDER PRO RODEO CANADA

World Champion — Again!

Zeke Thurston scored 89.5 pts on Sammy Andrews’ All Or Nothin’ to split the 10th round of the WNFR, presented by Teton Ridge. Zeke won his third World Championship and the Average, tying the record. Notice Dawson Hay on the back of the chutes riding with him. PRCA photo by Phil Doyle.

RODEOCANADA.COM cowboycountrymagazine.com

CANADIAN COWBOY COUNTRY FEBRUARY/MARCH 2023

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PRO RODEO CANADA

INSIDER

2023 CPRA SCHEDULE APRIL Medicine Hat, AB ................................April 14-16 Dawson Creek, BC..............................April 21-22 Crowsnest Pass, AB...........................April 28-29 Taber, AB (1)........................................April 28-29 MAY Drayton Valley, AB................................... May 5-7 Taber, AB.................................................. May 6-7

NEW SEASON! It feels like we just wrapped up our 2022 rodeo season and the 2023 season is already right around the corner — and what a 2022 it was!

We had a full slate of rodeos with packed grandstands. Our committees, sponsors, stock contractors, contract personnel and athletes delivered on every level. And there were so many amazing moments.

We saw a new world record in the bronc riding (Logan Hay, 95.5 points on Calgary Stampede’s Xplosive Skies, Hardgrass Bronc Match) and a new Canadian record in the team roping (Tate and Kagen Schmidt, Maple Leaf Circuit Finals). And to top it off, the new CFR record (set by Zeke Thurston and Kole Ashbacher) stood only 48 hours before Zeke Thurston matched up with his old friend Macza Rodeo’s OLS Tubs Get Smart to establish 93.25 points as the new CFR mark.

Speaking of Zeke Thurston, congratulations to this amazing bronc rider on winning a third World Championship. The entire Canadian rodeo family is very proud of what he accomplished. And that pride extends not just to Zeke, but to the nine cowboys and breakaway roper, Shelby Boisjoli, who represented Canada in Las Vegas as well as all of the CPRA athletes from both sides of ’49 who did such a great job. Our stock contractors and our Canadian stock were also outstanding all ten days of the Finals.

There have been some changes in our office personnel and I want to congratulate Denny Phipps as our new General Manager. Jeff Robson will be staying involved to assist with CFR. Special thanks also to Randa Nugent who is leaving us after six years of dedication and service as the CPRA Rodeo Administrator. As well, we wish CRES Manager, Dakota Schultz, all the best as she embarks on maternity leave. And welcome to Crystal Cyrankiewicz who is joining the CPRA team as interim CRES Manager.

And finally to all of you, thank you for your continued support and get ready — the 2023 rodeo season is almost here.

Falkland, BC........................................ May 20-22 JUNE *Grande Prairie, AB

............. June 1-4

Leduc, AB................................................ June 1-4 Hand Hills, AB.........................................June 2-4 Bonnyville, AB.........................................June 3-4 Brooks, AB.............................................June 9-10 Rocky Mountain House, AB..................June 9-11 *Lea Park, AB

......................June 9-11

Gleichen, AB **(SB)................................ June 14 Stavely, AB......................................June 15-17 Innisfail, AB..........................................June 16-18 Wildwood, AB **(SB)...............................June 17 *Wainwright, AB *Sundre, AB

............. June 23-25 ................. June 23-25

High River, AB.................................... June 23-24 *Ponoka, AB *Williams Lake, BC

.............. June 26-July 2 ....June 29-July 2

Raymond, AB................................ June 29-July 1 *SMS Equipment Pro Tour Rodeo ** SB=Saddle Bronc

FloRodeo Network broadcasts Canadian Finals Rodeo, Maple Leaf Circuit Finals and SMS Equipment Pro Rodeo Tour rodeos.

Terry Cooke, President, Canadian Professional Rodeo Association cowboycountrymagazine.com

Visit RodeoCanada.com for updates.

