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In the CorralAug - Sep 2007
Cowboy Riding Point for Agribition Pollock has a rural Saskatchewan background, having been raised in the Cypress Hills area and holds a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Saskatchewan. The newly appointed Chief Executive Officer/General Manager also possesses a working knowledge of Canadian Western Agribition through his involvement with the Canadian Cowboys’ Association Rodeo (CCA) as both a contestant, and in his former capacity as CCA Vice President. In 2006, Pollock was the CCA Finals Rodeo Steer Wrestling Champion, an event hosted by Canadian Western Agribition. Attendance for the six-day event was more than 139,500, and included 417 international visitors representing 51 countries and 16 U.S. states. Canadian Western Agribition is Canada’s premier international livestock show and marketplace in North America. Agribition contributes an annual economic impact for the province of Saskatchewan of $16.3 million. The 37th edition of Agribition will be held November 19-24 at IPSCO Place in Regina. Empty Saddles
Rocky Rockabar Rockabar came from the Great Sand Hills of Saskatchewan, where his parents and grandparents settled in the early 1900s. Rocky moved to Alberta in 1948 and worked as a ranch hand at several ranches in the Medicine Hat area. He competed mostly in the United States amateur circuit until 1958, before joining the professional ranks in 1959, participating in saddle bronc, bull riding and steer wrestling. Rockabar qualified for the National Finals Rodeo in bull riding in 1962, the same year he won his first of three Canadian high point championships, an honour he earned again in 1964 and 1966. He was crowned the Canadian champion saddle bronc rider in 1964. While the Canadian bull riding championship eluded him, he finished second place four times in 1962, 1965, 1966 and 1971. As a successful rodeo cowboy, he chose to pass on his knowledge by instructing at several bull riding schools. Rockabar also served on the board of directors of the Canadian Rodeo Cowboys’ Association from 1965 to 1971. He was inducted into the Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1999. Rockabar is survived by his wife of 52 years, Mary, daughter Billijo and sons Wade, Kevin and Guy.
Hally Walgenbach In his time, Hally Walgenbach was one of the greatest champions the sport of chuckwagon racing has ever seen. He was a four-time World Champion Chuckwagon driver and four-time Calgary Stampede Rangeland Derby Champion driver. Driving under the canvases of Orville Burkinshaw, Carl Barrett and Pratt & McKay, Hally posted additional major wins at many prestigious shows – twice at the Cheyenne Frontier Days, twice at the Ponoka Stampede, and the Red Deer Exhibition with a host of other wins along the way. When Dale Flett got injured halfway through the 1959 Calgary Stampede, Hally Walgenbach took over the lines and drove Dale’s Peter Bawden outfit the rest of the year winning not only the Calgary Stampede Championship but the World Championship as well, earning him the reputation of a driver who could drive and win with anyone’s outfit. Hally was honoured with the World Professional Chuckwagon Association’s Special Tribute Award in 1988. He is survived by his wife Rhonda, and his children Elva, Neal, Brenda, Cecil, Bonnie, Troy and several grandchildren. Funeral services were held June 14 in Stettler, Alberta. The Chosen Few – Rodeo Hall of Fame Inductees
Ken Brower In 1947, he was crowned Canada’s third-ever all-around champion, finishing third in the saddle bronc event that same year. Between 1947 and 1950, Brower finished in the top five in the saddle bronc and bareback events five times, three times in the bronc riding, twice as a bareback rider. Although he retired from competition in 1960, he remained interested in rodeo his entire life. Credited with importing many of the first registered quarter horses in Canada, several of the bloodlines Brower started are still in the rodeo arena today. Brower also traded bucking horses and raised bucking bulls. In 1978, Black Bart, one of his bulls won the Canadian bull of the year award. Brower married Bernice Gilchrist of Maple Creek, Sask. in 1948. They had five children, all of whom have become active in the sport of rodeo. At 61 years of age, the lifelong cowboy left us when his saddle horse took a tumble while working in the rugged country on his PN Ranch near Winifred, Montana. Norman and Shirley Edge
Shirley Edge Shirley organized the first CPRA convention, awards banquet and rodeo dance, held in conjunction with the first Canadian Finals Rodeo in 1974. When the Canadian Rodeo Historical Association (parent organization of the Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame) was established in 1980, Shirley became the first secretary and was instrumental in obtaining charity status for the organization in 1981. She was also president of the CRHA from 1984–1986. It was during this time that the Hall of Fame found its first permanent home in Cochrane, Alta. at the Western Heritage Centre. She volunteered at the Canadian Finals Rodeo Sponsors Banquet for many years and helped establish the Ladies of Pro Rodeo Fashion Show, which is still a great success today.
Norman Edge He was the eighth president of the CPRA, serving from 1972–1973. While Norman never won a Canadian championship, he finished in the top five bull riding standings seven times. Norman served as a rodeo judge all over North America, working high-profile rodeos such as Calgary, Pendleton, Walla Walla, Cloverdale, Ponoka, El Paso, Phoenix and almost every rodeo in Canada at some point in his tenure. He judged the Expo Rodeo in Montreal, Que. in 1967. Norman was the trail boss for the very successful Hooves of History Cattle Drive and Rodeo, a fundraiser for the Western Heritage Centre. Norman and Shirley live in Cochrane and are still very active in the rodeo community.
