Sunday Stills- Stampede Style!

Just making it in under the wire for this one! Today's challenge is people- the more the better. Well Ed, how about 16 thousand people?

This is a view of the grandstand at the Calgary Stampede, taken from the beer gardens next to the infield.

There were plenty of things going on in the Agricultural area, like this wether sheep getting his very first shearing for a sheep-shearing demonstration:

The gent doing the shearing was very proficient, it took less than 5 minutes for him to shear this sheep, and roll up the fleece- it was pretty cool to see. I'm sure the sheep enjoyed his new, cooler do; it's pretty hot out!

I just had to get a shot of these people, riding leopard Appaloosas, for Sherry at Fern Valley Appaloosas. I took this shot from way high in the infield grandstand.

And then there were the chuckwagon races! Unfortunately, as it was late in the day- like the song says, "When the sun goes down in Calgary and the wagons start to roll..." so my photos aren't the best. If you don't know about chuckwagon racing, there are 4 wagons, each pulled by a 4 horse hitch of Thoroughbred horses, they line up in the infield: they each have to do a figure eight around barrels set up in the infield, then head out on a half-mile race track, finishing up back at the infield. Each wagon has 2 outriders; one throws the campstove in the back of the wagon when the starting horn goes, and the other one is holding the lead horse. Here is a look at the dangerous job of the outrider that "heads" the lead horse:

Here, he has just released the team at the sound of the horn, then he has to leap on his horse, and he and the other outrider, who you can see behind the wagon, also do the figure eight around the barrels, then head down the track with all the wagons. It gets western!

This is Buddy Bensmiller, who was retiring after this Stampede. It was his birthday, and he won his heat, and all 16,000 of us wished him happy birthday.

More Stampede stuff tomorrow!