Calgary Stampede Wrap-up

July 15, 2015July 24, 2015 / suefraser / 4 Comments

I promised to write a final full wrap-up of Stampede. It was just way too late when we got in from congratulating the new 2015 winners and enjoying the company of Team 23’s Stampede participation. Monday was out of the question, as it was a packing, traveling and sleep day. Now that we are home and it’s Tuesday, I found a few minutes to write.

So we celebrated our youngest child’s birthday. Cody turned 24 on Sunday. WOW!!! I will forever remember the day he was born, as he came a month premature. Cody was born only a few days after Grandpa Tommy Dorchester’s passing. He’s become a gentle giant at 6’5. He is just a bit big to sit on our knees anymore but we love to have him around just the same. He’s been a huge help in the box training horses with Rick. He’s going to be a great driver himself one day.

Being at the Calgary Stampede, we always have folks drop by that we rarely see. Kim Nevada swung by for a hug and photo with Ricky. She’s beautiful inside and out and hasn’t changed a bit over the years. Her husband Jimmy used to outride with Rick and also drove a chuckwagon too. Another family, Alden and Natasha Harms, stopped by. What a surprise. Alden went to school with our kids but is just a few years older. My, how the years go by. Great to see them and their family.

Rick’s looking for a new job in the fall so he thought he would try his hand at filming. Not sure how that went for him. There was no job offer after. He’ll keep looking.

We were very excited with our hook on Day 10 of the Stampede. Rick had Spirit on the Left Lead, Ranger on the Right Lead, Law on the Left Wheel and Keenan on the Right Wheel. Our outriders were Cole on Leaders riding Bingo and Rory throwing stove with Trixter.

Coming into barrel 1, I was nervous if they would stand with Keenan being a new horse and this would be his second race. They didn’t have to wait long and the horn blew. Off they went, Rick did a great job turning the figure 8 and they were gone! What a superb race, almost clinching a day money run, but we came in second on the day. We’ll take that! We were first in our heat by quite a bit. What a great way to finish off the Stampede and even better in front of our sponsors, Northwell Oilfield Hauling. A huge thank you to them for all their support. We couldn’t do it without them.

Rick and I and Team 23 made an emergency exit out of the Stampede grounds on Monday morning.

We’re going incognito for a week to curl up and sleep some hours away during our few days off before we head to Bonnyville.

In between my naps, I am tending to the laundry and the garden. It’s pretty dry here so not many weeds and the grass is rather brown.

I must say, all in all, we enjoyed our 2015 Stampede. Team 23 was exceptional with all their work with the horses and all the barn chores. Couldn’t ask for anything better than that. This chick’s happy. Thanks to all of you for following along. Bonnyville is our next tour stop, beginning Thursday, July 23. I may blog a time or two before the show starts. Until then, howdy ho!

Someday everything will make sense. So, for now, laugh at the confusion, smile through the tears and keep reminding yourself that everything happens for a reason.

Calgary: Night Eight (July 10)

July 11, 2015 / suefraser / Leave a comment

We’re keepin’ on, keepin’ on! One hour at a time. Three-quarters of the way through the show and we feel it. Everyone is tired from the early mornings and the late nights. This 10-day Stampede is a grind. We love to be here but it sure takes its toll when you don’t get enough sleep.

My plans were to get a mini-nap in today but…it didn’t come to fruition. It was our turn to cook the breakfast for both barns. I don’t mind doing that while Team 23 cleans the stalls and walks the horses. It all comes together quite nicely.

It didn’t take the kids long to disperse for their morning naps after they enjoyed a big breakfast meal. Rick and Cody headed around the corner to the film review room. They replay all the heats from the night before for the drivers and others to watch. Not that it can change how you did, mind you; it’s available just for one’s viewing pleasure.

With a few moments to myself, I decided to take a few photos of the quiet shed row. Once the forks and rakes are put away, the lights are shut off, and the fan is turned on the horses settle right down and rest. It’s pretty cool to see their transition from chores to quiet time. There’s just something to be said when we get to relax along with them in our shed row.

Amy, Coy and I headed out to the local Calgary Zoo. Coy was pretty excited to see all the animals. I didn’t realize just how big the zoo was. I think our kids were maybe 6, 8 and 10 when we frequented it last. There were so many animals to see. I asked Coy what was his favourite when we were all finished, and he said all of it. I do know that he sure liked the dinosaur display. He is hip on dinosaurs. And if you ask him what he’s going to be when he grows up, he will tell you a palaeontologist and an archaeologist as well. Pretty impressive, if you ask me.

Tonight’s racing was exciting for many of the drivers. It was the night where eight drivers would qualify for the semi-final run on Saturday. So many cheers and so many tears for family, friends and fans.

At the end of the evening, Kurt Bensmiller, Mike Vigen, Jamie Laboucane, Kelly Sutherland, Gary Gorst, Vern Nolin, Logan Gorst and Mark Sutherland were the top eight qualifiers. Out of those eight, Kurt Bensmiller was the one with the top aggregate time after eight nights of racing. He wins a pickup and a bronze trophy for his driving efforts. Congratulations to Kurt and his crew.

