INDEPTH: CALGARY STAMPEDE
Deadly accidents at the Calgary Stampede
CBC News Online | July 4, 2005
The Calgary Stampede is called the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth, but the annual rodeo and exhibition comes with its share of accidents. This 10-day showcase of western culture and tradition, in true 10-gallon hat style, is dramatic, larger than life and wildly popular. There's no question it's the biggest party in southern Alberta in the summer.
But the death of nine prized rodeo horses on July 3, 2005, brings into sharp relief the dangers of this summer event, one of the most deadly in Canada. Chuckwagons have overturned, drivers have been ejected, horses have been toppled in wagon races, and animals have been put down after suffering injuries in races and rodeo events. Deaths bring criticism, and in the case of animals, they prompt calls to the Calgary Humane Society.
Chuckwagon race fatalities - human
1948: A spectator in an area known as the Stampede infield dies when struck by an outrider's horse.
1960: Driver Don Chapin, 34, is killed when his wagon overturns at the start of a heat.
July 14, 1971: Outrider Rod Glass, 19, is killed when some chuckwagons overturn at the first bend of the racetrack. He is tossed to his death.
July 20, 1996: Outrider Eugene Jackson, 24, dies of head injuries sustained in a July 11, 1996, accident.
July 11, 1999: Driver Bill McEwen, 51, dies of severe head injuries suffered in a crash two days before, when a pileup on the track had catapulted him into the air. He is taken off life support before he dies. Larry McEwen says his father died doing what he loved.
Stampede event fatalities - animals
July 10, 1986: A spectacular chuckwagon crash claims the life of six horses. One chuckwagon cuts off another, leading to a terrible pileup. The accident leads to new rules and regulations designed to make the races safer. By the end of the year's Stampede, 12 animals have been euthanized.
1995: Three horses die in rodeo accidents.
1999: One horse dies in a chuckwagon accident.
2002: Six horses are put down after they are injured during chuckwagon races, and a calf is put down after one of its legs is broken in the calf-roping event.
2004: A horse is put down after it breaks its hind leg in a rodeo event.
July 3, 2005: Nine prized rodeo horses die after they fall off a bridge and into the fast-moving Bow River. They were with about 200 horses that got spooked and ran at full gallop on the bridge, when some crowded together and sent several tumbling into the river. They were nearing the end of a trail ride that was supposed to finish on the Stampede grounds. Organizers had staged the ride to celebrate Alberta's centennial year. The Calgary Humane Society is investigating.
The Calgary Stampede, a world famous event, runs from July 8 to 15 in 2005.
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