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PRO RODEO CANADA

INSIDER

OH! CANADA! THURSTON WINS THIRD WORLD TITLE

The Canadians; top left Orin Larsen, Inglis, MB, Jared Parsonage, Maple Creek, SK, Kole Ashbacher, Arrowwood, AB, Front left: Jeremy Buhler, Arrowwood, AB, Layton Green, Millarville, AB, Dawson Hay, Wildwood, AB, Zeke Thurston, Big Valley, AB, Logan Hay, Wildwood, AB, Kolby Wanchuk, Sherwood Park, AB. PRCA photo by Click Thompson.

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ig Valley, Alta. bronc rider, Zeke Thurston, continued to fashion a storybook career as he won his third World Championship at the recently completed Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, Nevada. With $399,915 in season earnings, the second-generation cowboy placed in all but one round over the ten days, earning a record-tying 876.5 points to capture the NFR Average title along with the Top Gun Award that goes to the top money earner in a single event.

“Those other fourteen guys in that dressing room are the bronc-ridingest sons of guns you will ever see… I really had to work for this one,” Thurston acknowledged.

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Fellow Canadian, Logan Hay, competing at his first NFR, wound up second in the average and third overall. The other four members of a strong Canadian bronc riding contingent were Dawson Hay, Kolby Wanchuk, Layton Green and Kole Ashbacher.

Team ropers, Jeremy Buhler and Rhen Richard, came alive in the final two rounds. Buhler, the 2016 World Champion Heeler, from Arrowwood, Alta. and his Utah heading partner, Rhen Richard, were 3.8 for the win in round nine and 3.7 for a three-way split of top spot in round ten. Kaleb Driggers, from Hoboken, Georgia, and the talented Brazilian,

Junior Nogueira, made it back-to-back World titles, finishing second in the average and topping $340,000 in season earnings.

Waverly, Kansas bareback rider, Jess Pope added his first world title to an already impressive resume. Pope ended up with 860 points over the ten rounds for his third Average win and won $390,620 in season earnings. The lone Canadian in the field, Orin Larsen, went out after the fourth round with a thumb injury that required surgery.

When steer wrestling leaders, Will Lummus and Stetson Jorgensen, broke the barrier and took a no-time respectively in the final round, the door was opened for Tyler Waguespack to claim his fourth gold buckle. The Gonzales, Louisiana hand wound up third in the average and earned $268,881 to edge Lummus by just $2700.

Kyle Irwin and Jesse Brown finished 1-2 in the average; both men rode Canadian Curtis Cassidy’s award-winning bull dogging horse, Tyson.

Cotulla, Texas cowgirl, Hailey Kinsel, collected her fourth barrel racing championship despite hitting two barrels and finishing only eighth in the lucrative average. Kinsel and her mare, Sister, won the second, third, ninth and tenth go-rounds and split 1-2 in the fifth round in capturing the title. South Dakota veteran, Lisa Lockhart, a four-time Canadian Champion, rode her way from fourteenth place at the outset of the Finals to third in the average and fourth overall.

Caleb Smidt locked down his fourth tie-down roping championship in a masterful 10-round performance that saw him win $374,736, leaving him more than $100,000 ahead of second place finisher Shad Mayfield.

Stetson Wright continued to re-write history, riding eight of ten bulls and finishing with $592,143 in season earnings to win both the Average and overall honours.

Canadian Cowboy Country February/March 2023

PRO RODEO CANADA

INSIDER 1

2

3 1. Curtis Cassidy with his Nutrena Steer Wrestling Horse of the Year trophy, presented by the AQHA. This is the second time Tyson has earned this honour. PRCA photo by Clay Guardipee.

2. Jared Parsonage on Powder River Rodeo's Chiseled in Round 3; on the back of the chutes is Layton, Zeke and Logan cheering him on.

PRCA photo by Phil Doyle.

