They’ll break the one-million mark in attendance sometime Friday morning, but it’s going to take a huge Calgary Stampede weekend to break any records.
The weather was cool and a bit windy – along with the smoke – and that put a bit of a cap on Thursday’s attendance numbers. The smoke could stick around a bit for today as well.
Thursday’s attendance was 100,974, bringing the total to 978,421 so far.
If you weren’t down there, you likely missed the crowning of the Top Dog award. We’re not talking about those furry, four legged folks that lick your face when they’re happy. It’s the good, old-fashioned Midway hot dog, and the new Pickleback Dog from Lil Hot Dog captured the win in that round of the Best New Food on the Midway competition.
Things are still trending ahead of recent years for attendance and with decent weather in the forecast there’s still an outside chance a record is set. There’s still plenty of time and lots of things to do this weekend as you make your mark on Calgary Stampede 2023.
This weekend you can hit the Western Oasis, which has a variety of original western art from across North America. While you’re there you can listen to local music and have a quick bite to eat along with a glass of wine. You can find more information on that here.
There’s always great entertainment at the Calgary Stampede, and this year, they’ve outdone themselves in attracting top musical acts from a variety of genres.
Here’s what’s happening on stage Friday:
Nashville North
Mariya Stokes – 4-5:45 p.m.
Tristan Horncastle – 6-7:45 p.m.
Sacha - 9:30-10:15 p.m.
Eli Young Band - 10:45-11:59 p.m.
Drew Gregory - 11:59 p.m.-2:15 a.m.
Coca-Cola Stage
Le Ren - 12:30-1:15 p.m.
Shred Kelly - 1:45-2:30 p.m.
Talk - 8-8:45 p.m.
Mt. Joy - 9:15-10:30 p.m.
The Big Four Roadhouse
Jory Kinjo - 4:45-8 p.m.
DJ Pauly D - 10:30-11:45 p.m.
Calgary Stampede Rodeo and GMC Rangeland Derby
Did you know this year marks the 100th year of the chuckwagon races? They honoured the Calgary Stampede’s big event all throughout this year’s Stampede, and there’s a chance Friday for visitors to meet some of the top drivers in the sport.
They’ll have a meet and greet in the Brandt Agriculture Zone in the Ag building from 11 to 11:45 a.m.
Plus, there’s no mistaking the feel of championship weekend at both the rodeo and the chuckwagon races. The day money is nice, but that big payday on Sunday is the real motivator in this competition. Cowboys and drivers will be battling it out for their chance at the Calgary Stampede title on Sunday.
Here are the results from Thursday’s Day 7 action.
Barrel racing
| Pozzi Tonozzi, Brittany | Lampasas TX | 17.160 |
| Briggs, Jordon | Tolar TX | 17.260 |
| Smalygo, Leslie | Skiatook OK | 17.290 |
| Otto, Molly | Grand Forks ND | 17.340 |
| Morgan, Shelley | Canton TX | 17.470 |
| Kosel, Summer | Glenham SD | 17.610 |
| Pinkston, Liz | Stephenville TX | 17.630 |
| Johnson, Wenda | Pawhuska OK | 17.690 |
| Allen, Kelly | Stephenville TX | 22.140 |
| Graham, Sydney | Abilene TX | 22.640 |
Bull riding
| Young, Creek | Rogersville MO | Afraid to Nod | 88.00 |
| Byram, Colt | Mound City KS | Warning Shot | 85.50 |
| Frost, Josh | Randlett UT | Positively Banging | 85.00 |
