3 minute read
Racing Recognition for Charlie Bjornson
Racing Recognition for Charlie Bjornson
Rosanne Fortier - News Correspondent
Vegreville’s own, Charlie Bjornson, expressed that he was stoked to win the 2025 APCCA Chariot Rookie of the Year!
Charlie has an enthusiastic and youthful attitude of a 16-year-old. He grew up in Manning and moved to Vegreville in 2022, and now attends Vegreville Composite High School.
Charlie is a first year member of Vegreville 4-H Beef Club, going on second year. He is also in Wranglers U18 hockey and the Bears baseball team.
Charlie decided to go into these races when he went to Dwayne Dubuc’s house, and his buddy’s father was talking about racing. Charlie thought this sport sounded cool, so he got Dwayne's number and started hanging around with him that summer.
This is Charlie’s second year in the sport, but last year, he traveled around with Dwayne, and helped with chores. This year, he ran the chariots. Some of the races he participated in were at Vegreville’s events.
On how he trains the two horses, Charlie explained, “Dwayne let me ride his good horses, and I learned a lot from him, and his championships. In the past years, he has given me a lot of good advice. People around the track have always pitched in a good word, told me how I could do better, and how to succeed.”
Charlie shared that the connection between a rider and the horse has to be pretty strong. “You have to understand how they act. You have to have a good attitude because if you are nervous, they can tell, and they can sense if you are angry or happy. They can feel it through the lines.”
Charlie went on to say that with Dwayne’s schedule, they do not have too much time for spring training. “But we went out six or seven times for about five hours each time to practice racing the horses around the track. You have to be patient and have a strong mental game, as well as confidence in yourself. If the horses are acting up, you have to be okay with not winning every single show.”
Charlie closed by saying the best part is racing. But afterwards, the greatest time is hanging out with the people around the camp, as they are a close-knit family.
The challenges are all the hard work, hot days and rainy and slushy days, where you still have to do it. “If the horses are acting up, or you are not feeling good, you have to battle through it.”
Moving forward, Charlie plans to keep racing because of the people you meet and the fun you have racing makes it definitely worth it. He hopes to pursue chuckwagon racing one day. Career wise, he looks forward to being an electrician.
