Chuckwagon races are a family affair for the Salmonds.
Wade Salmond and his dad, Neil, are racing in the Toyota Pony Chuckwagon Races during Westerner Days, with Wade having the Nossack Fine Meats tarp and Neil with the Jan Buechler tarp.
Wade’s younger brother Evan is racing chuckwagons at the World Professional Chuckwagon Association chuckwagon championships in Bonnyville and younger sister Heidi is racing chariots back in Saskatchewan.
Between the Salmond boys and their father, they own close to 300 horses and have an extensive breeding program at their ranch in Weekes, Sask.
Wade has been riding horses since before he can remember.
“I was riding horses before I could walk,” he jokes.
By age 14, he was racing chariots and at age 16 he was racing pony chuckwagons. At age 18, he won the world championships and still holds the title for being the youngest driver to ever do so. Now at age 31, it’s old hat.
Wade comes from a long line of drivers. His grandfather raced and the family has a picture of Wade’s great-grandfather, who was a stage coach driver in Minnesota, with a gun at his hip ready to take on whatever obstacles came his way.
Wade said the biggest challenge of competing in the pony chuckwagon races is the amount of time you put in.
“It all pays off in the end. What you put in is what you get out,” he said. “When the horn goes off, you’ve got your hands full.”
It’s all about training a team of horses to run in sync, with one miscue moving a driver from second or third spot to 30th.
“It’s not as easy as it looks,” he said. “You’ve got to be a good horseman and you have to have good horses.”
Wade will start halter breaking his horses at age two, but he doesn’t try them for a practice run before age three. He has an A and a B wagon. On the B wagon, he uses a couple of older horses with a couple of younger ones, with the older horses helping teach the younger ones the ropes.
Wade explains having a good team is also about proper breeding and having a good feed program throughout the year. Wade, his brother and father have a variety of breeding programs, making sure to get the right cross and size, using everything from thoroughbreds to quarter horses.
The day leading up to the nightly races involves resting the horses, then giving them a little exercise, feeding and sometimes bathing them, before harnessing a couple of hours before.
“It’s hours of work for a minute of fun,” said Dale Young, the president of the All Pro Canadian Chuckwagon and Chariot Association and himself a driver under the Calgary Flames Ambassadors tarp.
Young, who lives in Olds, has been behind a team racing since he was 15 years old. Now at age 32, he said the speed, the excitement and the camaraderie of the drivers keeps him going.
He said it’s hard to explain what it’s like to be in the seat when the horn blows.
“It’s zero to full blast right now,” Young said. “It jerks you back, you grab some lines and go.”
There are 56 wagon outfits competing during the Toyota Pony Chuckwagon races at Westerner Days, with drivers from as far away as the United States and British Columbia. Races start tonight at 6:30 p.m. and at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Also on tap for today at the AFSC Livestock Pavilion the Maine Anjou show starts at noon, followed by the Texas Longhorn Show at 4 p.m. At the Coca Cola Livestock Pavilion the miniature horse show and miniature donkey shows start at 10 a.m., followed by the rabbit show at noon.
The main stage entertainment for tonight is Johnny Reid, with doors opening at 7:30 p.m. and the show at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $30 and available through Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.ca or by phoning 403-340-4455.
At the Molson Canadian Ranch Stage, there will be live entertainment throughout the afternoon into the evening, with the Higgins on at 9 p.m.
sobrien@www.reddeeradvocate.com