Stampede spirit kicked off early Tuesday morning when 10-year-old Anna Donovan-Harris and her family from Moncton, NB were white-hatted at YYC Calgary International Airport.
Volunteers from Children’s Wish Foundation welcomed Donovan-Harris as a special guest and an honorary Calgarian, presenting her whole family with the traditional white cowboy hats — known anecdotally as the equivalent to the key to the city.
Donovan-Harris will be seeing her first ever rodeo at the Calgary Stampede this week with her family.
She was diagnosed back in 2018 with a six-centimetre benign brain tumour and underwent a 20-hour surgery to get it removed.
Recovery has meant Donovan-Harris hasn’t been able to be in the saddle herself, missing out on riding and showing her pony.
“It’s really fun,” Donovan-Harris said on Tuesday when talking about riding with her friends around the ring.
Usually, you’d find her riding around barrels and poles but getting better has left her stuck on the ground.
When she learned she’d be granted with a wish from the Children’s Wish Foundation, attending the Calgary Stampede was Donovan-Harris’ top choice because she said she loves horses and wants to see the rodeo.
Donovan-Harris’ mom, Bethany Donovan, attended the Calgary Stampede once before and said she’s looking forward to experiencing it with her kids.
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Donovan-Harris’ dad, David Harris, and her younger brother William Donovan-Harris will also be celebrating their first Stampede.
The Donovan-Harris family plan to spend a couple days in Banff before coming back to sneak-a-peek on Thursday and watch the Stampede parade on Friday morning.