Canada: The chance to make a fast buck

Cowboys risk serious injury for the chance to win prize money. Photo / Alan Gibson

Eight seconds. That's all Zeb Lanham needs to earn a year's salary of $150,000. Or to break every bone in his body. To collect the cash he has to ride a bull named Wranglers Rock Star - 500kg of bucking, snorting muscle - for eight seconds.

Duels like this make Calgary Stampede, held annually in the western Canadian province of Alberta, the most exciting rodeo in North America.

Lanham mounts the beast in the bucking chute and, with just one hand, grips a rope wrapped around its girth. The gate is opened, letting the bull burst out into the arena. Lanham manages to hang on for just 4.7 seconds before being bucked off into the dirt. Disappointed, he scrambles to his feet.

But the show is not over as far as Wranglers Rock Star is concerned. The bull drills Lanham with its horns and hurls him several metres into the air. The 20,000 spectators gasp in horror, and even the veteran public address announcer loses his cool for a moment.

"Oh, my God, was that a butt!" the announcer cries, as Lanham, his face twisted in pain, picks himself up from the dirt again.

The first Stampede was held in 1912, and the whole town has been involved ever since. Standard attire is cowboy boots, shiny belt buckles, and snow-white cowboy hats.

On Stampede mornings, thousands of volunteers dish out free pancakes with bacon and maple syrup. And a colourful parade on opening day - including horse-drawn wagons and Blackfoot Indians in full feather headdress - makes the city centre look like an offbeat movie set.

Some 15,000-20,000 spectators turn out daily for bull riding.

Other major events are bareback riding wild horses, steer wrestling and tie-down roping, a daring chuck wagon race, and ladies' barrel racing on horseback.

The events are not pastimes for the cowboys who participate, but professional sports that provide their livelihood - and ruin their health. A total of C$1.6 million ($2.5 million) in prize money is awarded every day. Cowboys who fail to win do not receive a cent and have to pay their travel and lodging expenses out of their own pocket.

Simply putting on a good show earns the appreciation of the whole city of Calgary, though. On Stampede evenings at Ranchman's bar and restaurant, slow-motion pictures of bucking bulls and stallions - not Canadian football scores - are what you see on the television screens.

Here, amateur cowboys wash the dust of the hot arena from their throats with glasses of ale, flirt with cowgirls at the next table, and good-naturedly poke fun at the performances of rodeo participants.

"Unbelievable how high a human body can fly," one fellow quipped at Lanham's expense. Seven metres high, in fact, according to a report the following day in the Calgary Herald, the local newspaper.

"Bull riding is the most dangerous sport in the world," asserted Sean Libin, a staffer at the medical centre set up during the Stampede. "None of the guys are really healthy." Among the least serious injuries are bruises, cracked ribs and hyperextended ligaments.

The only women's event at the Calgary Stampede is ladies' barrel racing, which requires speed and skill more than strength. The contestants, on horseback, have to circle three barrels in a cloverleaf pattern.

Traditionally one of the most hazardous events is the Rangeland Derby, with a purse totalling close to $150,000. Teams of four thoroughbreds are hitched to four chuck wagons, each of which has four outriders. Following the jumble of 32 galloping horses on the racetrack is not easy.

A chuck wagon driver is only as good as his horses. That is why racers such as Darcy Flad, 37, treat their four-legged teammates like top athletes.

"They get sports drinks to replenish their electrolytes, we have horse masseurs here and chiropractors," he said.

Dustin Thompson, a 25-year-old Canadian, used to have an oil pipeline job but prefers the nomadic life of a cowboy. He was satisfied with his winnings: around $20,000.

Over the weekend he would try to ride Scotch on the Rocks, a wild horse, for eight seconds. Maybe he could win more money. At the end of the Calgary Stampede, Thompson planned to pack his saddles and move on to rodeos in places like Texas, Utah, Colorado and Wyoming.

And to return for the next Calgary Stampede.

GETTING THERE:

Air New Zealand has daily flights to Calgary in conjunction with partner airlines. Long-term seasonal fares are available from $2760 per
person return for travel in Pacific Economy. Airport and government
costs are additional. Travel is available via Vancouver, Los Angeles or San Francisco. See www.airnz.co.nz.

CALGARY STAMPEDE:

This year the Calgary Stampede will be held July 3-12. See
www.calgarystampede.com.

FURTHER INFORMATION:

For general information about visiting Alberta see
www.travelalberta.com.