| Kimzey, Trey | Strong City OK | Selling Dreams | 83.00 |
| Wright, Stetson | Milford UT | Naughty Kisher | 82.00 |
| Smith, Garrett | Rexburg ID | Shotgun Carma | 78.50 |
| Morris, Lukasey | Union City OK | Tactical Error | BO |
| Potter, Maverick | Waxahachie TX | Cheap Thrills | BO |
| Benton III, Trey | Richards TX | Alameda Slim | BO |
| Mauney, J.B. | Stephenville TX | Sky Fall | BO |
Saddle bronc
| Brooks, Chase | Deer Lodge MT | The Ritz | 86.50 |
| Andersen, Ben | Rocky Mtn House AB | Aloha Margie | 83.50 |
| Cook, Logan | Alto TX | Concrete Cowboy | 82.50 |
| Ashbacher, Kole | Arrowwood AB | Lunatic Party | 81.50 |
| Macza, Lucas | High River AB | Canadian Trip | 80.00 |
| Wright, Stu | Milford UT | Easy Margie | 80.00 |
| Pollock, Mitch | Winnemucca NV | Conman | 80.00 |
| Brown, Houston | Miles City MT | Good Vibrations | 79.00 |
| Hay, Dawson | Wildwood AB | Eager Ajax | BO |
| Newman, Sage | Melstone MT | Exotic Warrior | BO |
Bareback
| Lamb, Kody | Sherwood Park AB | Mucho Dinero | 84.50 |
| Champion, Richmond | Stevensville MT | Princess Warrior | 84.00 |
| Goodine, Cole | Carbon AB | Zip Code | 83.00 |
| Larsen, Orin | Inglis MB | Half Moon | 82.50 |
| Berry, Leighton | Weatherford TX | Renegade Rex | 81.50 |
| Broussard, Taylor | Estherwood LA | Buckwheat | 81.00 |
| Sonnier, Kade | Carencro LA | September Skies | 79.50 |
| Miller, Bradlee | Huntsville TX | Fishy Alibi | 79.50 |
| Feild, Kaycee | Genola UT | Electric Soot | 78.00 |
| Petersen, Sam | Helena MT | White Hawk | 76.00 |
Tie-down roping
| Hanchey, Shane | Sulphur LA | 7.7 |
| Cox, Blane | Stephenville TX | 8.3 |
| Herrin, Hunter | Apache OK | 8.9 |
| Harris, Ty | San Angelo TX | 10.4 |
| Lucas, Kyle | Carstairs AB | 19.1 |
| Murphy, Macon | Keatchie LA | 19.9 |
| Solomon, Cory | Prairie View TX | NT |
| Cooper, Tuf | Decatur TX | NT |
| Milligan, Tyler | Pawhuska OK | NT |
| Henry, Kincade | Mt Pleasant TX | NT |
Steer wrestling
| Struxness, JD | Milan MN | 3.6 |
| Brown, Jesse | Baker City OR | 3.8 |
| Eldridge, Dakota | Elko NV | 4.2 |
| Jorgensen, Stetson | Blackfoot ID | 4.3 |
| Parrott, Rowdy | Mamou LA | 4.4 |
| Irwin, Kyle | Robertsdale AL | 4.7 |
| Anderson, Bridger | Carrington ND | 5.1 |
| Cure, Hunter | Holliday TX | 7.6 |
| Culling, Stephen | Fort St John BC | NT |
| Lord, Eli | Sturgis SD | NT |
GMC Rangeland Derby
Results from Day 7
| 1 | Chanse Vigen | Subsurface Corporation | 1:10.9300 | 0 | 1:10.9300 |
| 2 | Mark Sutherland | Canadian Fiber Optics | 1:10.9700 | 0 | 1:10.9700 |
| 3 | Darcy Flad | All North Consultants | 1:11.3700 | 0 | 1:11.3700 |
| 4 | Kurt Bensmiller | Grey Eagle Resort & Casino | 1:11.4100 | 0 | 1:11.4100 |
| 5 | Ross Knight | MobSquad | 1:11.6000 | 0 | 1:11.6000 |
| 6 | Jamie Laboucane | Fortinet Security Solutions | 1:11.7300 | 0 | 1:11.7300 |
| 7 | Rae Croteau | Allied Vessel Fabrication | 1:11.8200 | 0 | 1:11.8200 |
| 8 | Chad Fike | Summit Fleet | 1:12.0000 | 0 | 1:12.0000 |
| 9 | Preston Faithful | Natural Law X Global | 1:12.0600 | 0 | 1:12.0600 |
| 10 | Codey McCurrach | Darby Lee Level Playing Field | 1:12.0800 | 0 | 1:12.0800 |
| 11 | Layne MacGillivray | Spray Lake Sawmills | 1:12.1900 | 0 | 1:12.1900 |
