The Official Newsletter of the World Professional Chuckwagon Association TURNING THE BARRELS. January 2017

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Sybil Pearson
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much-deserved time off to relax together during the holidays.

Twelve world champion titles. Twelve Calgary Stampede champion titles.

See Page 6 THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR The WPCA is pleased to announce its new broadcast

Eagle Creek GM is in Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan, and is a loyal supporter of the sport

1 Official Truck of the WPCA The Official Newsletter of the World Professional Chuckwagon Association TURNING THE BARRELS January 2017 Volume 6 Issue 53 halfmileofhell.com IN THIS ISSUE SLOWING DOWN IN THE OFF-SEASON Wagon families took some much-deserved time off to relax together during the holidays. See Page 2 One from the Archives ONE LAST WPCA TOUR FOR THE KING Fifty years. Twelve world champion titles. Twelve Calgary Stampede champion titles. We look back at Kelly Sutherland s career. See Page 6 THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR The WPCA is pleased to announce its new broadcast booth sponsor, Eagle Creek GM. Eagle Creek GM is in Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan, and is a loyal supporter of the sport of chuckwagon racing. Eagle Creek GM is a small city dealer with big city inventory selection and a team of professionals offering great customer service focused on customer satisfaction. Kelly Sutherland with his faithful leaders Ralph and Bobby at the 1997 Calgary Stampede. Photo courtesy of the Billy Melville Archive Collection

Whenever the weather permits, you will find them working out new combinations of horses, looking for that magic connection that will turn them into winners next season.

2 TURNING THE BARRELS! PAGE 2 Slowing Down in the Off-season EVERYTHING SLOWS DOWN in the off-season for everyone connected to the WPCA. Drivers start planning for the next season, and for many of them that includes shopping for new horses. Most have their favourite tracks or trainers to scout out looking for new talent. Whenever the weather permits, you will find them working out new combinations of horses, looking for that magic connection that will turn them into winners next season. It is also a bit of normal time for them too. Kids go back to school and get into their favourite activities, whether that is dancing, gymnastics, hockey, curling, volleyball, basketball, soccer, figure skating or other interests. That often means the parents are on the road as much as they are during the race season as they juggle each child s busy schedule. Doug Irvine and the kids get the tree. Photo by Jimmi Lou Irvine Many drivers and their wives are also busy on the farm or at work somewhere during the off-season so they can make it feasible to go down the road during the summer. The WPCA is always about putting family first. If you follow drivers on their Facebook pages or Twitter accounts, you know they spend a lot of time with family. The photos accompanying this article will give you a look behind the scenes at these western heritage sports stars during that special part of the off-season, the Christmas holidays. Fans don t always get to see the human side of these athletes. In this photo feature, we re showing that the drivers are also proud parents and even prouder grandparents. Many of our younger drivers and outriders have young children. We thought it might be interesting for fans to follow along with the multiple generations in the WPCA Dina and Mark Sutherland enjoying their custom mugs and a cuddle with grandson Kase. Photo courtesy of the Sutherlands families. Now we wait and watch to see who the next generation of drivers and outriders will be. Maybe the first woman world champion is in these photos, or how about a fourth-generation driver like Klinch Gorst or Kelly Sutherland s great-grandson Kase?

3 TURNING THE BARRELS! PAGE 3 Slowing Down in the Off-season Top left: Rose Salmond. Top centre: Harper Cosgrave and Santa. Top right: Teal Fike. Bottom right: Klinch Gorst. Bottom left: Racin Fike helps to build the rink. Photo by Adriane Salmond Photo by Charleigh Profit Photo by Tamara Fike Photo by Jaycee Gorst Photo by Caitlin Fike

4 TURNING THE BARRELS! PAGE 4 Slowing Down in the Off-season Top left: Grandma Sue Fraser and Coy. Photo by Sue Fraser Top centre and top right: Logan and Shalyn Gorst s kids meet Santa; Grampa Luke Tournier with Tayva Gorst. Photos by Shalyn Gorst Bottom right: Teal Fike s first Christmas. Photo by Tamara Fike Bottom left: Rose and Cash Salmond. Photo by Adriane Salmond

