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July 3-12 2015
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Chapter 01
1886 - 1913
The Exhibition and the Stampede have grown with the city of Calgary.
Chapter 02
1914 - 1945
Between the First and Second World Wars, the Calgary Stampede served as a training ground, a showcase for Western Canadian production and an escape from tumultuous world events.
Chapter 03
1946 - 2011
During the second half of the 20th century, the Calgary Stampede expanded and became the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth.
Chapter 04
2011 - Present
The Stampede welcomed its second century with fanfare in 2012 and was devastated by a flood in 2013, but the show went on and it continues to celebrate the community as well as western heritage and culture.
Do you have a piece of Stampede History?
The Calgary Stampede Archives is a growing collection, please contact us if you have an item of Stampede history you wish to donate.
About the Calgary Stampede
Historical Committee
While the champion breeding and bucking stock have been celebrated at the Calgary Stampede for years - some of the most remarkable horses have performed in the spotlight without formal recognition. With the launch of the Equine Outfit of Excellence program the chuckwagon horses are now getting their due. These awards annually recognize and reward the top six equine athletes at the GMC Rangeland Derby.
The original concept was conceived by outrider Eddie Melville, grandson of the late Orville Strandquist, and the program has been a part of the World Professional Chuckwagon Association since 2005. In 2013, the Canadian Professional Chuckwagon Assocation has also implemented the program. Points will accumulate over the first eight nights of racing for horses on the five top wagons each night. The Fitness to Compete program that the Stampede initiated in 2011 tracks chuckwagon horses each night they run using microchip technology. This way every horse can be accurately recorded for the nights they compete. By combining this record of racing with final racing standings each night, a compilation of each horse's individual points will be generated. The six awards will be chosen for the racing positions of: Right Leader, Left Leader, Right Wheeler, Left Wheeler and finally two Outriding horses. Once the final listings of points are available after night eight of racing, the winning horses will be named to the Outfit of Excellence. Chuckwagon horses will be awarded first followed by the outrider horses. Once a position is filled, the driver who owns the selected horse is not eligible to have another horse named to any of the remaining positions. Tie-breaking criteria will help sort out the final Outfit of Excellence if necessary.
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