3. Jeremy Buhler and his header partner Rhen Richard winning round nine. PRCA photo by Hailey Rae. 4. Dawson Hay making a spectacular 92-pt ride on Beutler's Killer Bee. That’s Kole Ashbacher hollering on the back of the chutes. PRCA photo by Phil Doyle.

It was one of two titles for Wright as he was, once again, the All-Around Champion, establishing records in both the bull riding and All Around. Maple Creek, Sask’s Jared Parsonage, concluded an outstanding season that saw him win the Canadian bull riding title, and the PBR Canada Finals before wrapping up his year with his first NFR appearance.

Canadian NFR competitors brought home $796,052 US dollars while stock contractors from north of the 49th parallel sent 42 of their four-legged stars to Las Vegas, including all of this year’s Canadian champions: Duane Kesler Championship Rodeo’s Alberta Prime Devil’s Advocate, Macza Pro Rodeo’s OLS Tubs Stevie Knicks in bareback riding and the much celebrated (and now retired) OLS Tubs Get Smart in the bronc riding. c

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PRO RODEO CANADA

INSIDER

SPECTACULAR FINISH! MAPLE LEAF CIRCUIT FINALS

BY CPRA 2

1

1. Record-breaking action of Kagen and Tate Schmidt.

2. 2022 MLCF Champion Coy Robbins. Photos by Wildwood Imagery/Chantelle Bowman

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ull rider Coy Robbins capped off his 2022 season in style going four-for-four at the Maple Leaf Circuit Finals at Regina Agribition en route to winning both the Finals and the Maple Leaf Circuit season title. Robbins won two rounds, split 1-2 in another and added a 2-3 split as he earned $4,383 for the Finals title and $27,178 for the Maple Leaf season.

“This is definitely the longest run of my career,” the Camrose, Alta. athlete admitted. “I put in the work all year and it helped that even though I was a bit banged up, I stayed pretty healthy over this last month of the season.”

And there was plenty of excitement in the team roping as well as Barrhead,

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Alta, brothers, Kagen and Tate Schmidt, lit up the Brandt Centre with an arena and CPRA record time of 3.3 seconds for the final round win.

“I knew we were fast,” the heeling half of the team, Kagen admitted, “but I didn’t know how fast until I saw Tate hootin’ and hollerin’; then I looked up at the clock. Even then it didn’t sink in right away that we’d broken the record.”

Kagen noted that the steer they had was one they’d wanted at the Canadian Finals Rodeo in Red Deer and throughout the Regina event, “but we didn’t get him until last night. He’s good, fast, strong — just what you want.”

The 3.4-second record, held previously

by Mike Beers and Shane Schwenke, had stood since 2009.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2022 MAPLE LEAF CIRCUIT FINALS AND YEAR-END CHAMPIONS: Bareback: Cole Goodine Steer Wrestling: Stephen Culling Tie-Down Roping: Clayton Smith Barrel Racing: Jennifer Neudorf Bull Riding: Coy Robbins Saddle Bronc: Ben Andersen, Finals Champion Hunter Sawley, Year-End Champion Team Roping: Tristen Woolsey/Trey Gallais, Finals Champions Dillon Graham/Dawson Graham, Year-End Champions Breakaway: Jenna Dallyn, Finals Champion Bradi Whiteside, Year-end Champion c

Canadian Cowboy Country February/March 2023

PRO RODEO CANADA

INSIDER ROAD TO THE CFR

WYATT HAYES THE NEW ALL AROUND

BY TIM ELLIS

I

n 2022, the Canadian Pro Rodeo Association changed the names of two coveted year-end awards.

The All-Around championship became the Kenny McLean Award, while the High Point Award was changed to the All Around. The first name to be scribed on the newly named All Around buckle is Wyatt Hayes.

“It took me a couple of days to get through all the messages,” chuckles Hayes, describing the support he received after winning the award. “It opened my eyes to how much support I have around home.”

