A horse-drawn hearse and hay-wagons packed with mourners wound through the streets of Josephburg Sunday as the town said goodbye to a staple of the stagecoach world.

76-year-old Fred Olson died of a heart attack while driving a team of horses at an event last week.

A fixture of the rodeo scene both at the Calgary Stampede and K-Days, Olson’s family says he dedicated his life to the sport.

“To show people, you know, what good horses look like and what a good outfit looks like and everything,” his son, Shorty Olson said.

“And that was reflected in the awards that he won in parades throughout Alberta.”

Hundreds of people packed a recreation centre in Josephburg, about 50 kilometres northeast of Edmonton, for his memorial.

Shorty Olson says his father was a friendly man who loved to meet new people on the rodeo circuit.

“There's nobody that he couldn't talk to. He would just strike up a conversation with just about anybody,” he said.

“He was very outgoing and very confident and just an all-around good guy.”

Olson says the family is taking comfort in the fact he died doing what he loved.