5 TURNING THE BARRELS! PAGE 5 Slowing Down in the Off-season Top left: Les and Kelly McIntyre s family. Photo courtesy of Kelly McIntyre Top right and right: Billy Melville s chuckwagon-themed outdoor Christmas lights and decorations. Photo by Billy Melville Bottom right: Gary and Dauna Dorchester s five grandchildren look cozy. Photo by Dauna Dorchester Left: Racin and Ryden Fike. Photo by Caitlin Fike

TURNING THE BARRELS! PAGE 6 One Last WPCA Tour For The King MAKE SURE YOU get out to the races this year when they come to your town.

Over a six-decade career, starting as an outrider in 1967 and then moving to the wagon box in 1968, Kelly has been the greatest ambassador for the western heritage sport of chuckwagon racing.

After 50 years, his career as the greatest champion in chuckwagon racing history will come to a close when he retires at the end of the 2017 season.

6 TURNING THE BARRELS! PAGE 6 One Last WPCA Tour For The King MAKE SURE YOU get out to the races this year when they come to your town. Not only are WPCA races an entertaining and family-friendly event but 2017 will be the last year to see Kelly Sutherland do what he does best and what he has done better than anyone else ever has. Over a six-decade career, starting as an outrider in 1967 and then moving to the wagon box in 1968, Kelly has been the greatest ambassador for the western heritage sport of chuckwagon racing. This season will be the last trip around the circuit for Kelly, also known as The King, as he has reached the Calgary Stampede s mandatory retirement age of 65. After 50 years, his career as the greatest champion in chuckwagon racing history will come to a close when he retires at the end of the 2017 season. Kelly and Debbie Sutherland with Kelly s wagon in Kelly is a 12-time Calgary Stampede GMC Rangeland Derby champion and a 12-time world champion chuckwagon driver. He has also won the Calgary Stampede aggregate title six times and the Ponoka Stampede champion title eight times. Over his incredible career, Kelly has won multiple titles in nearly every major chuckwagon event, including six North American chuckwagon championships, five Battle of the North championships, and nine Big M Stampedes, and he has twice won the Cheyenne Frontier Days, among many other big wins. Kelly and Debbie Sutherland in 1977 with Kelly s Calgary Stampede champion bronze. He has competed in a record 77 championship final heats (21 of them at the Calgary Stampede GMC Rangeland Derby alone) and was victorious in 25 of them. At the Calgary Stampede s Centennial Celebration in 2012, Kelly s tarp sold for $300,000 (a record high price at the Calgary Stampede) and he received the Calgary Stampede s prestigious Guy Weadick Award. Kelly and Debbie Sutherland with Kelly s 1999 world champion bronze, his eighth world title. In 48 seasons as a chuckwagon driver, he has placed in the top 10 an amazing 41 times. Kelly also outrode for Ralph Vigen s 1972 Calgary Stampede championship outfit. He has had four horses named to the WPCA s Equine Outfit of Excellence and was named the WPCA s Chuckwagon Person of the Year in 1994.

other drivers. In Ron s view, Kelly never gives an inch and has a superior horse sense along with incredibly soft and sensitive hands when handling horses.