Alex Laye At a rodeo in Alsask, Sask. in 1954, Laye won first place in all three roughstock events (saddle bronc, bareback, bull riding), won the tie-down roping and finished second in the horse race and jackpot roping as well. For his efforts, he took home a total of $250. Laye, the Canadian steer wrestling and decorating champion in 1964, is known for his calm demeanour and as a skilled musician who spent many hours entertaining his fellow cowboys and cowgirls after the rodeo was over. Laye also claimed three Canadian cow milking championships – in 1959, 1963 and 1964, finished in the top three in the all-around race on four occasions, was fourth in the bull and steer riding standings in 1953 and a top five finisher in the tie-down roping six times. Alex Laye lives in Consort, Alta. and is a Life Member of the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association.
Nathan Woldum Woldum also won the world bareback title that year, and is the only Canadian to ever win a world title in that event. But, the record books show: “Nate Waldrum, Strathmore, Alberta, 1933…” In typical cowboy modesty, Woldum was aware of the mistake, but never bothered to have them correct it. “They always spelled my name wrong,” said Woldum in an interview in 1989. “The mistake was made in New York and it’s stayed that way all through the years.” He began riding bareback horses at 17, and only did so competitively for four years, but his mark is certainly still there today. Woldum passed away March 21, 1998 at the age of 87. JH Necklace
This year’s stock inductee is JH Necklace, a bareback horse owned by Harry and Wayne Vold. In 1990 tie-down roper Emil Chomistek purchased Necklace as a weanling at Brooks, Alberta. Emil tried to break her, but to no avail, so he decided to offer her to Harry Vold at the 1964 Stavely Indoor Rodeo. Harry asked then novice bronc rider Ivan Daines to be the test pilot. As Ivan was preparing for the ride Tom Bews offered his encouragement, “Come on Ivan, get on, she’s just some farmer’s horse.” Then they opened the gate and as Harry said, “You talk about cowboys in the rafters.” Harry bought her on the spot for $150 and that fall she was named the top bareback horse at the National Finals Rodeo. She won the same award in 1966, ’68 and ’70. That was the top award available to a bareback bronc of that era. Probably the only reason Necklace was never declared the World Champion Bareback Horse was because that award never existed until 1974.
When asked about her name Harry recalled, “She was so pretty; you could have won ribbons in a halter class if you had taken her to a horse show, so I wanted a feminine name.” Most bucking horses have a number branded on their hip, not Necklace; she was branded JH on her left shoulder – the horse brand for B.C.’s Gang Ranch, which is where she was born and spent her first summer. Cruisin’ with Miss Rodeo Canada Miss Rodeo Canada 2007 Tara Sergerie is on the rodeo trail in her new PT Cruiser sponsored by Country Chrysler in High River and Western Financial. If you would like a visit with Tara, you can catch up to her at:
August 14 – 19, Jasper Heritage Rodeo Where in the World is Canadian Cowboy?
Lorne (below) and Bev (who’s taking the picture) Reay on the 2007 Spirit of the West cruise as the ship navigated the Panama Canal, a major ship canal that traverses the Isthmus of Panama in Central America, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The photo was taken at the Gatún locks, the three-stage flight of locks 1.9 kilometres long, that drop ships back down to sea level. Regina Hosting Country Music Week
Canada’s annual celebration of country music is getting ready for a blow out in the host city of Regina, Sask. Organizers of the four-day celebration, which culminates with the Canadian Country Music Awards, brings fans and country stars, high profile music industry players, media from around the globe, partners and sponsors together to enjoy numerous industry and fan-accessed events. It is a destination for the world’s country industry, but also proves to be great fun for the community and local fans. Country Music Week is comprised of two major components: the Country Music Week Conference and the Canadian Country Music Awards (CCMA Awards). The conference is home to a dynamic array of musical showcases, seminars and industry gatherings. A great number of the events are open to the public – especially FanFest, a free event showcasing country’s greatest talent live on stage, along with autograph sessions and exclusive merchandise from each performer. The annual Canadian Country Music Awards Show captures the talent of this nation in an extraordinary presentation and remains one of the most anticipated live performance showcases of its kind. “It is music about the land and the people – real stories brought to life by writers, producers and performers. In a very real sense, every week is Country Music Week in Saskatchewan,” said Saskatchewan Premier Lorne Calvert. The 2007 festivities will begin September 7 and ends with the televised awards show on September 10. In 2008, the CCMAs will move to Winnipeg, Man.
Another Spectacular Resch-cue!
At the Sunday performance of the Sundre Pro Rodeo, the crowd witnessed horsemanship and daring at its finest by two of Canada’s top pick up men. Jason Resch dove off his galloping pick up horse and onto the head of Rex Logan’s novice bareback bronc, bulldogging the horse to a stop as his twin brother, Jeff Resch, swooped in and helped disentangle the almost chap-less rider. In a freak occurrence, the flank strap wrapped around the bareback riders elbow and wrist, locking him onto the inexperienced bronc. If you know the name of this novice bronc rider, please contact the editor at editor@canadiancowboy.ca.
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