The greatest outdoor show on Earth, or the deadliest?

The annual Calgary Stampede has resulted in the deaths of several horses, once again. This year, three horses were put down after sustaining injuries from the Cowboys Rangeland Chuckwagon Races. In the same week, a steer died after a participant twisted its neck during steer-wrestling.

For years now, the stampede has forced horses and oxen into dangerous situations which inevitably results in accidents. Afterwards, the injured animals are typically euthanized, the only humane course of action left. The chuckwagon races are particularly egregious, killing over 70 horses alone since the stampede’s inception. At some point, we need to begin prioritizing the safety of our animals above these meaningless traditions. The stampede will survive without the chuckwagon races, but some of the horses might not if it continues.

It is no surprise that these events are hazardous. The stampede coordinators are well aware of the risks that they force horses — and riders — to take. In fact, in 2020 the Calgary Stampede changed the number of chuckwagons that run per heat from four to three after six horses died in 2019. But, these changes were not enough. After all, a horse died each year following the change. Although these deaths temporarily declined in 2021 and 2022, this year proves that there’s still an undue amount of danger involved.

While Joel Cowley, the CEO of the Calgary Stampede, agrees that these deaths are “unacceptable,” it seems he has no desire to cut out the chuckwagon event. Instead, he plans to improve animal safety by working with horse racing and rodeo organizations to “evolve” his programs. However, this begs the question — can the stampede improve the safety of its events?

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) would say no. It’s called for an end to the chuckwagon event and sent this message to both Alberta’s Premier Danielle Smith and Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation RJ Sigurdson. The Animal Justice Canada Legislative Fund has also demanded that Canada charge the stampede with animal cruelty. And are these organizations wrong? These events have a clear pattern of treating horses as disposable. Even riders have died in the chuckwagon races. We need to begin treating these highly predictable incidents with the severity that they deserve. Although persecuting the stampede would be difficult, we can still withdraw the more dangerous programs. 

However, some consider the chuckwagon races integral to celebrating Western Canada, a key part of the stampede’s purpose. At the same time, there are several other events that accomplish that same goal. Horse Haven and the Elbow River Camp (they host the Teepee raising) are just two events that showcase Alberta’s culture without harming any animals involved. The stampede’s educational value will not suffer drastically as a result of removing steer-wrestling and chuckwagon races. In fact, it didn’t even have a chuckwagon race in 2021 due to the pandemic. So, there is a precedent for this decision to take place again. 

There are dozens of organizations that put on these events in the name of cowboy culture and dozens of animals die because of them. Cowley and the Calgary Stampede can only ensure the safety of participating animals by removing certain events. And, many Canadians agree. It is time that we put these traditions to rest, instead of doing the same to the horses.