7 TURNING THE BARRELS! PAGE 7 One Last WPCA Tour For The King Ron David, one of the legendary drivers in wagon racing, says it is the competitive drive that Kelly maintains even at his current age that sets him apart from other drivers. In Ron s view, Kelly never gives an inch and has a superior horse sense along with incredibly soft and sensitive hands when handling horses. The other factor working for Kelly, Ron says, is that Kelly intimidates other drivers just by their having to race against him. While other drivers often deny it, Ron says Kelly has a way of getting into their minds before and during a race. Doug Irvine has the barn next to Kelly in Ponoka every year, and as a result he has had a chance to have many conversations with Kelly. Doug says that Kelly respects the wagon and driver heritage as much as anyone in the sport ever has. He s always willing to share what he learned as a young driver and what he has learned over the years. You will often hear Kelly talking about the lessons he s learned from his own mentors: the legendary Ralph Vigen and Dave Lewis. Kelly loves horses and never gets tired of them. He says experience is what separates the drivers in the top 10 from the rest. You have to talk to the horses through your hands and you can only do that through experience. Kelly spent 20 years travelling with Ralph Vigen, whom he considers to be the top driver of all time. He says Ralph taught him to relax, which allows the horses to relax. He also says that he now tries to be the same kind of mentor for others that Ralph was for him. Kelly feels obligated to share his knowledge to make the sport better. Kelly will always be associated with his other nickname, The Feather, and with his thumbs-up sign at the end of Above: Like many drivers, Kelly got his start as an outrider. He s pictured here (second from right) with Ralph Vigen s 1972 Calgary Stampede champion RJ Keen outfit. From left to right: outriders Mindy Shingoose, Jack Regan and Butch David, federal Agriculture Minister Bud Olson, driver Ralph Vigen, outrider Kelly Sutherland and sponsor RJ Bob Keen. (Missing from this team photo is outrider Ron Vigen.) Right: It wasn t long before Kelly drove his own rig to race against Ralph Vigen. Here they are competing against one another at the 1978 Calgary Stampede.

From left to right: Outriders Alan McMillan and Allen Brown, driver Kelly Sutherland, and outriders Mike Vigen and Rod O Connor. races. He says he got the feather in 1974 in Ponoka.

8 TURNING THE BARRELS! PAGE 8 One Last WPCA Tour For The King The 1975 Calgary Stampede champion Norman Nilson outfit. From left to right: outriders Randy Fisher and Allen Brown, driver Kelly Sutherland, and outriders Butch David and Richard Fisher. The 1977 Calgary Stampede champion Archie Hackwell outfit. From left to right: Outriders Alan McMillan and Allen Brown, driver Kelly Sutherland, and outriders Mike Vigen and Rod O Connor. races. He says he got the feather in 1974 in Ponoka. He had a friend who ran the midway and lots of the rodeo cowboys were wearing feathers in their hats. The guy offered to change his luck and gave Kelly one of his eagle feathers. Kelly chose one of the wing feathers instead of a tail feather and had rodeo cowboy Dale Trotter show him how to tie it on. Kelly won that night and has worn a feather ever since. As for the thumbs-up sign, Kelly says it started from simple excitement at the end of the race. Ralph and Bobby remained together for 13 years, winning 24 shows, 3 world titles and 5 Calgary Stampede dashes. by Kelly, originally published in a February 2014 issue of the Turning the Barrels newsletter: At a sale in Spokane in 1990, a s l a u g h t e r h o u s e h o r s e b u y e r purchased a papered gelding named Koroko for $250. The late Bob Dimmer was a retired chuckwagon driver who kept an eye out for horses who might make a second career of chuckwagon racing. One of Bobby Dimmer s friends saw the transaction and called Dimmer in Olds, Alberta, and asked if he was interested in him checking if the meat buyer would resell the gelding. Dimmer said yes and subsequently paid $350 to buy Koroko. When asked about his favourite horses of all time, Kelly doesn t pause: Ralph and Bobby! What follows is the story of these two legendary and much-loved lead horses, as told The friend hauled this little chestnut gelding to Olds and dropped him at Dimmer s ranch. From the first time the horse was broke to drive, Dimmer knew he had a natural

TURNING THE BARRELS! PAGE 9 One Last WPCA Tour For The King The 1978 Calgary Stampede champion Maclin Ford outfit.

The 1991 Calgary Stampede champion Petro Canada outfit. From left to right: unknown, Rob Matthews, driver Kelly Sutherland, and outriders Lyle Panbrum, Gary Lauder, Jason Glass and Dale Gray.