Alisha, Candice and I have been taking the outriding horses over to the infield for the races everyday. I always like to ride them over. Today Alisha did too.

Rick hooked Nickle on the Left Lead today, Speedy on the Right Lead, Sneakers on the Left Wheel and Zorba on the Right Wheel. Cole rode Ace and Chanse rode Andy. When the horn blew, Rick did his job and got around the barrels and onto the track in good condition.

Cole mounted his horse and was coming around when another outrider on the next barrel was out of control and ran into Cole. This put Cole behind getting out onto the track, which in turn made him late, then we received a one-second penalty for a late outrider. Unfortunate for us.

Tomorrow, we are reseeded again into new heats. I heard we are in the sixth heat and on barrel 1. I would include the draw but we have not gotten it yet. Looking forward to another great day tomorrow.

Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.

Calgary: Night Five (July 7)

July 8, 2015July 8, 2015 / suefraser / Leave a comment

Tuesday already. That means we are at the halfway point of the Calgary Stampede. The days go by very fast when we are here as it is such an important and busy show.

The air was pretty chilly this morning. I didn’t take a coat down when I headed to the barns but I could have used one. Once we got busy doing chores, I had warmed up.

It was laundry day for me today. Rick’s treat while here is dropping off his jeans and shirts with Cochrane’s Dry Cleaning By Dave. They come every day to the grounds from 10am until 1pm for drop-off service. Many cowboys utilize this service so they all look neat and tidy with their starched jeans and shirts.

I like it too as it lessens my load tremendously. We’re also fortunate to have a few machines donated for our use in the barns.

Once I got that all taken care of, Kaylee, Gary and I went to the Big Four to the lost and found. You see Kaylee lost her wedding band yesterday. So we wanted to report it. We’re hoping that it will be located by someone before we leave the grounds.

Out back at our barn we had some visitors that really paid us no attention. These ducks were just looking for some leftover oats to eat.

What a cute couple. I remember years ago Rick and I were discussing ducks, and I was clearly disappointed when Rick filled me in that the female duck was the dull one and pretty one was the male. He’s never let me forget it.

We have many fans abroad, and here we have Rick’s Aunty KooKoo (Sharon) with cousin Tammy and her daughter Sadie. Lots of our relatives love to get together at the cabin or their home, sit around the campfire and make bets on the races.

For the night’s races, my job (along with a couple of the girls) is to take the outriding horses over to the infield and tend to them. I have a tough time getting on the horse myself, so there’s always one of the guys to give me a boost up.

Tonight we brought over a beverage to celebrate our halfway point of the Stampede.

There’s no shortage of love for our horses in our barn. They all get number one lovin’! Ace loves to have his lip rubbed and Jesse has no trouble doing that.

Because of the redraw tonight, we got hooked with different drivers. So in turn we lost an outrider and had to hire a different one. Dustin was riding, but he had to go ride for his dad, Gary Gorst, as we were in the same heat. But not to worry as we picked up 2014 world champion outrider Chance Flad.

Rick decided to hook Spirit on the Left Lead, Ranger on the Right Lead, Sneakers on the Left Wheel and Law on the Right Wheel. Cole rode Beau again and Chance rode Stadium. They did a great job.

Rick was on 1 barrel. When he came in to park, he said he heard someone whistle and the horses jumped ahead of the barrel. Rick tried to back them up, somewhat successfully but we were still assessed a one-second penalty. The horn finally blew and away they went.

Unfortunate luck struck and the top barrel was hit, assessing us another five seconds. That one hurts. This takes us out of the running for the top eight so we will just be running for day money now.

Rick is a great skinner, and I’m proud of him and he’s done well thus far. We were also happy tonight how fast the horses ran. Tomorrow is another day and we will shoot to get a day money.

One of the happiest moments ever is when you find the courage to let go of what you can’t change.

Calgary: Night Three (July 5)

July 6, 2015July 6, 2015 / suefraser / 4 Comments

Rick and I are so very fortunate to have a Team 23 barn crew like these kids for our 2015 Calgary Stampede. We may have a lot of helpers but they have come to work, play and keep the morale up each and every day.

They keep us entertained let me tell you. For some of them, I call them my other adopted kids.

From left to right in the photo below, we have Kaylee (our daughter), Candice, Kim, Chris (our son-in-law), Cayley, Mylene, Jesse, Allie, Alisha, Me, Harold (our farrier), Rick and Cody (our son).

Morning chores have been getting completed very quickly in the mornings. The crew is very efficient. This leaves everyone a bit more time to catch up on some much-needed sleep, or to run some errands or even to get some laundry washed and dried.

Today, our relative Brace and I took our yearly trip to the Roundup Centre to check out all the booths and look at all the art displays. Was it ever crowded down on the grounds! But then again, when is it not? After all, it is the Greatest Outdoor Show on earth.