| 12 | Obrey Motowylo | Zulu | 1:12.2100 | 0 | 1:12.2100 |
| 13/14 | Jason Glass | Birchcliff Energy | 1:12.6400 | 0 | 1:12.6400 |
| 13/14 | Kirk Sutherland | Shaw GMC | 1:12.6400 | 0 | 1:12.6400 |
| 15 | Doug Irvine | VisitLethbridge.com | 1:12.9000 | 0 | 1:12.9000 |
| 16 | Evan Salmond | De Havilland Aircraft | 1:13.4900 | 0 | 1:13.4900 |
| 17 | Chance Bensmiller | EllisDon | 1:13.6700 | 0 | 1:13.6700 |
| 18 | Troy Dorchester | Aveva | 1:12.8000 | 1 | 1:13.8000 |
| 19 | Kris Molle | Graf Mechanical | 1:13.1100 | 1 | 1:14.1100 |
| 20 | Todd Baptiste | Red Pheasant Cree Nation | 1:11.5800 | 3 | 1:14.5800 |
| 21 | Cody Ridsdale | O'Chiese Investment & Business Centre | 1:14.7900 | 0 | 1:14.7900 |
| 22 | Jordie Fike | Friction Tool Solutions | 1:14.8200 | 0 | 1:14.8200 |
| 23 | Wade Salmond | De Havilland Aircraft | 1:12.4400 | 3 | 1:15.4400 |
| 24 | Dallas Dyck | Precision Contractors | 1:12.8300 | 3 | 1:15.8300 |
| 25 | Mitch Sutherland | Nuwave Industries | 1:12.2200 | 5 | 1:17.2200 |
| 26 | Danny Ringuette | Zero Hungry Kids | 1:13.4800 | 5 | 1:18.4800 |
| 27 | Vern Nolin | Balance Foundation/Geminus Acquisition and Management Inc | 1:14.9000 | 5 | 1:19.9000 |
Aggregate times going into the weekend
| 1 | Kurt Bensmiller | Grey Eagle Resort & Casino | 8:20.5600 | 0 | 8:20.5600 |
| 2 | Layne MacGillivray | Spray Lake Sawmills | 8:23.7400 | 0 | 8:23.7400 |
| 3 | Chanse Vigen | KMA Construction Inc. | 8:17.7500 | 7 | 8:24.7500 |
| 4 | Rae Croteau Jr. | Cinch Oilfeild Hauling Ltd | 8:24.0900 | 2 | 8:26.0900 |
| 5 | Jamie Laboucane | Cowboys | 8:23.3500 | 3 | 8:26.3500 |
| 6 | Mark Sutherland | Friends of Sutherland Racing | 8:25.5400 | 1 | 8:26.5400 |
| 7 | Ross Knight | MobSquad | 8:26.7100 | 0 | 8:26.7100 |
| 8 | Darcy Flad | The CanWagon | 8:27.1000 | 0 | 8:27.1000 |
| 9 | Kris Molle | Graf Mechanical Ltd. | 8:27.0000 | 1 | 8:28.0000 |
| 10 | Chad Fike | Summit Fleet | 8:23.2700 | 5 | 8:28.2700 |
| 11 | Obrey Motowylo | Buckles and Bulls Brands Inc. | 8:24.3200 | 5 | 8:29.3200 |
| 12 | Jason Glass | Birchcliff Energy Ltd | 8:29.6800 | 0 | 8:29.6800 |
| 13 | Codey McCurrach | PCL & Partners | 8:24.6300 | 7 | 8:31.6300 |
| 14 | Kirk Sutherland | Shaw GMC | 8:27.9200 | 5 | 8:32.9200 |
| 15 | Troy Dorchester | Cam Clark Ford | 8:32.6300 | 1 | 8:33.6300 |
| 16 | Evan Salmond | De Havilland | 8:33.8000 | 0 | 8:33.8000 |
| 17 | Wade Salmond | De Havilland | 8:27.2600 | 8 | 8:35.2600 |
| 18 | Preston Faithful | Natural Law X | 8:30.2500 | 6 | 8:36.2500 |
| 19 | Doug Irvine | Lethbridge Lodging Association | 8:36.9000 | 0 | 8:36.9000 |
| 20 | Danny Ringuette | The Brakemen Foundation | 8:32.1500 | 5 | 8:37.1500 |
| 21 | Mitch Sutherland | Cross Country Canada Supplies and Rentals | 8:26.2500 | 12 | 8:38.2500 |
| 22 | Vern Nolin | Semerra | 8:35.1100 | 5 | 8:40.1100 |
| 23 | Jordie Fike | Tronic Data Inc. | 8:36.0000 | 5 | 8:41.0000 |
| 24 | Chance Bensmiller | Ellis Don | 8:36.9400 | 5 | 8:41.9400 |
| 25 | Dallas Dyck | Riversdale Resources Ltd. | 8:31.4900 | 13 | 8:44.4900 |
| 26 | Todd Baptiste | Sore Oilfield | 8:31.6200 | 15 | 8:46.6200 |
| 27 | Cody Ridsdale | O'Chiese Business Centre | 8:38.7400 | 10 | 8:48.7400 |