Koroko was nicknamed Bobby. This little gelding raced for 13 years on the right lead of my chuckwagon.

9 TURNING THE BARRELS! PAGE 9 One Last WPCA Tour For The King The 1978 Calgary Stampede champion Maclin Ford outfit. From left to right: outrider Richard Fisher, driver Kelly Sutherland, outrider Ron David, Dan McCullough, and outriders Jim Lyster and Roy David. The 1991 Calgary Stampede champion Petro Canada outfit. From left to right: unknown, Rob Matthews, driver Kelly Sutherland, and outriders Lyle Panbrum, Gary Lauder, Jason Glass and Dale Gray. leader with this little horse. When he brought the horse to the chuckwagon races at the Ponoka Stampede six months later, I purchased him for $8,000 plus four thoroughbreds. Koroko was nicknamed Bobby. This little gelding raced for 13 years on the right lead of my chuckwagon. Over those years, Right Leader Bobby teamed with a grey Left Leader I won the Calgary Stampede off every barrel with Bobby and Ralph on the lead team. named Prairie Premier, nicknamed Ralph, whom I purchased that same summer for $20,000 from Edgar Baptiste. This lead team remained together for 13 years, winning 24 shows, 3 world titles and 5 Calgary Stampede dash races. I won in excess of A black-and-white shot of Kelly and his outriders in 1974, the first year he won the Calgary Stampede as a driver. The team ran as the Norman Nilson outfit. Back row, from left to right: outriders Roy David, Randy Fisher, Richard Fisher and Butch David. Front row: driver Kelly Sutherland.

TURNING THE BARRELS! PAGE 10 One Last WPCA Tour For The King $750,000 driving them. I qualified for 10 Sudden Death $50,000 dashes at Calgary.

I had changed out wheel horses over the years but never switched out the lead team. While turned out in the pasture, they would not be more than two metres apart.

Both of these incredible horses truly enjoyed the sport of chuckwagon racing and proved to be the best thoroughbred superstars ever hooked to a wagon.

10 TURNING THE BARRELS! PAGE 10 One Last WPCA Tour For The King $750,000 driving them. I qualified for 10 Sudden Death $50,000 dashes at Calgary. I won five of those $50,000 dashes and an additional four world championship titles driving this lead team. I won the Calgary Stampede off every barrel with Bobby and Ralph on the lead team. I had changed out wheel horses over the years but never switched out the lead team. While turned out in the pasture, they would not be more than two metres apart. Most times Bobby would be on the right-hand side and Ralph would be a metre away on the left. Both of these incredible horses truly enjoyed the sport of chuckwagon racing and proved to be the best thoroughbred superstars ever hooked to a wagon. Bobby never had an injury during his chuckwagon career and proved to love the sport immensely. Bobby and Ralph were retired in the fall of 2004 to live out their lives on the Sutherland Ranch. Some records were made to never be broken, like Wayne Gretzky s points total or Henri Richard s 11 Stanley Cups. Kelly s 12 world champion and 12 Calgary Stampede champion titles are not likely to be broken and will long be the stuff of legends. Enjoy this year s farewell tour for The King and watch Kelly show how it is done. Top: The 1986 Calgary Stampede champion Cambridge Shopping Centres outfit. From left to right: outriders Jim Nevada and Lyle Panbrum, driver Kelly Sutherland, and outriders Ken MacMillan and Mike Vigen. Middle: Kelly at the 1993 Calgary Stampede. Bottom: Kelly Sutherland in fine racing action during the 2011 WPCA Tour. Note the distinctive feather artwork on his wagon and the real feather on his hat. All photographs in this feature are courtesy of the Billy Melville Archive Collection

The Official Newsletter of the World Professional Chuckwagon Association TURNING THE BARRELS. September 2016

Official Truck of the WPCA The Official Newsletter of the World Professional Chuckwagon Association TURNING THE BARRELS September 2016 Volume 5 Issue 48 halfmileofhell.com IN THIS ISSUE BATTLE OF THE NORTH