Put on your cowboy hat, pull up your boots, and get ready to have a western weekend in Drumheller.
The Richard Cosgrave Memorial Pro Rodeo and the 2008 Badlands Dinosaur Derby is saddling up from July 25-27 at Dinosaur Downs.
The Drumheller Stampede and Agricultural Society have been working hard to make this one of the best seasons ever for the event.
“Our focus is to make this event memorable and
impress the WPCA (World Professional Chuckwagon Association) and bring
back the eighth annual Dinosaur Derby next year,” said Ag Society vice
president Larry Duxbury.
To find Dinosaur Downs head south out of Drumheller on Highway 9 and turn left at the Drumheller Institution.
While the events on the track and in the infield get
going on Friday, July 25, Drumheller has been busy all Stampede Week,
and the rodeo spirit is catching. Drivers, chuckwagons and outriders
have been rolling in all week long.
Start off the stampede right with a big breakfast on
Friday morning from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Pancakes will be served at
Greentree Mall on Highway 10, east of the intersection of Highway 9 and
10. Mayor Bryce Nimmo and The Honourable Jack Hayden are expected to be
working the griddle, and the Canadian Rodeo Queen and princesses are
also expected to make an appearance.
Think you have what it takes to drive on the half
mile of hell? Well to begin with, you could try the charity mini
chuckwagon races. Watch teams race on tricycle-powered wagons in hopes
of winning some cash for the charity of their choice. The races begin
at 8:30 a.m.
That afternoon, if the flapjacks don’t fill you up,
come on back to the Greentree Mall for the chili cook off to end all
chili cook offs. This is a make from scratch competition with no
commercial mixes, all ingredients are to be mixed and cooked on site.
There is $500 up for grabs in prize money.
The competition goes from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
After all this fun, the real excitement begins on
Friday night. All the action begins at the Dodge World Pro Tour
Chuckwagons, who run their first heat at 7 p.m. The first daily Kids
Calf Scramble, brought to you by McLean Construction, follows the
chucks. Untie the bandana from the calf, and kids can win a bicycle
each day of the event.
On Saturday the rodeo begins. Slack starts and 10
a.m. while the opening ceremonies for the CPRA Canadian Pro Rodeo
Association Sanctioned Richard Cosgrave Memorial Pro Rodeo is at 2 p.m.
The chucks go at 7 p.m. and then dance the night away to the cowboy
sounds of Billy Melville at the Stampede Barn.
The rodeo continues on Sunday afternoon, and the finals of the Dinosaur Derby go at 7 p.m.