The 27-year-old, Granum, Alta, cowboy had an advantage going into the Canadian Finals Rodeo in November 2022. He was the only contestant to qualify in two events at the CFR. “It was my first full season in the team roping,” explains Hayes, who also qualified in the tie-down roping. “I was always the guy everybody picked up for a weekend.”

“I guess I never really looked super-hard for a partner. Maybe I didn’t put myself out there enough for anyone to ask me, either.

But I’ve been team roping since I was five years old. It’s always come easy for me.”

His partnership in 2022 with Lochlan Christianson paid off. Well, at least for Hayes.

“If we’d have placed in the top three or four, it would have been fine,” offers Hayes in describing how his heeling partner missed the CFR cut by $1,500 when four teams split the team roping win at the final regular season rodeo in Edmonton, leaving the pair splitting fifth.

Ironically, one of those teams to split the win was Tuftin and Tyce McLeod, the latter who would become Hayes’ partner for the CFR. Together they would win $8,387 in Red Deer, including an important fourthplace cheque in round six.

cowboycountrymagazine.com

Wyatt Hayes on his way to winning his first All Around title at the Canadian Finals Rodeo.

CPRA/CFR photo by Wildwood Imagery/Chantelle Bowman

“It didn’t kick in until Curtis (Cassidy) won the last round (in steer wrestling),” says Hayes, who grew up near Val Marie, Sask. “Then, I realized I was actually competing against a guy who had won it (former High Point award) so many times before.”

‘I didn’t really think about the All Around coming into the CFR. I knew I had a chance because I was in two events. But I was concentrating on those events. In the back of my mind, I thought if I did good in each event, I would be OK.” In the end, Hayes beat out the nine-time High Point champion by just over $3,500,

buoyed by a third-place cheque in the tiedown on the final day.

“The tie-down roping is hard for me,” confides Hayes, who credits the tutelage of Saskatchewan roper Shawn Williamson and his New Mexico college rodeo coach, Marty Eakin, for helping him refine his skills. “I actually got my yellow mare (Score) from Shawn and used her at college.”

It was that 12-year-old horse that Hayes used at the CFR and the one he plans to use in 2023.

“The goal is to qualify in both again. And maybe win a championship in both or one of the events.” c

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CLOWNIN’ AROUND | CRASH COOPER

ASH COOPER ART AND RANCH GALLERY

From the archives... a Cowboy favourite from 2013!

"Ya, summers are pretty short in this country...

THEY USUALLY FALL ON A TUESDAY!!"

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Canadian Cowboy Country February/March 2023

WHAT WORKS FOR US

Choosing Sires or Steers

BY TERRI MASON

— Bob Gowans “We consign our two-year-old bulls to the Williams Lake Bull Sale in mid-April. We think it’s a good time to sell as bull buyers don’t have to feed those animals for long because grass is right around the corner.

Most often, they are taken home, put on grass, and go to work.

Our bulls are weaned their first fall, overwintered on growing ration, and then for the following summer, they’re on grass.

In Sept/Oct, we bring them in and put them on growing ration again until April, until they are sold.

It’s not that easy to determine which calves remain bulls. We calve in April and brand and castrate in June, so we make that decision early. You get to know which cows are proven producers. It seems that those “good cows” have those same calves every year — the ones that have come

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ahead already, are correct [good conformation], and they’re shiny. With young cows, it takes a year or two. A young cow can’t put as much into her calf as she’s still growing herself. Sometimes there’s a heifer that raises a great calf, but then you’re running that risk that she’s a heavy milker and then she’s not looking after herself good enough. Then she will have trouble getting bred back again; there’s a balance there.

So we make those decisions, and we don’t always make them right. It has happened more than once where later in the

summer, we’re looking at a bull calf that we’ve made into a steer and think, ‘We made a mistake there.’

But if you keep those calves and make the decision later on, it’s a lot more hassle to deal with them because, with our bull calves, we leave the horns on; removing horns and castrating at an older age is tough on them.

