Another horse was injured at the Calgary Stampede’s chuckwagon races on Friday night on a track often referred to as the “half mile of hell.”
What happened was not clear, however, the Stampede said a horse suffered a small cut in the third heat. A photographer with Postmedia captured an image of a horse crashing into a fence.
During the same heat, witnesses told Global News it appeared to them as though an outrider may have been injured. They said it appeared that a wagon collided with an outrider on the first turn and someone ended up in the dirt. People ran out to help the person and the wagon was secured and prevented from going further.
A spokesperson for the Calgary Stampede confirmed an outrider was “tossed” but said they did not require medical treatment.
It’s been a deadly year for horses at the Stampede. On Thursday night, a horse crashed into the inner rail of a track, leaving it dead and injuring three other horses. It was the third horse to die at the 2019 Calgary Stampede chuckwagon races.
Thursday night’s incident saw a chuckwagon driver be fined and disqualified from the 2019 GMC Rangeland Derby, the Calgary Stampede said.
READ MORE: Chuckwagon driver fined, disqualified after 3rd horse death at Calgary Stampede
Watch below: It’s an unprecedented reaction to an incident at Thursday’s chuckwagon races. Never before has a driver been disqualified from competing in all future Calgary Stampede events. But animal rights advocates say it doesn’t go far enough. Jill Croteau reports.
Driver Chad Harden impeded the wagon of another driver, Danny Ringuette, causing his wagon to collide with a third wagon belonging to Evan Salmond, according to the Chuckwagons Safety Commission.
Salmond’s wagon then collided with the track’s inner rail.
On Friday, a spokesperson for Calgary Animal Rights Effort said they’re outraged by the deaths.
“The Calgary Stampede considers the animals to be disposable and they have a long track record of this — over 100 animals since 1986, then three more this year — (they’re really demonstrating they’re not taking this seriously,” Trev Miller said.
“My impression of people with the Stampede when they say ‘they love these animals’ — it’s fairly difficult to use the word ‘love’ when you’re risking that individual’s body and life for profit, or entertainment, or prizes.”
In 2016, Stampede officials implemented new rules and regulations for animal and rider safety, which saw changes to the placement of the barrels in the infield to reduce the potential for wagon contact.