I treated myself to a nice souvenir sweater and a belt from one of the booths on the grounds. I was also craving a twist ice cream cone and so I had one. I told myself I better enjoy it, as they charged $5 for it!!! Yikes! But we crazy people pay for treats such as this. What a killing they make on the food down there.

While walking through the venue, we came upon this little jigger behind the board. I couldn’t resist taking a picture to share with you. He made me smile.

We had some guests pop by the barn before the races. First off, a little surprise from the Stampede Committee. They came and presented Rick with a beautiful halter for our horse Law. You see, Law won an equine award from last year’s stampede. They were just a little behind delivering it. But we will accept it just the same. Proud of that pony.

Our other guest was Dr. Shirley McClellan. Shirley told us stories of days gone by and how she followed the chuckwagon races, and still loves it today.

Two of our Team 23 members slipped off the grounds to help out at a pancake breakfast. Kim and Candice went to the Sunwest Church to participate by giving kids rides on horses supplied by Camp Evergreen. What a feel-good story when you can make a child smile.

Yesterday’s sponsor was Terra HDD Solutions. Scott and his clients were thrilled to watch the races from an infield suite, and then come back to the barns to meet and greet us. We like to give barn tours to give the people a sense of what it is we do and how we do it. A huge shout out to Terra HDD Solutions for the great sponsorship here at the Calgary Stampede.

It was a cool evening for races. I think my husband may have even donned on his long underwear for tonight. I know he was cold and so was I. But I didn’t have any long johns. Boy, this weather has been from one extreme to another.

Our hook tonight was Spirit on Left Lead, Ranger on Right Lead, Air on Left Wheel and Zorba on Right Wheel. They sure started hard but not quite enough to get the rail position over competitor Evan. They were running okay but coming down the homestretch they just seemed to quit. They posted a 1:11.68, which gave us a position of 13 on the day and we are also sitting 13th on the three-day average.

We have one more race tomorrow coming off the 3 barrel. Then there will be a redraw to start all over at the different barrel positions. The name of the game is to stay clean and steady. Our goal is to be standing on that stage come Sunday evening.

Keep your head up. God gives his hardest battles to his strongest soldiers.

Ponoka: Night Three (June 28)

June 29, 2015July 1, 2015 / suefraser / Leave a comment

Another day of wonderful, hot weather. I think it reached 30 degrees for sure.

We didn’t hook any horses this morning so we just did the chores. We were short a crew member, as all the girls went out last night to celebrate our hired girl Kim’s 24th birthday. They all had a great time. Kim got to sleep in.

I had an appointment at 10, so I made sure all the crew were fed and watered. Rick really doesn’t like it when I say that. He always says to me, “We’re not horses, you know.” But at the end of the day they are happy that I’m cooking for them.

I arrived back at the trailer by noon. My next project was to sort through all the Team 23 T-shirts that arrived. With the help of Amy, Kendra and Allie, we refolded, sorted and organized them all so my trailer would be livable again. It’s pretty bad when your neighbour boy pops by and says, “You sure have a lot of junk in here.” He sure made me laugh.

We were off the 1 barrel tonight. It’s our favourite. Rick hooked Spirit on Left Lead, Ranger on Right Lead, Vegas on Left Wheel and Zorba the big grey on the Right Wheel. We continue to have Cole holding the leaders and tonight he rode Beau. Dustin threw the stove and rode Trixter, his favourite.

The outfit started hard and came to the track to get the rail. They all ran hard and finished first at the finish line, placing us 9th on the day. The driver did a great job too!

I must say, Ricky’s a pretty good skinner, as he had some real good teachers and comes from a pretty good gene pool: his grandfather Tommy Dorchester, his stepdad Dave Lewis and his uncle Dallas Dorchester.

I don’t have any race photos tonight, as I didn’t realize until I got to the infield that I forgot to put the battery back into the camera. Grrrrr. Silly me. It won’t be the first time and may not be the last. Ho hum.

But the photos I do have are some great ones of our good friends Doug and Deb Hanson’s grandkids. They are our number one fans. They were at the races tonight sporting their new Team 23 T-shirts.

And afterward, they posed for a photo with a gentleman named Jim Plamondon. Jim was thrilled to have received our little mini chuckwagon giveaway tonight after Rick’s race. It put a smile on his face.

We met another young fella tonight. Damien came to visit us from Red Deer. He met our friend Mary Lynn from Bruce’s Tru Hardware store. She sent him over to meet us and get a signed poster. We did better than that and gave him a T-shirt too. I think we made a fan for life. He said he’s coming back next year for sure.

In my opinion one of the best things about our chuckwagon journey is meeting all the wonderful people along the way. There are so many of you out there, with so many different stories to tell and different paths of life. And we appreciate meeting you all and letting you come into our lives to see just a bit of what we do.

A hundred years from now, it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in or the kind of car I drove…but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.

The Travelin Trailer

Thoughts from the Voice Within

family

Calgary Stampede Wrap-up

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Calgary: Night Eight (July 10)

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Calgary: Night Five (July 7)

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Calgary: Night Three (July 5)

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Ponoka: Night Three (June 28)

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