At our branding, we use painkillers on all the calves; we brand, vaccinate and burn the horn nubs off. It’s another job nobody likes doing, but you do it. Again, we leave the horns on the purebred bull

Canadian Cowboy Country February/March 2023

WHAT WORKS FOR US calves. Our commercial cattle run with the purebred herd, and the commercial calves are all dehorned at birth with dehorning paste.

People will say, “there is a polled [no horns] breed,” but there’s a difference, like two different lines of genetics. Some raise polled cattle because they don’t want to deal with horns, but there are those of us who still raise horned cattle because we know the pedigrees and the bloodlines, and Horned Herefords were the original breed. It comes down to a personal preference.

We have sold bulls to customers up north that have predator problems. They also leave the horns on their cows and they can defend themselves and their calves from the wolves. That same customer claims his cattle are easier to handle now that they’re horned; the herd works out their pecking order. He told me that they have a bridge they used to have to “chase” their cattle across. Now, he says that with the horned cattle in the herd, the first cow steps up and keeps going because there are

horns behind her urging her across. Even in the crowding tub where cattle would churn a bit, now, they never have trouble there, they just trail up the chute. He credits their horns.

With our whole herd, we select for soundness. We advertise “Sound, Correct, Maternal,” and these are the most important traits for us. We also like to see a good hair coat on them, and you definitely get that with the old Canadian bloodlines; some of the American bloodlines that came up took the hair off, but Canadian winters demand it. Soundness; it’s fairly rugged country here, and we also sell a lot of bulls into the Cariboo and Williams Lake country, and they’ve got to be able to get around. Also, the Canadian Canadian Hereford Association is improving carcass traits so the cattle marble and yield better.

And, a lot of us are getting older, and there’s no better breed to handle than the Herefords, disposition-wise. It doesn’t matter if you’re on foot or horseback. They are nice to look at and they are nice to handle — and that’s what works for us.” c

AT A GLANCE RANCH NAME: Deanfield Ranch ESTABLISHED: 1908 OWNERS: Bob and Colleen Gowans, Mary Gowans NEAREST TOWN: Kamloops, B.C. ELEVATION: 1,070 M (3,500 feet) PRECIPITATION: 270-360 mm (10-14 inches) ACRES: 2,000+ deeded & lease lands HERD SIZE: 200 head; half commercial BREED: Purebred Horned Hereford; commercial Hereford herd BRAND: Diamond G, RRC

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Calf Tipping Tables

1-800-661-7002 45

PROFILE

Bill Borgwardt A LIFE BEHIND THE LENS

STORY BY TERRI MASON | PHOTOS BILL BORGWARDT

I

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Brett Kissel, 2002

Brett Kissel, 2022

Aaron Goodvin, 2002

Aaron Goodvin, 2022

t’s said a picture is worth a thousand words.

Photographs are one of the biggest memory triggers for the human race. An image evokes strong connections, sweeping a person back to a specific time and place. Another powerful trigger is music, which also fuels the same consequences. One of Canada’s biggest country music fans is multiaward-winning creative Bill Borgwardt, a photographer who has spent a lifetime capturing images of musicians and, along the way, became an icon.

To be considered an icon in the iconheavy entertainment industry is quite a feat. For a “sidelines guy” to achieve this status plus, having a retrospective of your work launched at Canada’s National Music Centre in Calgary is unheard of before now, and fans and entertainers alike couldn’t be happier.

If you’ve ever been to a prairie honkytonk, an outdoor festival, an exclusive concert or pretty much anywhere in Nashville, chances are you’ve seen Bill in action.

Unobtrusively, Bill has chronicled the careers of many of Canada’s greatest country performers.

“As a teenager, I was taking photographs of rock ‘n roll acts at the time [Roy Orbison, Bobby Vinton, Bobby Curtola and the like], so I’ve always been interested in music, and I really got into it in the ‘90s,” said Bill in a recent interview, “Country, bluegrass, roots, and folk; each tie in as country music for me.”

