A little history
The Calgary Stampede officially came into being in 1912. It traces its roots to the Calgary and District Agricultural Society that was formed in 1884 to exhibit livestock, grain, flower, vegetable and crafts.

In 1908 a traveling agricultural fair called the Dominion Exhibition rolled into Calgary. It aimed to showcase the area's harvest and kicked off with a huge parade of floats, dignitaries and marching bands and included a tribute to local Indian bands. Everyone loves a parade and a fair, and this was no exception.

In 1909, the event was billed as the Alberta Provincial Exhibition and by 1911, had transformed itself into the Calgary Industrial Exhibition.

Along about 1912, cowboy Guy Weadick, originally from New York state and enamoured of all things western, wanted to put on a wild and wooly 'wild west extravaganza'. He convinced Calgary businessmen, the now famous "Big Four"(AE Cross, George Lane, Pat Burns and A.J. McLean), to back his rodeo. They did, to the tune of $100,000. In September of that year, the first Stampede came roaring out of the chutes.

Weadick's first Stampede featured a parade attended by 80,000 Calgary citizens. Twenty-five thousand of these went on to attend the inaugural rodeo that featured seventeen events, including several for cowgirls. These early events were wilder than what we experience today. In the bucking bronco event the horses were blindfolded because there were no chutes and the last cowboy or cowgirl still on horseback would be declared the winner.

The Stampede was a solid hit and although it was suspended during the First World War, it came back with a bang in 1919, bigger and better than ever.

In 1923, the Exhibition and Stampede officially merged. This was also the year of the first Chuckwagon Races. These early races were more modest than today's chucks. Back then, the first chuckwagon driver to cross the finish line, set up his tent canopy and light his stove was declared the winner. This too, was the year of the first pancake breakfast. It didn't happen during the race or at the track but when a chuckwagon driver, for whatever reason, roared into downtown Calgary, stopped his wagon on a corner, fired up his stove, cooked up a stack of pancakes. He handed them out to delighted passers-by, establishing a tradition that just keeps growing.

Weadick went on to manage the Stampede until 1932 when he was fired for drinking too much and for his loudly voiced objections to cuts in his promotion budget and to the prize money. His break with his beloved Stampede lasted for 20 years. He returned in 1952 and died a year later in 1953. This famous citizen is buried in nearby High River. The town of Weadickville was named in his honour.

The Stampede continued to grow and prosper, hitting attendance records of a million in 1976 and prize money of half a million dollars in 1982. The purse for the year 2000 rodeo and chuckwagon events has grown to $1,099,900.

Stampede continues to grow and prosper and holds a special place in the hearts of all Calgarians and visitors. If you have ever been to Calgary at Stampede time, it's an experience that you won't soon forget. I didn't.

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