Times have changed since then. “There were still a lot of restrictions about photography but not as strict as it is now,” he said.

“Back then, I wasn’t accredited, you couldn’t take a professional camera into a place like Rexall or the Coliseum, so I had to sneak mine in,” he laughs.

Canadian Cowboy Country February/March 2023

PROFILE

Then he started working with Global Country. He knew they’d need photos of everybody, and he began shooting in earnest.

“At the CCMA Awards in the late ‘90s, the Country Music News reporter, Dennis Charney, needed some pictures taken, and he asked me. Soon Dennis asked me to do a column. That lasted for 12 years,” he said.

But it wasn’t just the award shows he photographed. “When I started, I covered everything — I wanted the local artists to get national coverage because Country Music News was a national publication.

I was the first guy to get Brett Kissel and

“I’ve always been interested in music, and I really got into it in the ‘90s” Aaron Goodvin national coverage.”

After Country Music News folded, there wasn’t any “downtime” for his career as Jackie Rae from CFCW asked Bill to shoot for them, then the director of (now) Country Music Alberta brought Bill onboard and gave him a website to post photos.

The website has proved so popular that there were an astounding million views from Jan 1 until the end of October 2022.

“I’ve had many people tell me they live vicariously through me to find out what is happening,” he laughs.

Despite all the accolades, he’s a humble man and feels a strong kinship with the musicians he has chronicled. “So many started in little town halls, and now they’re big international stars. I’m quite proud that I had a chance to do a little bit to get them recognized initially.”

After so many decades of attending concerts, he’s pretty much an expert, and he maintains that performing is so much more than “hitting the notes.”

“It’s so great to see an artist’s career develop,” he said. “They all start out as decent singers, but then all of a sudden, they become an entertainer and a big attraction. That’s why my photos of the artists are all happy; they’re smiling and

cowboycountrymagazine.com

Jason McCoy, 2001

Jason McCoy, 2022

Tenille Townes, 2007

Tenille Townes, 2022

having fun. That’s why I don’t have the pictures of them with their head buried in the mic and their eyes closed — that doesn’t appeal to me. I want to see them full of joy and having a good time, then I know I’ll have a good time.”

And after so many decades, Bill is still having a good time, spending his evenings chronicling the up-and-coming and the already there, camera in hand. c

MORE PHOTOS! To join the millions that have viewed Bill’s 30,000 photos online, visit www.acma. smugmug.com. To see the retrospective of Bill’s photography in a gallery setting, visit Studio Bell, Home of the National Music Centre, 850 4 St. SE, Calgary, Alta. www.studiobell.ca.

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COUNTRY COOKING

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Canadian Cowboy Country February/March 2023

Cast Iron Cooking

COUNTRY COOKING

BAKED STUFFED APPLES

It’s hard to imagine a kitchen without cast iron, especially a camp kitchen. Since the art of casting became widespread in the 16th century, we’ve been cooking in it. Hearty stews, fluffy flapjacks and biscuits baked to perfection are the mainstay of any campout, and now, you can add pizza!

CAMPFIRE PIZZA CONTRIBUTED BY LODGE CAST IRON For a quick camp-friendly version, use flatbread instead of dough!

Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 5-10 minutes Serves: 4-6 Cook it With Our Cast Iron Cook-It-All

INGREDIENTS •Prepared pizza dough • ¼ cup pizza sauce • 2 cups mozzarella, shredded • 6 ounces pepperoni, sliced • ½ cup yellow onion, sliced • ½ cup mushrooms, sliced • ½ cup green bell pepper, sliced • Oil, for coating griddle

DIRECTIONS

1. P repare 2 beds of coals. Set the CookIt-All’s domed skillet/wok in one of the beds of coals.

2. P reheat to high heat (Tip: you can use this time to sauté veggie toppings, if desired).

3. O il the griddle side of the Cook-It-All. Roll out pizza dough and place on griddle, leaving an inch around the edge for the domed piece to lay.

4. P lace the griddle with pizza dough over medium coals. Spread sauce around pizza dough.

5. Q uickly add toppings and cover with cheese.

6. C over with preheated dome. Fill dome with hot coals and cook until cheese has melted and crust begins to brown (5-10 min).

Baked apples with cinnamon and nutmeg stuffing are the perfect way to end a fall camp meal. The smell of this aromatic dish will have the whole campground ready for dessert!

BEGINNER

Prep Time: 10-15 minutes Cook Time: 50-60 minutes Serves: 6 Cook it with our Dutch Oven

INGREDIENTS • 6 baking apples • ½ cup raisins • ½ cup slivered almonds • ½ teaspoon cinnamon • ½ teaspoon nutmeg • 2 ¼ cup water • 6 ounces orange juice concentrate, thawed • 3 tablespoons honey

DIRECTIONS

1. W ash and dry apples. Remove core, but do not cut all the way through the bottom of the apple.

2. I n a small bowl, combine raisins, almonds, cinnamon and nutmeg. Divide filling into 6 equal portions. Stuff apples with filling.

3. I n a small bowl, combine water, orange juice concentrate and honey. Mix until blended.

4. P lace apples in 12 Inch Dutch Oven.

Carefully pour orange juice mixture over apples.* 5. B ake between 350-450 degrees Fahrenheit for 50 minutes or until apples are tender. Spoon excess sauce over apples before serving.

PRO TIP: Use an aluminum foil liner in the Dutch oven to make cleanup a breeze.

cowboycountrymagazine.com

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COWBOY POETRY

Reg Kesler’s Hat

BY MIKE PUHALLO

Saskatoon Rodeo, some twenty years ago we drove all night through a blizzard of prairie wind and snow A grey mare called Quick Silver was the bronc that I had drawn A tall good lookin’ horse but tough to get out on Some say her momma was a gator from down in Louisian’ And I’ve never seen a horse so keen to try to bite a man Marlin tried to help me out, he jumped up to shake her mane But she raked his belly with her teeth, and he jumped down again Now, if you’ve been around Reg Kesler, You know he’s not a quiet man And patience is one virtue, he sure don’t understand.

Ol’ Reg jumped on the bucking chute and doffed his brand-new hat He slapped that pony across the face, but it was ME he hollered at “Hell sakes, what you waitin’ for get in your saddle, son!

I got the bitch distracted, get on and get it done!”

I nodded my head, they turned us loose, and things got kinda busy The way that ol’ grey mare could buck had this man darn near dizzy I’m tryin’ hard to spur that nag and barely gettin’ by When the sound of laughter reaches me, I can’t think of a reason why!

Well, I never drove 1,000 miles to make a fool of me but it seemed the harder I tried to spur, the more they giggled with glee!

At last, as a fog bank dissipates when morning turns to day Clarity returned, and she bucked high and straight away And as I charged the front, I finally saw what folks was laughin’ at For flopping around from that horse’s mouth, was Reg’s brand new hat!

Good thing the whistle blew right then ‘cause I plumb lost control Caught up in the spirit of mirth as on the ground I roll I lay there gigglin’ in the dirt so overcome with glee I hardly noticed the pickup horse that ran right over me

Reg Kesler’s Hat was excerpted from “Can’t Stop Rhymin’ on the Range:

by Mike Puhallo (1953-2011), 1997, Hancock House Publishing

50

Canadian Cowboy Country February/March 2023

ADOBE STOCK/ GREGORY JOHNSTON

Well, Reg’s $200 hat was plumb destroyed that day But I come up with a 71 and a split of fourth-place pay And at the same time, Reg Kesler earned this cowboy’s undyin’ respect For this sacrifice to help a rookie kid win an $18 cheque!

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